Scars

Scars occur due to the body’s healing process. They may be caused by cuts or damage to the skin due to accidents, burns, surgery, acne, and illness. Your skin forms a barrier, as part of the immune system, to help protect you from germs and harmful substances. When an injury occurs, collagen fibers repair the damage.

The majority of scars will fade over time but there are also treatments to make them less noticeable. Although they never completely go away, these treatments help to minimize their size and appearance or even prevent them from forming as the wound heals

Radiance Skin Therapy offers a variety of therapies or treatments that can help make scars less noticeable. IPL (intense pulsed light) can be combined with fractional laser treatments to provide a more even skin tone. We provide ClearSkin Pro laser by Alma®, a non-ablative fractional laser skin resurfacing technology that promotes collagen growth to help reduce scarring. These treatments help the tissue to remodel and become more flexible. There are also other energy-based procedures such as Lutronic’s LaseMD®, CoolPeel from Cartessa Aesthetics, and Sofwave™ that are beneficial for scars.

• LaseMD® Ultra™ is a non-ablative, fractional laser skin resurfacing treatment that helps to rebuild more collagen and remodel the skin.
• CoolPeel is an advanced, ablative CO2 laser that enhances skin texture and provides comprehensive skin rejuvenation results.
• Sofwave™ is a non-invasive skin tightening technology that stimulates collagen growth using ultrasound energy.

What many patients don’t realize is that in many cases, what they call “acne scars” are not actually scars. Inflammation in the skin is what causes these marks to be left behind as part of the healing process. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is a patch of darker skin or discoloration that forms in an area where acne has healed.

This darker area of skin occurs when excess melanin is produced as the skin’s response to inflammation. Sometimes this flat area on the skin can be white, pink, red, purple, brown, or black. The skin produces too much melanin as it heals. This is not true scarring, though some people refer to it as “pseudo scarring.” These spots are flat on the skin. The discoloration from these acne spots usually fades over time but treatments can help them clear up faster. Retinoid creams and exfoliants can help you achieve clearer skin.

You can also have post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation treated professionally with treatments such as lasers, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion. Chemical peels can also help to improve the overall quality of your skin. These minimally invasive treatments improve skin tone, texture, and other concerns. A chemical solution is applied to remove the outermost layer of skin.

Microdermabrasion is a treatment that involves using a device with an abrasive surface the polish the top layer of skin, lightening the appearance of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and creating a more evenly-toned complexion.

Our practice offers treatments for many other conditions that affect the skin such as hyperhidrosis/excessive sweating, cellulite, acne, pigmentation issues, and spider veins. We offer treatments for wrinkles, such as BOTOX^®, a neuromodulator that softens expression wrinkles, and dermal fillers to restore fullness or volume to areas where volume has been lost. Skin rejuvenation options such as AQUAGOLD^® microchanneling and Genius^® RF Microneedling are available to improve your skin’s tone and address other cosmetic concerns. Dermal fillers can plump up or fill in the areas where scars form.