I have to be honest that given the choice between a skincare cream and the laser, the laser will always win in terms of efficacy.  However, the skincare cream is beneficial because 1) it is less expensive, 2) less invasive, 3) no downtime and 4)much more convenient as you don’t have to go to your dermatologist. Laser treatments such as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and Fraxel™ a fractional laser treatment work by poking microscopic holes underneath the skin.  By doing this, the skin is tricked into producing more collagen to heal the micro-wounds.  After each treatment, the patient needs to rest her skin for a minimum of three days to enable her skin to heal.  This means she needs to stop using any skin products with an active ingredient as these products could further irritate the skin. Restorsea customers have reported that, while they miss using Restorsea during the resting phase, once they resume, they find that they can go for a longer time before the next treatment.   XOX Patti