People with scars that restrict movement or daily activities are ideal candidates for laser scar treatment. After three months when your wounds have healed, you can begin laser treatment. Your doctor may recommend three to six sessions spaced out every six to eight weeks. Both laser types are compatible and can be used in the same treatment session.

Occasionally, PDL can be treated in minutes during an outpatient clinic visit. Rather than using anaesthetics, the machine simply produces a cold spray before the laser pulse, which dulls the pain. Most people require one to three sessions of therapy. Different types of scars, such as keloids, hypertrophic scars, and red scars, may need other treatments to achieve the desired cosmetic result. An incomplete response or recurrence is possible with any treatment.

Typically, a local anaesthetic cream is applied to the affected area 30–45 minutes before the fractional CO2 laser is administered. It removes superficial layers of damaged skin by repeatedly blasting in a scanning pattern of short-pulsed light energy (known as ultra pulse). The actual process takes only about 15‑20 minutes.

When the procedure is complete, the skin is left with multiple microthermal zones penetrating deep into the skin, killing any remaining dead skin cells. This can help your body produce more collagen and naturally speed up the healing process. This results in the eventual replacement of damaged skin cells with new, healthy ones.