Pigment & General Sun Damage
The decision on which treatment is suitable for your particular problem will obviously be made at your consultation. It will depend as to the intensity of treatment required for your condition, as well as the extent of down-time that can be expected.
Medical Peels in particular, have very little down-time, and are often referred to as 'lunch time peels'. However you will need a course of 4-6, with a peel every 1-2 weeks. They can be combined with Micro-dermabrasion if required.
Moderate Peels, such as EASY TCA & UNIDEEP, will need 4-5 days of recovery time, but with the improvement occurring much quicker.
Obagi Nu-Derm and the ICP are both treatments which give 2-3 days of initial down-time, but also involve a maintenance program which usually lasts a month. They give a substantial improvement over the first few days, which becomes progressive over the next 4 weeks or so.
Laser or Intense Pulse Light (IPL) are particularly effective for more diffuse pigmentary changes, especially where the skin is very delicate, such as with the Neck, Decolletage and Hands. These improvements can be considerably increased using the photosensitizing agent 5ALA.
Photodynamic Therapy, with Blue or Red light, is excellent in the treatment of chronic long-term sun damage, such as Solar Keratosis.