Fall Is the Best Time to Book Your Laser Treatment

We all love summer sunshine, but those glorious weeks spent outdoors can leave your skin in need of a pick-me-up. If that’s true for you, you’re not alone—especially if you aren’t sure what to do about it. Now that UV indexes are lower and we’re exposing ourselves to less sun, fall is the ideal time to consider a medical-aesthetic procedure such as a laser treatment. Not sure where to begin? No worries; we’ve got expert tips to help you book a laser treatment that will help your skin—and your confidence—get ready for fall and the upcoming holiday season.

Laser treatment is a broad term for a number of skin treatments that use light to address specific skin concerns. Most lasers work by creating micro-injuries to the skin that trigger our natural healing process and stimulate rejuvenation. Over time, lasers can help address concerns such as fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation and overall tone, texture and dullness. Each laser treatment can target a different concern with varying degrees of intensity that result in different levels of downtime afterwards.

“Intuitively, fall is the season to book a treatment,” says Dr. Beatrice Copps, a medical and cosmetic dermatologist at Dermapure, which offers medically supervised, non-surgical skin treatments at over 65 clinics in Canada. “People tend to have more of that damage from the summer and they start to notice that things have come up.” Those things could be anything from new pigmentation to deeper lines and wrinkles to a general dullness in the skin. Noticing changes in your skin can be motivating if you’re looking for treatment, says Copps.

Another reason why fall is ideal for skin care has to do with the dos and don’ts of a laser treatment itself—and, again, that has everything to do with the sun. You want to avoid using most lasers on tanned skin and you’ll need to stay out of the sun for several weeks after. A good sunscreen (at least SPF 50) can help, but avoiding the sun is best.

Finally, to get the most out of your treatment, you’ll likely be recommended to book several sessions. Starting in the fall gives you time to complete multiple sessions without the higher risk of sun damage that comes with summer.

We visited a Dermapure clinic in Toronto to try the laser treatment Clear + Brilliant, which focuses on the overall texture and tone of your skin and can help with brightening as well. This method uses a non-ablative laser, which heats up the layer of skin below the surface without causing harm to the top layer. The process also has a shorter recovery time than an ablative laser treatment, which affects the surface skin.

Clear + Brilliant was non-painful (the numbing cream helped) and while there was some redness that resembled a sunburn for the first day, the colour quickly subsided. The actual results take a bit longer to see (pigments rise to the surface and then slough off), but the fine lines softened, especially around the smile lines, within three to four days.

Considering a treatment? Dr. Copps shares her best advice.

Take Advantage of Free Consultations

“Dermacare clinics have free consultations with skin experts, who can help you get some questions answered and guide you in the right direction,” she says. The consultation can also help you sort out the vibes. Did you feel comfortable? Were your questions answered? Making sure that a provider is up front about the commitment (how many sessions you’ll need), the expectations (the improvements you’ll see) and the procedure itself (the downtime required post-treatment) is essential for you in determining if you want to move forward.

Credentials and Expertise Matter

Dr. Copps specializes in medical dermatology, as well as cosmetic dermatology, and understands everything from psoriasis and eczema to Botox and lasers. “I see the worst of the worst, so I’m very risk-averse,” she says. “I want to tell every potential patient, ‘Make sure you see someone qualified.’” She’s one of close to 100 medical doctors working at Dermapure clinics from coast to coast. Not every treatment will need a dermatologist to actually do the procedure (our Clear + Brilliant laser treatment was done by a nurse practitioner, but could have been done by an aesthetician, too), but medical oversight is important.

Think About What You Want to Target—Not the Specific Laser

“It’s not who is the right patient for the laser—it’s what is the right laser for the patient,” says Dr. Copps. The technology is designed to meet patients where they’re at and if safe for all ages, so think about what issue is most important to you. “When a patient comes in with their primary concern, whether it’s pigment, fine lines or texture, from there we can choose the laser for the patient and take into account their capacity for downtime and their result expectations,” she says.

Take Pre- and Post-Care Seriously

Remember that sun we mentioned? Staying out of it before and after treatment is super important. “For the best results and to reduce the risk of complications, you need to avoid sun exposure for at least two weeks, but ideally longer,” Dr. Copps says. One of the main culprits behind what we consider signs of aging is sun damage—adding more after you’ve treated those concerns would be a shame. Other post-care instructions include gentle skin care, limited (or no) active ingredients like retinol, and—surprise, surprise—putting on that SPF 50, every day.

Bonus tip? Layer a vitamin C serum under that sunscreen for increased efficacity!

To learn more about Dermapure and book a skin consultation at the clinic of your choice, visit dermapure.com.