How Long Will My Upper Lip Stay Red After Laser Resurfacing?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I  had an appt with you to talk about  a limited facelift and upper lip laser resurfacing and a bilateral lower blepharoplastics. I am having these items done to look younger for myself esteem and for my son’s wedding in November. I hope that telling you that  bit helps you remember me. I know you are a very busy man. I have a few questions about the upper lip laser resurfacing. Will this be like scar tissue that stays red or white color for life or will my natural face color come back? Also how long will this take to heal? Scale of 1 -10 pain wise ? I am a huge baby when it comes to pain. We mentioned my crows feet and my forehead with like three vertical lines.  I wanted gone do they need be resurfaced too if you do these other procedures how much extra would it be?

A: I remember you just like it was yesterday. When it comes to laser resurfacing, the skin is NOT turned to scar or does it remain red forever. There is definitely a ‘pink’ phase of the skin once it heals after the first week but that generally is gone by 4 to 6 weeks later. This would be particularly true in the white Caucasian (Fitzpatrick Type 1) skin that you have.

Most facial procedures, surprisingly, don’t have a lot of pain. Think back to your original lower blepharoplasty procedure years ago and, it may have looked bad, but it was not particularly painful.

As for your crow’s feet and vertical forehead lines, those are best treated by Botox injections. The most economical way to have that done is to have my nurse Lora do it. She is trained by me and provides those injectable treatments at 1/3 less cost than if I did them.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana