Frax CO2 Before and After | Perioral Line Resurfacing

The complaint was specific: lipstick bled into the vertical lines above the upper lip, and the lines were visible even without makeup. Decades of repeated lip movement and post-menopausal collagen loss had etched fixed rhytids into the perioral skin.

On assessment, the perioral skin showed deep, static vertical rhytids extending from the vermilion border into the cutaneous lip. Surface texture was thinned and crepey. The pattern was structural — etched into the dermis itself — not the kind of fine lines that respond to topical or filler-based correction alone. Ablative fractional resurfacing was the appropriate intervention: the depth of the lines required dermal remodeling, not surface treatment.

A single fractional CO2 laser treatment was performed on the perioral region using the Frax CO2 platform. Settings were calibrated to reach the depth of the dermal scarring while preserving surrounding tissue. The ablative columns trigger a controlled wound-healing response — collagen remodeling and dermal thickening over the weeks following treatment. In the after image, the vertical perioral lines are visibly softened, the skin surface is smoother, and the cutaneous lip has regained dermal integrity. This was a resurfacing case, not a filler case — the lines themselves were corrected, not concealed beneath added volume.

Individual results vary. The outcome shown reflects this patient's specific anatomy, health history, and treatment plan. Results shown are not guaranteed and are not necessarily typical. Photos used with patient consent. (italics)