This is a question that I answered for someone that was worried about red streaks on there face about a week after their procedure. They wanted to know if these were areas that were possible likely places to scar. This is how I answered her question:
Areas of redness and scratches should heal after Active FX and co2 laser resurfacing. This could be scratches that you did while you were sleeping but could also be from the laser resurfacing itself. I would continue your current cleaning regime. Six days after your procedure you should still be healing and with fractional co2 resurfacing, your skin should be totally healed over. If it were more traditional resurfacing your skin could still be healing over. The areas that are red will take some time to resolve. As some of the other authors have suggested sunscreen and sun avoidance are crucial during the first month and up to 6 months after the procedure. The redness will take some time to resolve but not as long if you had the traditional resurfacing. Some suggest steroids after your skin has healed over, but this could affect the healing and collagen production and most people would suggest against it. Intense Pulse Light or the v beam, or any laser that concentrates light in the 585nm range, your doctor should be able to determine what is best, can help with some of this redness by attacking the vessels that are causing the redness. Otherwise the healing will just take some time. One thing that could be important to determine is if there is significant swelling, redness and tenderness that could indicate scarring. This is something that your doctor should determine and in this situation, a high dose topical steroid could be needed to stem possible scarring.
Thanks for reading, Dr Young
Dr Young specializes in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington