BBL™ (BROADBAND LIGHT)
The great thing about ourBroadBand Light treatment is how it can be tailored for each patient’s unique skin type and goals. Whether you’re looking to create a balanced and clear complexion, eliminate unwanted hair, or improve skin laxity, Dr. Duncan and our certified nurse practitioner are able to customize a BBL treatment plan for you.
- Powerful IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatment for skin rejuvenation
- Very little to no downtime
- Multiple uses and applications to address your specific concerns
BroadBand Light™ Skin Rejuvenation
Our list of concerns with our skin gets longer and longer as we get older. Whether you’re battling age spots, visible veins, or a loss of firmness, it could make feeling confident about your appearance quite a challenge. Dr. Diane Duncan and the team at Plastic Surgical Associates in Colorado want our patients to love the look of their skin and to be free of the stubborn skin problems that come with aging, sun exposure, and an active lifestyle. This is why we recommend BBL skin rejuvenation for achieving beautifully natural results with little to no downtime.
What can BroadBand Light do for you?
- Reduce pigmentation (freckles and age spots)
- Improve the appearance of small facial veins and rosacea
- Treat acne
- Increase skin elasticity
- Eliminate unwanted hair
REAL PATIENT STORY
Before and post 12 years of routine Forever Young BBL™ treatments Photos courtesy of Sciton®
The great thing about ourBroadBand Light treatment is how it can be tailored for each patient’s unique skin type and goals. Whether you’re looking to create a balanced and clear complexion, eliminate unwanted hair, or improve skin laxity, Dr. Duncan and our certified nurse practitioner are able to customize a BBL treatment plan for you.
There are various BroadBand Light treatments that may be used based on your specific goals:
- Forever Young BBL™: For reducing the appearance of skin aging (pigmentation, age spots, sun damage, etc.)
- Forever Clear BBL™: For treating stubborn acne
- Forever Bare BBL™: For reducing unwanted face or body hair
- SkinTyte II™: For tightening areas of skin laxity (loose skin)
The BroadBand Light Treatment
The number of treatments needed will vary depending on your existing skin condition and goal outcome. A single BBL session may take as little as 15 minutes to perform, but will vary based on the size of the treatment area and the type of BBL treatment.
During your BroadBand Light treatment, the BBL handpiece will be passed over the target area of your skin, delivering small pulses of light energy. Most describe the sensation as similar to some light rubber band snaps accompanied by a warming feel. A topical anesthetic is generally not needed, but you may request this for your BBL treatment for added comfort if you have especially sensitive skin.
Your BBL Results
As soon as your BBL treatment is complete, you will be able to get back to your normal routine with virtually no downtime. You may experience some redness or darkness of the treated areas, but this typically fades within a few short hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
At Plastic Surgical Associates in Fort Collins, CO, we understand that choosing plastic surgery is a significant decision, and you likely have many questions. Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section provides detailed answers about our surgical procedures, including breast augmentation, tummy tucks, facelifts, liposuction, and arm contouring. We address common concerns about recovery time, anesthesia options, safety, and what to expect before, during, and after surgery. Serving patients throughout Northern Colorado, including Loveland, Windsor, and Greeley, we’re committed to providing clear, helpful information so you can feel confident and informed every step of the way.
Aren’t all lasers about the same? What’s special about erbium laser?
Erbium
Erbium laser is preferred by many physicians and patients because of its safety record. CO2 lasers do not discriminate between the layers of the skin and can go quite deep, causing permanent hypopigmentation and a “waxy” look to the skin. Erbium laser can fully remove the top layers of skin, and punctate bleeding signals the physician to stop when the superficial layer of the dermis is encountered. Erbium laser heals very quickly—about six days for a full ablative erbium laser treatment– as opposed to ablative CO2 or plasma type treatments, which take 3-4 weeks to heal.
What does Dr. Duncan do differently? I’ve had laser before and was not impressed with the results.
Many physicians offer laser resurfacing, and the results can be mixed. The majority of laser offerings are “fractional”, meaning that only a part of the skin surface is treated. If the goal is a modest improvement without much down time, then fractional laser, which leaves small dots where the treatment was performed, can be a good solution. However, if maximum correction and wrinkle removal is your goal, a combination of erbium full field treatment plus pro-fractional laser will give the best improvement of an aged appearance. Dr. Duncan is a key opinion leader for Sciton, and speaks about the procedure at medical meetings in the US and internationally on this subject.
How long does the effect of erbium laser last?
The effect of a full surface (not fractional) treatment can last up to 20 years if maintained by regularly using a good sunblock and a good skin care regimen. The procedure is safe to perform on an annual basis if a more modest procedure is performed. A study performed in California showed a reduction of genetic age markers following Sciton laser treatments. While laser resurfacing will not prevent aging, it can reverse the appearance of pigmentation, wrinkles, solar elastosis, acne scarring, and crepey skin.
What’s the difference between full field erbium and fractional with Halo?
Full Field Erbium vs. Fractional Laser (HALO)
Full field erbium treatments remove the entire skin surface, therefore achieving maximum correction of patient concerns. Halo or other fractional treatments only affect part of the skin surface. The maximum density of the Sciton laser is 22%. This makes healing more rapid, and the temporary deformity is less severe. Halo combines two wavelengths of laser: 2940 (erbium) and 1470 (sublative) to form a hybrid laser treatment that works in two ways. Traditional erbium laser will improve the skin surface. The sub-ablative laser targets the epidermis below the skin surface. This laser type can also improve the appearance of broken blood vessels in the superficial dermis. Both lasers can be adjusted to reach different depths of skin, so they are very precise. The Halo laser is very good for treating the skin on hands, arms, knees, and the neck as well as the face.
What is the recovery time, and what type of results can I expect?
Recovery from Laser Resurfacing
With full field erbium laser resurfacing, recovery can take 6-10 days, depending on the depth of treatment. Most patients can apply mineral powder makeup at 6-7 days. Fractional laser or Halo hybrid laser treatments usually take 3-5 days to heal. The temporary deformity is less with fractional and Halo treatments, but the results are more modest as well. Full field erbium laser is generally not recommended for skin types V and VI, as post-inflammatory pigmentation can be a concern. For these patients, we recommend radiofrequency assisted thermal micro-needling, often with a topical application to boost healing time.
Results
Results with both approaches are quite good. Full field erbium usually corrects over 90% of wrinkles, sun damage, and the crepey texture of aging skin. Fractional approaches can result in about a 30% correction with a moderate treatment. Therefore we recommend a series of 3 fractional treatments for the best outcome.