14 DAY TRIAL // Laser pulse fights wrinkles and rejuvenates the skin, a new research carried out by Susanne Dams at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has shown.
Dermatologists and beauticians already use laser treatment, and for a while now, but the impact on the skin and the underlying processes have not been fully investigated.
This is why Dams focused her PhD dissertation on the matter (she gained it from the Biomedical Engineering Department at TU/e).
The principle of laser is introducing heat under the skin, because under the influence of heat shocks of 45ºC, the skin cells produce more collagen, thus giving the skin its elasticity and firmness.
Previous research has studied the effects of light, but little was known about laser and its effects.
To solve this matter, she first tested the effect of heat of cell cultures, by giving them heat shocks at 45 and 60°C, without the laser, to rule out any other effects.
Afterward, she conducted the same tests on pieces of excised human skin, before adding a laser to the experiment.
The results were very conclusive: the best effect was given by heat shocks of 45°C lasting eight to ten seconds.
Dams added that higher temperatures damage the skin cells – two seconds exposure at 60ºC causes cell necrosis.
The appropriate heat shocks increase the production of collagen and this is making the skin look younger, as after the age of 25 years, the human body declines and wrinkles appear.
There is also the question of how long the rejuvenating effects last, but Dam only managed to find out that the gene expression returns to its normal after 48 hours.
Beauty treatments have shown that the extra collagen does contribute to skin rejuvenation for a longer period, reports AlphaGalileo.
There are people who will say that this study actually claims that heat rejuvenates the skin, rather than laser, but in Dams' opinion, this remains the safest method to get rid of wrinkles.
She says that “a laser allows treatment with great precision, because it can specifically heat specific elements in the skin while leaving the rest unharmed.
“This allows the optimal effect to be achieved.”
Dams worked with Philips Research Eindhoven on this research.