Spots that are darker than your normal skin tone are known as hyperpigmentation. They are caused on a cellular level by an overproduction of melanin, a pigment responsible for determining one’s skin and hair color. Reasons that melanin might overproduce (resulting in hyperpigmentation) include:
- Age spots which appear on skin that get frequent sun exposure, such as the backs of the arms, hands, shoulders, chest and face.
- Injury-related hyperpigmentation (or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) occurs where skin is healing from a lesion (such as acne) and leaves a darkened patch
- Melasma causes dark, discolored patches on the face and arms and often develops during pregnancy.
- Freckles
At Kessel Dermatology, we use the excel V+ laser’s clinically-proven wavelengths of light to treat hyperpigmentation. The targeted cells absorb the light, dry up and flake away revealing unpigmented skin. We are able to adjust this treatment to treat different skin tones, which makes this a very versatile and effective treatment for our patients. At your initial consultation, our providers will determine the number of treatment sessions necessary to clear the hyperpigmentation, depending on the size, location and color of the spots.
Photo Courtesy of Cutera. Disclaimer: Individual results may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
As with any procedure, the costs depend on the specific condition for which treatment is being provided and how many treatments are needed. Which varies based on condition and degree of severity
The excel V+™, which was developed by Cutera, is a state of the art laser system for providing treatment of a variety of vascular skin conditions. Many skin conditions manifest in the form of broken or abnormal blood vessels in the skin, such is the case with rosacea, in which the facial blood vessels dilate excessively causing redness and flushing. The excel V+™ treats these conditions by administering a unique high power green laser that is absorbed by the abnormal blood vessels in the skin. The laser heats the abnormal vessels until they are removed. At the end of treatment, the patient’s natural skin tone and color are restored.
The excel V+™ has been shown effective at treating a number of conditions, including rosacea, acne, telangiectasias, leg veins, brown spots, hyperpigmentation, poikiloderma, fine lines, and cherry angiomas. The excel V+™ treats mild and severe forms of these conditions. The system may also have a cosmetic benefit for patients who have skin lesions or scars from past injuries or surgeries.
The benefit of excel V+™ is that the treatment can be highly adjusted to ensure that the provider is delivering a level of treatment that specifically matches the patient’s skin condition. The system contains various wavelength modes, allowing the delivery of both short pulses for superficial blemishes, such as small lesions and skin discoloration, and longer pulses for deeper vascular conditions, such as leg veins and nodular port wine stains. It also offers a wide range of laser spot sizes to ensure that small treatment areas can be targeted at greater precision and larger areas can be treated in a shorter period. This high level of customization is what makes excel V+™ so effective at treating, often in one session, so many different conditions, which, in the past, would have required several different systems or procedures.
During the initial consultation with the patient, our providers determine if treatment with the excel V+™ is appropriate. Unlike other procedures, injections or topical anesthesia are not required throughout the duration of the 15 – 30 minute procedure. Depending on the condition, the provider places the excel V+™ handpiece over the affected areas of the skin until the abnormal vessels diminish. To minimize discomfort and protect the patient’s skin, the excel V+™ uses a proprietary cooling mechanism.
Yes! All skin types identified in the Fitzpatrick skin type (ranging from very dark to very light) classification can be treated with the excel V+™ system because of the customizable wavelength settings of this laser.
The number of sessions depends on various parameters, including the size, thickness and color of the vascular lesion. Superficial vascular lesions such as small telangiectasia and diffused redness are easiest to treat; some patients might see significant improvement after just one treatment.
Although many patients report few if any side effects, those most commonly noticed are slight reddening and local swelling of the skin. Some patients may experience bruising and, in rare instances, blistering may occur. These side effects resolve after about one week.
The laser energy from excel V+™ can be directed at fine lines and wrinkles to stimulate neocollagenesis, which is a technical word for the healing process in which your skin starts to rebuild itself with the building blocks collagen and elastin. The laser’s energy can also break up the disordered collagen in scars and stimulate neocollagenesis to rebuild smoother, more orderly skin. For shallow, pitted scars—such as acne scars—the laser stimulates the growth of healthy new skin to fill out the depression so that your skin is smoother and more even.