11/08/2026
What does fractionated CO2 laser treated skin look like? Well, up close, this.
fun fact- this is my skin (really zoomed in)
CO2 ablative fractionated laser treatments work through selective photothermolysis with water as its target chromosphere. The water inside and outside of your cells absorb the infrared energy ➡️ rapid heating vaporizes the epidermis and part of the dermis ➡️ causes micro columns of skin to be ablated (really tiny holes) ➡️ which then triggers a coordinated wound healing cascade to stimulate your body to produce collagen, elastin, MMPs (to degrade old damaged collagen), proteoglycans/ECM, TGF-beta, miRNA, heat shock proteins (to balance the pro-repair and anti-fibrotic effects).
I perform this treatment to tighten the skin, shrink the appearance of pores, smoothen the skin, treat scars, treat sun damage, decrease the incidence of skin cancer, and reverse skin aging.
Typically the spots that you see in the picture darken for the first 4 days then start to come off over 1-2 weeks. The result from this treatment is at 3-6 months. It’s one that I do for my skin and keep coming back to. That said, it is not for everyone. It is important to have an evaluation with a laser expert to see if you are an appropriate candidate.
