Patients that should not be treated include:

• Those who are pregnant

• Those who are sunburned or have irritated skin in the sites to be treated

• Those who are exhibiting unidentified skin conditions in the sites to be treated 

• Those who have healed poorly after other types of laser treatments 

• Patients prone to skin discoloration 

• Patients who are taking photosensitizing medication, such as Accutane, should consider discontinuing the medication 6 months before treatment 

• Patients who are taking topical Retin-A, patients should wait 2 weeks before treatment 

• Don’t apply laser energy to any raised lesions, aside from purely red ones i.e. angiomas; other lesions should first be checked by a dermatologist

• Patients who are sunburned should wait until the burn subsides. Herpes Simplex Labialis (fever blisters) can be activated by laser treatment, especially on the upper lip, and patients with a tendency for fever blistering can be started on antiviral medication before treatment. 

The most serious side effects may include:

• Severe abdominal pain that may be inflammation of the pancreas (or pancreatitis) or gallbladder, hypersensitivity, and hypoglycemia.

Some aesthetic effects may include:

• Facial fat loss, as you are losing weight throughout your body

• Loss of muscle mass. Strength training and weightlifting are extremely important to minimizing loss of muscle mass.

• Hair loss, which is very common when you lose weight.

Discuss with your clinician if you’re starting to see changes or want to discuss strategies to prevent hair loss, facial thinning, and skin changes.

This can vary depending on skin and severity of the condition, but generally 4 to 6 sessions are required to achieve a good result. After that, the patient may need maintenance every few months depending on their skin type.

 No, there is just a mild, very tolerable sensation of heat. This is one of the key technical breakthroughs of Aerolase technology. The Neo Elite has set a new standard for virtually pain-free treatment, even on darker skin types, thanks to MicroPulse-1064 technology.

Actually, the Neo Elite is the safest laser in the industry for darker skin types or tanned skin. This is because of MicroPulse-1064 technology, which essentially eliminates treatment pain while minimizing the chances of hyper- and/ or hypopigmentation. Patients with skin types IV–VI should not be treated with on the face with high power using the 2mm lens as the risk of hyper- and/or hypo- pigmentation is increased.

The patient should shave 2 or 3 days before the procedure, leaving small 2 to 3mm stubs of hair, but no longer. This is critically important for several reasons: 1. Visible stubs ensures the hairs haven’t been waxed or plucked, so the shaft and follicle are intact and therefore efficacy is not compromised; 2. Seeing the stubs allows you to establish the appropriate fluence for the patient, which should be set at a level that causes most of the stubs to visibly singe; 3. Seeing the stubs allows you to target the areas with actual follicles, rather than wasting time delivering pulses on the skin in between follicles; and 4. Seeing the hairs that DON’T singe enables the clinician to perform a second pass of 1 or 2 pulses per hair that DID NOT respond, to enhance total clearance per session.

Melasma is a very common patchy brown, tan, or blue-gray facial skin discoloration, primarily seen on the upper cheeks, lip, forehead and chin of women 20–50 years of age. Uncontrolled sunlight exposure is considered the leading cause of melasma, especially in individuals with a genetic predisposition to this condition. Melasma is most common among pregnant women, called Chloasma, especially those of Latin and Asian descents. People with olive or darker skin, such as Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern individuals, have higher incidences of melasma.

Due to the 650 microsecond pulse width of the Neo, energy is delivered in the skin very quickly. This means that treatments are very gentle which allows the practitioner the ability to combine with other treatments in the same session for optimal results. - How? -The Neo is able to treat targets that are deeper in the dermis which results in the stimulation of collagen production, coagulation of vasculature (vessels), and absorption of melanin which makes the device extremely versatile while providing longer lasting results. Other modalities that target other skin issues can be used in conjunction to give a better, evidence-based result.