Age is best stopped in its tracks by taking preventive measures from the right age-ideally the mid-to-late 20s. Eating healthy food- vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, protein- drinking at least a litre of water daily, exercising for 30 minutes, 5 days a week and following good skincare practices. However, despite our best intentions we slip up and the result is premature ageing-lines, wrinkles, age spots etc. It’s in such scenarios that anti-ageing procedures and tools come in handy. Lasers are a popular anti-ageing tool that give satisfactory results.

How to easily wipe away signs of ageing

What is Laser?
It is an acronym for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Lasers produce an intense unidirectional beam of light that can gently vapourise and/or ablate skin tissue to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, scars and blemishes. Every time the laser passes over the skin, some of the outermost layers of the skin are removed in a precise and controlled way to the appropriate depth. Lasers can broadly be divided into: ablative (erbium and CO2), fractional and pulsed light lasers.

Ablative Lasers:
Best for Superficial and moderately-deep wrinkles, fine lines, facial skin laxity, brown spots, photodamage and rhinophyma (enlarged nose due to enlarged oil glands), xanthelasma (yellow oil deposits in the skin of the eyelids).

How they work: These lasers briefly direct an intense burst of laser energy onto the surface of the skin removing the outermost layer. The skin then heals over a period of time, as new layers of collagen are produced. The CO2 laser, compared to erbium is more powerful. But the erbium is safer-it lets the skin heal faster, with minimum redness and scarring.

Limitations: Healing time may be long (up to 30 days or longer). Redness, infection and undesirable results (often with inexperienced practitioners performing the procedure) are possible. frequency 1 to 3 sittings with a gap of 3 to 6 months. cost Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per sitting.

Fractional Lasers:
Best for Fine lines and wrinkles of the face; crow’s feet around the eyes; brown spots and blotchy, uneven skin colour and scars.

How they work: As the name suggests, they work by causing ‘fractional’ damage. The light beam targets its heat only on the affected area leaving the surrounding tissue intact. This facilitates very rapid healing of the skin. Microscopic laser beams reach deep into the skin and stimulate collagen production. The procedure takes 15-30 minutes. You can apply sunscreen right after the procedure and carry on with your day.

limitations: It can be performed only on the face. Side effects include swelling and redness for a few days. A topical anesthetic cream can be used on sensitive areas. frequency 3 to 6 sessions are required, 2 to 4 weeks apart. cost Rs 10,000 to 30,000 depending upon the area.

Pulsed Light Lasers
Best for Mild to moderate signs of ageing, sun damage and rosacea.

How they work: Unlike other lasers, these emit a non coherent, broad-spectrum beam of light. These work on the deeper, sub-surface skin layers to aid the growth and health of the skin without removing the top skin layer. limitations Slight redness and mild swelling on the treated area for a few days. Protect the treated area from direct sunlight.

Cost Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per sitting. frequency 4 to 6 sittings within a gap of 4-6 weeks.