About the treatment
Carbon does the catching, the laser does the lifting
A thin layer of liquid carbon is painted over the face and left to settle into the pores. Carbon is porous and grips oil, dead cells and everything else sitting in there. Then a Q-switched laser is passed over the skin, and the carbon absorbs that energy almost completely.
The particles heat and break apart in a fraction of a second, taking whatever they had bound to with them. That is where the sharp clicking sound comes from, and why the treatment is over so quickly — the laser is not working on your skin so much as on the layer sitting on it.
A second effect comes free with the first. The heat that reaches the dermis is a mild, controlled stimulus to collagen, which is why a series does more for pore size and texture than any single session shows. It is known as the Hollywood Peel because of when people book it, not because the mechanism is glamorous.
The appointment
Start to finish
Short, entirely non-invasive, and you leave looking better than when you arrived rather than worse.
The mask goes on
Skin is cleansed, protective eyewear goes on, and the carbon is applied and left for a few minutes to draw into the pores. Nothing is felt at this stage. It looks dramatic in the mirror and washes off entirely by the end.
The first pass
A low-energy pass takes off surface carbon along with oil and dead cells. Warmth, a light snapping sensation, and a series of sharp clicks. No numbing cream, and nobody asks for it.
The second pass
A deeper pass reaches the remaining carbon in the pores and delivers the thermal stimulus that matters over a course. A calming serum and sunscreen finish the appointment.
The comparison
Carbon peel or acid peel?
Both are called peels and they solve different problems. This is the distinction we draw at almost every consultation for oily skin.
Carbon laser peel
- Works by heat and absorption, not chemistry
- Physically empties oil and debris out of the pore
- Best for oily, congested, large-pored skin
- No flaking afterwards; you look better the same evening
AFA chemical peel
- Works by loosening the bonds between surface cells
- Lifts the dead layer and the pigment sitting in it
- Best for tone, dullness and dry or reactive skin
- Light flaking for two or three days is normal
Skin that is both oily and uneven in tone does well alternating the two. If you are not sure which side of that line you sit on, it is a two-minute conversation with a good light — and we would rather have it before you book than after. The alternative for congestion without a laser is a Hydro Facial.
Indications
What is it good for?
Oil, congestion, visible pores and the dullness that comes with all three.
Deep, cystic acne needs a different plan — usually blue light therapy first. Everything available in south Calgary is on our Calgary SE clinic page.
Being straight with you
Three things worth knowing before you book
The glow is a week, the change is a course
One session buys you an event. Steadier oil production, pores that photograph smaller and a genuinely evener surface come from four to six sessions two to four weeks apart. Both are legitimate reasons to book — just know which one you are buying.
A tan is a hard no
The laser targets pigment, and a recent tan means pigment where it should not be. Two weeks with no sun exposure, no tanning bed and no self-tanner on the face before your appointment. Calgary sunshine in February counts, particularly if you ski.
It does not reach a scar
Enlarged pores it can improve. An indented acne scar sits below where this treatment works, and that needs collagen built from underneath. We will tell you that at the consultation rather than after your fourth session.
Getting ready
Pre & post treatment
The preparation matters more than the aftercare with this one, and it is mostly about pigment.
Two weeks out, then the last few days
- No sun, no tanning beds, no self-tanner on the face for two weeks. This is the one that gets appointments postponed.
- Stop retinoids and acids three to five days beforehand.
- No waxing or threading on the face for a week.
- Arrive completely clean: no make-up, no sunscreen, no moisturiser on the day.
- Tell us about cold sores — heat around the mouth can trigger one and it is easily prevented.
Once you leave
- A pink flush and some warmth for an hour or two. Nothing that stops you going out.
- Mild cleanser and a plain moisturiser only, for three to five days.
- No retinol, no vitamin C, no acids in that window.
- Nothing hot for a couple of days — showers, steam, the gym.
- SPF 30 or higher every morning, and stay out of direct sun while the skin settles.
Results
Carbon laser peel before and after
A client at You Glow Aesthetics. The difference is in the pores and the surface oil rather than in skin tone — that is the change this treatment is designed to make.
Individual results vary with skin type, how oily and congested the skin is to begin with, and how many sessions are completed.
Also on Macleod Trail
Treatments that work well around this one
- Hydro Facial in Calgary SE — the gentler route to the same clear-out
- AFA Chemical Peel in Calgary SE — where tone and pigment are the priority
- Blue Light Therapy in Calgary SE — for active, inflamed acne rather than congestion
- Microneedling in Calgary SE — for scarring the laser cannot reach
- Carbon laser peel brand-wide — how the treatment works across all our clinics
