Paper Magazine

A Deep Dive Into This Year's Cult Treatments 

"It's amazing," Dr. Wexler tells me as we lounge in her office discussing Aerolase Neo, a 1064 YAG (which stands for yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser that's healing skin with a grab bag of complexion-perfecting benefits at a rapid pace. With over two decades of research in its development, Aerolase combines a 1064-nanometer wavelength (uniquely capable of reaching both the epidermis surface level that you can see and the thick dermis layer that it protects) with patented 650 Microsecond Technology. For tissue, 650 microseconds falls below the Thermal Relaxation Time, so skin can cool itself between pulses, making it safer and more comfortable than past iterations. An appointment only takes about 20 minutes, and it's so painless that patients often don't even know the session has begun (including Wexler when her husband and fellow dermatologist, Eugene, first performed the treatment on her). "There's no other 1064 with a short pulse, and the short pulse means that it goes through the epidermis and doesn't allow the skin to get hot, so there's no burning, and there's no redness." There's also no downtime after an appointment, which means clients can apply makeup in an hour or less and go straight to the office or cocktails without the need to don a black veil similar to Samantha's famous treatment recovery look on Sex and the City. 

A recent clinical study by the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology introduced the "novel" machine to its list of treatments for acne, which is now considered a "chronic rather than an adolescent condition." Another study focused on skin rejuvenation and published in The Journal of Laser Surgery & Medicine, noted improvements not only in acne but in pore size, fine lines, tightening, pigmentation, spider veins and sun damage that would usually require multiple lasers or light-based therapies. Additionally, it confirmed that Aerolase is beneficial "even on tanned or darker skin tones" that could rarely be addressed by previous laser technology. "It's stimulating your body to heal itself. The laser targets hemoglobin, melanin, and water, which means this one laser treats inflammatory diseases like rosacea, blood vessels, bruises and melasma, and targeting water enables the stimulation of new collagen and elastic tissue with an improvement of acne scars, tightening of the face and neck, and lip plumping," Wexler explains. In other words, it can safely address a myriad of issues without the risk of scarring and hyperpigmentation that can be associated with old-school lasers. To put it simply, she says, "There's no numbing, there's no pain, there's no mess." Three treatments about three weeks apart are recommended for full benefits.