Laser Care for Scars and Stretch Marks
The American Academy of Dermatology says a stretch mark is a type of scar that develops when our skin stretches or shrinks quickly. Its guide to why stretch marks appear and how to get rid of them is a neutral starting point for anyone who has been quoted a price for removing them.
The American Academy of Dermatology says laser treatment can make a scar less noticeable, but it cannot get rid of a scar. When you have laser scar treatment, the American Academy of Dermatology explains, you are replacing one scar with another less-noticeable scar. That is a more modest promise than the word removal on a price list.
The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery says laser and light therapy offers a non-invasive method of improving the appearance of scars by blending pigmentation with that of surrounding healthy tissue and stimulating collagen production. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery adds that patients may not see any significant changes until several weeks after treatment.
Peels, lasers and a pre-booking checklist
- Chemical Peels for Surface Scars: what peels are meant to do for scars near the surface and what to ask before choosing a peel over laser work.
- Ten Things Before Laser Scar Treatment: a checklist of questions to settle before booking, including session counts and what a package covers.
- Laser Light Therapy for Raised Scars: what light-based treatment is meant to change in raised scars and how long a result is expected to take to show.
The society's reference pages on laser resurfacing for scars and chemical peels for scars cover the two procedures in more detail.
Terms that show up on scar and stretch mark quotes
Light therapy for stretch marks. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery says infrared and visible red light is beamed on to the stretch marks, and that the treatment causes a reduction of the apparent scarring of the stretch marks, softening and flattening their appearance. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery says a series of up to 20 sessions is required over several weeks in order to see a 20 to 60 percent improvement in appearance, and that results are permanent, but follow-up maintenance treatments sometimes are necessary.
Non-ablative laser. The American Academy of Dermatology says you may need more than one laser treatment, which is often necessary when using a non-ablative laser: there is no downtime with that laser, but a few treatments may be needed to see the desired results.
Laser resurfacing. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery describes laser resurfacing as using a laser to send out brief pulses of high-energy light that are absorbed by water and substances in the skin, vaporizing thin sections of skin layer by layer while new, fresher skin grows over the treated area.
Pricing the promised improvement
Ask what improvement is being promised and how it will be measured, how many sessions the price covers, and whether maintenance sessions are included or extra. A range such as 20 to 60 percent is wide enough that the low end is the figure to price, not the high end.