One advantage to fractional laser resurfacing is that it peels away only a fraction of the skin, leaving a portion of healthy skin behind for quicker recovery. It has been shown that by fractional resurfacing, one can still produce enough collagen to improve skin wrinkles and age spots. There are a number of different fractional resurfacing technologies available on the market today.

Fractional resurfacing uses a CO2 laser, a highly focused beam of pure light energy, which may be used to carefully remove areas of sun-damaged skin. This procedure has revolutionized the field of cosmetic plastic surgery and the treatment of aging skin over the past decade. The key advantage of laser resurfacing compared to older resurfacing techniques like chemical peels and dermabrasions is the precision that the laser provides. The recovery from the fractionated CO2 laser treatment may last up to 10 days.