What you should know before undergoing laser resurfacing for better skin

Glass skin. We all want it, and yet that dewy, airbrushed glow is elusive for most of us, regardless of age. Removing dead cells at home with masks, scrubs, glycols and retinols can help. And clinical resurfacing procedures that cause little damage to the skin—think chemical peels, dermabrasion, or microneedling—can get you there faster. But when you need a supercharged solution, there’s nothing more effective than lasers.

“Lasers are great tools that can help improve a variety of skin concerns, such as acne scars, fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots, and even tattoos and loose skin,” says New York City-based dermatologist Tara Rao, MD.

What are lasers and how do they work?

So what exactly is a laser? The word stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, according to NASA. As used in dermatology, they are “a skin resurfacing modality that harnesses the power of light and heat to improve skin tone, texture and color,” says Lara Devgan, MD, a plastic surgeon based in New York City. “It does this by creating a controlled injury in the tissue that stimulates the body to have a healing response that makes it look better.”

When you exercise, you intentionally cause small tears in your muscles, which grow back stronger, research finds. Lasers work in a similar way: They use light and heat energy to cause controlled damage to the surface of the skin, causing your body to respond to heal the tissue by making new skin.