Collection: The Laser Recovery Protocol | CO2, ContourTRL & Resurfacing

Search what to use after a CO₂ laser and every clinic gives the same answer: gentle cleanser, ointment, sunscreen. That is wound care, and wound care is not a protocol.

Ablative resurfacing — fully ablative CO₂, ContourTRL, or deep Erbium YAG — removes tissue on purpose so your skin rebuilds it. The result you paid for is not the healing. It is the rebuilding underneath. This is the sequence we actually use, day by day.

Day 0 onward — ECM Restore, and nothing else

Immediately after treatment the skin is open and the priority is a single job: support the matrix as it rebuilds. Pavise Extracellular Matrix Restore is the only thing that goes on at this stage. No actives, no layering, no experimenting. Pavise’s clinical data documents 2X faster tissue repair after CO₂ and Erbium YAG treatment, and it is the subject of a registered trial as the primary occlusive treatment following ablative CO₂ and Er:YAG resurfacing — the exact platforms we run.

Day 2 — add Dr. Medion Spaoxy Gel

Carboxy therapy to cool and calm the treated skin. This comes in on day two, not before.

Day 3 onward — add SPF

From day three, sunscreen joins the protocol and never leaves it. Sun exposure during the months of remodeling is the fastest way to undo the result, and the main driver of post-inflammatory pigmentation.

Once healed — the ongoing routine

Cleansing that removes daily mineral SPF without stripping the barrier, nightly repair, and eye care. These come in after your skin has closed and your care team has cleared you.

The Piazza Center is a board-certified plastic surgery practice in Austin, Texas, led by Dr. Rocco Piazza, MD, FACS. Our resurfacing treatments — fully ablative CO₂, ContourTRL, HALO, BBL and Moxi — are performed by our clinical nursing team, and that same team follows you through the entire recovery. That continuity is why this list is short and specific rather than a shelf of everything we sell.

Timing is set at your post-op visit. Depth varies, and so does the sequence. Ask before you start anything — and note that silicone scar gels belong to surgical incision care after healing, not to laser recovery.