If you’re interested in laser treatment this winter, it pays to understand the basics of how lasers work on your skin, what happens during the healing process, and why after-care for your delicate skin is so vital. Plus, as we encourage all our patients to use a tissue repair gel (TR Pro+™) during this time, we’ll explain how it helps you optimise your results.
Laser technology has been a proven tool in aesthetic medicine for decades. What’s exciting, though, is that the technology keeps advancing and taking skin rejuvenation to new heights.
Laser can treat a wide range of skin concerns, including fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, vascular conditions, scar reduction, acne scars, and tattoo removal, as well as providing skin resurfacing and rejuvenation.
At Samara Aesthetics, we offer fractional CO2 laser, Fraxel laser and Q-Switch Pico laser. So if you’re interested in treatment, the first step is to book a consultation with one of our registered cosmetic nurses to assess your skin. If they think a laser treatment is appropriate for you, they’ll develop a treatment plan. Then, if you’re happy with your plan, you can proceed. Before you do, though, let’s take a brief look at what laser actually does.
What does laser do?
Laser uses intense light to create controlled micro-injuries or thermal stress, destroying targeted skin cells. This disruption will stimulate collagen production and promote the development of new, healthy skin cells. But before that time (during the initial healing phase), your skin may feel pretty tender, like you’re experiencing severe sunburn.
Effectively, this tenderness is due to the top layer of skin being stressed or removed, exposing raw, sensitive, and healing skin. You’ll typically experience redness, inflammation, swelling, and, depending on the type of laser, even a little oozing during this time. There is also increased blood flow to the area, which is why your skin will look red and feel hot.
Remember, too, that in the first few days of recovery, your skin will be extremely photosensitive, so it needs to be protected. Rest assured, though, all these symptoms are part of the normal healing process.
Introducing TR Pro+™ hydrogel
To help protect your vulnerable skin during this time, we encourage all our micro needling and laser patients to use TR Pro+™ gel. ‘TR’ stands for tissue repair. TR Pro+™ is an after-care gel created in Australia specifically to address skin healing, specifically wound healing, aesthetic after-care and skin regeneration.
TR Pro+™ is a hydrogel that helps damaged skin by creating an environment that supports the healing process. It hydrates skin internally, while providing a barrier to reduce trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). And, it’s super comfortable on the skin.
Essentially, it cools, soothes, and effectively reduces irritation and redness that commonly follow aesthetic procedures such as Fraxel and CO2 laser.
Key ingredients
- Beta-glucan (Glucoprime®) – a naturally derived sugar that is purified from the cell wall of baker’s yeast, which has immunomodulatory properties that support skin regeneration.
- Triethanolamine – balances the pH of the gel to avoid irritation to your skin
- Carbomer – helps the gel retain water, providing a soothing texture and leaving your skin looking bright.
TR Pro+™ gel also has a neutral pH and no parabens or fragrances, making it suitable for most skin types.
What is Glucoprime®?
The key active ingredient in TR Pro+™ is Glucoprime®, a beta-glucan purified from a yeast used to make bread and brew beer. Beta-glucan is a common component found in bacteria, plants, and fungi, where it is a key component of the cell wall. They are almost completely made of sugar.
Until recently, extracting beta-glucans while retaining their complex molecular structure has been a difficult and expensive process. And for these beta-glucans to effectively support skin healing, it’s vital that their structure is not compromised. This Aussie company have developed a proprietary process that leaves the natural structure more intact, allowing Glucoprime® to exert a positive influence on damaged skin.
How it works on your skin
When you apply TR Pro+™ topically, it moves from the epidermis (your outer layer of skin) to the dermis (your deeper layer of skin).
Here, it comes in contact with macrophages. Macrophages are the immune ‘guard cells’ that look out for foreign pathogens like bacteria and yeast.
These macrophages have specific receptors on their surface that recognise the (yeast-derived) Glucoprime®.
The macrophages engage with Glucoprime® a bit like a lock and key. And, just like a key can open a lock, the Glucoprime® can activate the macrophages by engaging with the receptors.
Once macrophages are activated, they trigger a healing response. They attract other helpful cells and release signals that start inflammation, your body’s first step in repair.
Importantly, Glucoprime® helps ensure that this inflammatory process is balanced, supporting healthier, more effective skin healing.
How TR Pro+™ supports skin regeneration
- Film-forming, flexible, with full contact: TR Pro+™ has been specifically formulated as a hydrogel that dries to form a thin, transparent, and durable protective film that stays in constant contact with the skin.
- Hydration and water loss: the product is partially absorbed into the skin, providing hydration while also providing a barrier to reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
- Aesthetic benefit: TR Pro+™ has been shown in clinical trials to reduce skin wrinkling and increase elastosis.
- Wound healing and scar formation: TR Pro+™ absorbs exudate (the fluid that leaks during normal wound healing), improving wound healing. The increased hydration from the gel provides a favourable environment for normal scar healing.
- Protection: TR Pro+™ provides a barrier that protects against microbial infection while still allowing the skin to breathe.
- Cooling effect: the product provides a cooling effect to soothe damaged skin and help relieve pain and itching. It also allows heat generated from cosmetic procedures to dissipate freely.
- Reduces oxidative stress: TR Pro+™ has antioxidant capacity to protect your skin against oxidative stress caused by UV radiation.
- Stops bleeding: the product can stem bleeding and manage exudate.
How to use TR Pro+™
At the conclusion of your skin treatment, your cosmetic nurse will apply a thin layer of TR Pro+™ gel to your skin. Once it’s left to dry and absorbed into the skin, it’s no longer visible and will feel calming and soothing immediately.
The product is long-lasting, so you only need to apply it once a day. Here are the official instructions from their website:
“On Day 1, rinse the treated areas with sterile water. Apply a generous layer of TR Pro+® similar to the application of a mask (approximately 2 mm thick, or the thickness of a 20-cent coin) and allow the gel to absorb. The area can be covered with a loose dressing if appropriate.
On Days 2-5, rinse the affected area, apply TR Pro+® in the evening and leave overnight. After showering in the morning, apply moisturiser as necessary throughout the day if the skin surface feels dry and is intact.
After 5 days, and subject to your healthcare professional’s advice, TR Pro+® can be applied twice weekly. Where scarring may occur, TR Pro+® can continue to be used for up to 90 days as the hydrating properties of TR Pro+® may have a positive benefit on normal scar formation.
When applying TR Pro+® there may be a brief mild stinging sensation before the cooling effect of the gel becomes apparent, at which time there may also be a feeling of skin tightening which is normal. Use moisturiser through the day on intact skin if necessary.”
LEARN MORE: Having Fraxel laser? You can read about what’s involved, including pre-and post-treatment skin care requirements, here >
