How New Laser Treatments Are Transforming Skin Tightening—With Less Pain and Downtime
You're sitting in a doctor's office with numbing cream spread on your face like buttercream icing on a cake. You're preparing to have a laser beam penetrate your skin at the same temperature that water boils. You're bracing for your face to resemble tuna tartare for at least a week.
Sounds scary? For a long time, this may have been the reality for anyone seeking a laser treatment to tighten or tone skin. Today's lasers, however, are far less harsh, reducing pain and downtime for many patients—and might be even more effective for lifting and brightening. These next-gen options are also safer across skin tones. 'A lot of [older lasers] readily absorb melanin, so [people with darker complexions] can get really significant burns,' says Michelle Henry, MD, a dermatologist in New York. Now, many of the lasers she currently has in her office are safe for dark skin.
Perhaps as a result, lasers are booming: There were over 3.5 million skin resurfacing procedures in 2023, a 5 percent increase over 2022, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual statistics report. Here are some of the best lasers that don't belong in a sequel to The Substance.
According to Eunice Park, MD, a facial plastic surgeon in New York, a method called 'Pico Sculpting,' which is popular in South Korea to tighten skin, is gaining ground in the U.S. Using super-short pulses of energy at different depths, the picosecond laser can target its effects: It can plunge to deep levels, like a scuba diver, to tighten without disturbing the outermost layer. It can sweep through the middle layers, like a snorkeler, to rejuvenate. And it can skim the surface, like a surfer, to smooth texture. Though skin might be slightly red or swollen for a few days, the minimal downtime unveils results starting within a week.
Ablative lasers are a great tool for resurfacing, but they can also make you look sunburned for up to a month. UltraClear is the first cold fiber ablative laser that stimulates collagen without causing excessive redness. ('Cold' doesn't refer to a temperature, but rather for the way the laser uses a unique 2,910-nanometer wavelength to treat the skin, according to Arielle Kauvar, MD, a dermatologist in New York City.) UltraClear delivers quick pulses of energy in intervals to curtail heat damage and pain. Unlike other ablative lasers, UltraClear's 3DMiracl treatment seldom requires any numbing cream beforehand and has less downtime, though there may be a bit of redness or swelling. Patients can notice skin improvements within five days.
Mosaic 3D works well for hyperpigmentation, acne scarring, and wrinkles. It's a non-ablative laser (meaning it doesn't disturb the skin's surface), which Henry says makes it ideal for all skin tones. But precision is what makes this laser a secret weapon: It has a cold sapphire tip for chilling the skin; an air-cooled rolling system for even coverage; and an algorithm called 3D Controlled Chaos Technology to control the space and depth of where beams enter the skin. These features allow the laser to sweep over tricky-to-reach areas, like around the eyes and mouth. Skin may be mildly red for up to 48 hours, but downtime is only two to five days.
A version of this story appears in the April 2025 issue of ELLE.
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Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. I have read the same beauty stories you have. In fact, maybe I've written some of them. I know that there are many well-regarded body exfoliators to get soft, smooth, silky skin. I know that exfoliating is meant to be a full-body practice. I know that if you're truly a devotee to the temple of soft skin, like most beauty enthusiasts are, you should be scrubbing, sloughing, and dry-brushing all over, all the time. But I don't like to. And the simple reason for that is: I am lazy. Exfoliating your body feels like exercise. The other reason is that most body exfoliators are unpleasant, and leave behind an oily residue that makes me feel like I need to shower again. The very popular, very trendy brown sugar-type body exfoliators also feel like something I could make in my own kitchen and thus, are a waste of money to buy. But (you must have known there would be another 'but' in there), there is one body exfoliator I like using. Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Petal Polish is a really nice body exfoliator that makes me feel like I'm maximizing my limited time in the shower. It boasts not just one type of exfoliator (physical, via sea salt granules), but three (14 percent alpha hydroxy acid and pomegranate enzymes). The salt granules don't have sharp edges, and the exfoliator mix lifts and scrubs off dead skin and hyperpigmentation (meaning it does great things for mosquito bites and acne scars). I like that the granules are fine and are noticeable, without being too in-your-face (sort of like Keanu Reeves). And I really like the base of the exfoliator—it's a cream, made of hyaluronic acid—as well as the brand's proprietary tulip complex (made from actual, imperfect tulip bulbs) that transforms into a fluffy, not-too-rich lather when you add water. The combination leaves my skin feeling moisturized and soft (and, most importantly, clean) at the same time. The brand's founder, Kim van Haaster, also has a real love story that I like telling people because it sounds like something out of a Canadian Lifetime movie—Canadian, because the Lifetime movies are better there (ask any native). She was living in New York, working in beauty, and went on a trip to Ibiza with her girlfriends, when she met a man in a club. As Usher sings, they fell in love in this club, and the man turned out to be a fourth-generation tulip farmer. Haaster then created her brand based on the tulip waste byproduct she observed at his family farm. Currently pregnant with sensitive skin to boot, she recently discovered that Bloomeffects' Royal Tulip Polish is gentle enough for her skin, and, she promises, even for your face and hair. I haven't tried it on my face and hair yet, but I do get a kick out of using the tulip-decorated wooden spoon that comes with each jar. And the super-soft skin after application, of course.
