Here's a news report on facial treatments:

The Lousiville Courier-Journal reports on the latest fads and fancy names:

The high-tech treatment: Affirm laser

What it does: This type of laser penetrates deep into the skin, stimulating the body's production of collagen and elastin in targeted areas and improving surface skin texture, tone and pigmentation -- while leaving the surrounding tissue unaffected and intact.

What it is: The Affirm is the newest generation of fractional lasers. (Fractional lasers produce thousands of tiny but deep columns of infrared light that are called microthermal treatment zones.) The "fractional" approach allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once. "Affirm … can provide results similar to (other lasers) but has the advantage of less pain because of the cooled device," says Wilhelmi, "and therefore can be performed more quickly without an anesthetic."

What you really need to know: The Affirm received FDA approval for skin-resurfacing procedures, including treatment of pigmented lesions, such as age spots, sun spots and mottled pigmentation; treatment of wrinkles around the eyes; removal of scars; treatment of enlarged pores and post-inflammatory skin-darkening.