How Do Halo’s Ablative and Non-Ablative Energies Work?

Laser treatments remain a popular choice for women and men who want to get a rejuvenated look on the face, thanks to the treatments’ versatility and reliable results. When it comes to laser treatments, Cross Medical Group often recommends a particular strategy for anyone seeking a smoother texture, more even tone, and brighter look: Halo. Our Philadelphia-based team always strives to offer the most advanced and effective treatment options available, with Halo standing out among a wide field of options.

Halo is an especially versatile device because it offers both ablative and non-ablative benefits. For anyone not immediately familiar with how lasers work, that means the device removes tissue from the skin’s outer layer (ablation), as well as trigger’s rejuvenating processes below the surface.

Take a closer look at what that means for patients:

Ablative Lasers

An ideal way to give the skin’s surface a fresh look is to remove the dry and worn layers at the top, literally removing tissue to reveal more youthful skin beneath. This also prompts a beneficial healing reaction for further improvements.

While the results from an ablative treatment session can be dramatic, the ablative approach also requires some time dedicated to allowing the skin to heal.

Non-ablative Lasers

Another strategy for laser-based skin rejuvenation involves kick-starting collagen and elastin production in fibroblasts below the surface. This leaves the top layers intact, since the light energy passes through and impacts the specialized cells beneath.

Since non-ablative treatments do not remove tissue, the healing process is much shorter—if it requires any time for recovery at all. The trade-off here is that the results are more subtle.

The Halo Difference

Halo was the first hybrid fractional laser, which means it is not strictly ablative or non-ablative. The treatment does remove surface tissue, but in a grid pattern made up of dots. This keeps much of the surface intact while still triggering the same desired healing processes that give the skin a brighter look and smoother texture.

In this way, the treatment provides more ablative-type results with more non-ablative type recovery needed after. That’s a win-win!

For more information about Halo, other laser options, and any treatments available, contact the Cross Medical Group team by calling 215.561.9100 (Philadelphia) or 610.688.9100 (Villanova).