The Erbium YAG laser is just one of 14 types of lasers (including the CO2) used in the office of Mark S. Nestor, M.D., where Yolanda works. Some of the instruments are "nonablative" lasers, meaning no skin is removed so no recovery time is needed. Says Nestor, "People can literally come in over lunch hour and go back to work or out to dinner that night."

Nonablative laser technologies include:

• NLite. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in August 2000, the NLite technology improves the appearance of wrinkles without damaging the skin's surface. The technology, which makes a person gradually appear younger by increasing the skin's natural production of collagen, requires no anesthesia and no recovery time.
• Cool Touch. This technology, like the NLite, works to lessen wrinkles without producing an external wound. While applying a cooling spray to the skin's outer surface, the Cool Touch penetrates the skin and stimulates it to produce more skin-thickening collagen. Reservations agent Constanza Giraldo, who got the Cool Touch treatment for her acne scars after many other approaches proved unsuccessful, says of her results: "My skin looks smoother, and the scars are not that deep anymore. I feel more confident."

Constanza's procedure was less physically (and socially) taxing than some other techniques—she went right back to work afterward—and the rewards were correspondingly less dramatic, though they matched her expectations. "Less pain, less gain" aptly describes the realistic potential of the various laser skin rejuvenation technologies.

Other, nonlaser procedures also can rejuvenate the skin with a variety of risk-reward tradeoffs. Some treatments can be applied at home. Others, such as microdermabrasion, dermabrasion and chemical peels, are additional procedures performed by plastic surgeons and dermatologists.

Microdermabrasion: A Quick Fix for Light Wrinkles
Jean Trapani has undergone several consecutive once-a-week microdermabrasions—a treatment in which a highly controlled vacuum moves fine, sand-like crystals across the face to smooth out lines and lighten age spots "Sometimes I feel the granules, but there's virtually no pain," says the 52-year-old office assistant. "It's a very pleasant treatment."

By stimulating the skin to heal itself, the technique effectively treats fine wrinkles and can reduce skin imperfections like superficial acne scars, Richards says, but it can't be expected to reach the moderate and deeper wrinkles that laser resurfacing can.

Why choose microdermabrasion, then? Not everybody needs the deep-down reach of laser resurfacing, and microdermabrasion has two notable advantages over lasers, Richards explains: virtually no down time for recovery and no significant risks.