Can Plasma Pen leave scars?

Plasma pen treatments are on the up. They’re especially popular for eyelid lifts, neck lifts and to tighten other areas of the face and body. One of the most common questions I get asked is – can plasma pen leave scars?  It all depends on the skin being treated and the healing process. Here’s what you need to know:

How it works

Plasma skin tightening treatments involves using a pen like device, which targets minute particles of the skin, and basically puffs them up in smoke.  Plasma energy vaporises the skin where it hits, and turns it directly from a solid (your skin) into a gas (plume of smoke).

There are many devices on the market including PlexR, Plasma Revive, Plasma Fibroblast, which essentially do the same thing. They all cause hundreds of tiny wounds, wherever the treatment is taking place.

Let your skin heal – to avoid scars

The tiny wounds which have been created, then develop a scab or crust.  This looks like small brown/black spots all over the skin which has been treated.  The key to scarring or not scarring is partly due to how you look after the scabs. To avoid scarring you need to:

• Keep the scabs clean by washing them in cool boiled water.
• Do not pick them – let them drop off, even though they’ll be very itchy!
• Don’t use anything which can tangle and tug them off.
• Once they’ve dropped off, make sure you protect the skin with high SPF for at least 1 month.

Immediately after the treatment expect to get swelling (especially around the eyes) and your skin can feel very hot.  The scabs will start to develop quite quickly and can take between 5-10 days to drop off.

Skin type matters

If you have an Asian or Black skin type – you should definitely not have Plasma Pen treatments.  This is because you have a much higher concentration of melanin in your skin.  It’s likely that your pigmentation will be so disrupted you’ll be left with discoloured skin.

You run the risk of getting something called post inflammatory hyperpigmentation.  This is where the skin looks darker, or hypopigmentation – which is when the skin looks really light and loses it colour forever.

Other considerations about scarring

The majority of people who undergo plasma pen skin tightening will not get any scarring.  However here are some factors to consider, which may lead to scarring.

• Make sure the aesthetic therapist who carries out the treatment knows what they are doing! Sounds very obvious but I’ve seen the results of treatments by novice aestheticians which have gone badly.
• The treatments dots should be well spaced out – not too close together. If the skin is over-treated it will lose too much pigmentation, even on a light skin type and the skin can become hypopigmented.  This basically means that it will lose its colour and look very very pale and won’t match the skin around it.
• On the eyelids, it’s better to carry out more treatments with small improvements each time than to carry out very aggressive treatments.  This is because if the wounds are too close, they can start to merge into one big wound, then your skin can’t heal properly. This is especially true around the eyes as you can’t keep your eyelids still.
• Only get this treatment done if you are physically well, and don’t usually scar.  You will know if you have poor healing skin – if you do think twice about having a treatment on a very visible part of your skin.
• Get the treatment in a non-visible area if you can.  For example if we carry out a neck tightening treatment, we actually ‘plasma’ the skin at the back of the neck, to tighten the front!  On most people this area is hidden under the hair and much less visible.  This way – the client feels much less worried and more confident about going ahead.

Is it worth it?

I’d say that really depends on how much your eyelids, your neck or wherever it is bothers you. Plus you can consider what the alternatives treatments are. On the eyelids, the only real alternative is surgery, so Plamsa treatments are less invasive than surgery but with very good results.

I hope this short article has helped answer the question – can plasma pen leave scars?  Obviously it can, but if you follow my advice you’ll hugely reduce the risk and get all the benefits this fabulous treatment offers.

If you’d like any more information on Plasma treatments including prices –  visit our Plasma Revive Page here.

Or you might like to read: Can you tighten your eyelids without surgery?

Alternatively feel free to email me at: rach@radiantliving.co.uk if you have a question.