Visible Healing · Timeline · Pacific Plaza
Fractional CO2 resurfacing has a healing phase you can see: the skin seeps, bronzes, crusts and peels before pink new skin shows through. How long that takes depends on the depth and density Dr Sin Yong sets for your scars, so this page gives the usual pattern and the points to plan around.
Each pulse vaporises a narrow column of skin, and repair starts from the untouched skin around it. How fast each stage passes depends on the settings used, so the table shows a usual pattern. At Atelier the laser is the DEKA Tetra Pro, one of the clinic's DEKA platforms; Dr Sin Yong holds a Key Opinion Leader appointment with DEKA.
| When | What you may notice | Most people can |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Redness, swelling, warmth, pinpoint bleeding and clear or straw-coloured seeping. Most people feel heat and tightness rather than pain. | Rest at home; calls with the camera off. |
| Days 1–3 | The seeping settles and the surface turns bronzed and rough, like fine sandpaper. Swelling is worst in the mornings, especially around the eyes. Tight, itchy skin. | Stay home or work remotely; an easy walk once the swelling eases. |
| Days 4–7 | Crusts flake and peel off by themselves, showing pink new skin. At Atelier crusting and shedding usually take five to ten days. | Varies with depth and density; agreed with Dr SY beforehand. |
| Week 2 onwards | By now the surface has usually closed. The pink new skin fades gradually over the following weeks and stays sensitive to UV for longer than it looks. | Work and social plans once the surface has closed, on the timing agreed beforehand; mineral make-up once the clinic confirms closure. Strict sun protection continues. |
| When results show | Collagen keeps remodelling beneath for months; resurfacing results continue to improve for three to six months. Pinkness is healing, not the result. | Have the next scar step timed to healed skin at the follow-up visit. |
Work And Plans
Crusting and peeling show, and make-up cannot cover them, so pick dates when you can stay home or keep the camera off. The number of days depends on the depth planned for your scars, and Dr SY goes through it before treatment so leave can be arranged.
Home care in the meantime is on the CO2 laser aftercare page.
Slower Recovery
Events
For a wedding, photo shoot or holiday, the question is how far ahead to have the laser. Give Dr SY your fixed dates at consultation so the session can be timed around them, and allow for pinkness that lingers after the crusts have gone. A trip somewhere hot or sunny is better after healing than during it.
In a scar plan with several steps, the CO2 stage is usually the most visible; how the steps fit together is on acne scar treatment downtime, and the protocol on Tetra Pro Scar³ acne scar treatment.
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Atelier Aesthetics · Owned by AYA
9 Scotts Road, Pacific Plaza #12-01A, Singapore 228210 · +65 8023 7170
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