A cosmetic laser may be doing something science has struggled to achieve: changing the biology of aging skin, not just how it looks.
A new human study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports has found that Candela’s Nordlys non-ablative fractional laser appears to reverse molecular changes associated with skin aging, offering what researchers describe as the first in vivo evidence that the treatment can remodel the skin’s epigenetic profile [1].
While lasers have long been used to improve wrinkles, pigmentation and sun damage, most evidence has focused on visible results. This study suggests those improvements may reflect something happening much deeper: changes in the biological processes that influence how skin ages over time.
Researchers say the findings could help shift the conversation around aesthetic medicine from cosmetic enhancement toward regenerative health, an area increasingly intersecting with longevity science.
The study followed 22 adults who underwent three treatments with Candela’s 1940 nm non-ablative fractional laser. Researchers used a split-face design, treating one side of each participant’s face while leaving the other untreated for comparison.
Instead of relying only on photographs or physician assessments, the team examined tiny molecular markers known as DNA methylation patterns. These are chemical tags that sit on DNA and help regulate how genes behave without changing the genetic code itself. Scientists increasingly use these patterns as one of the most reliable ways to estimate biological aging.
Across more than 3.8 million sites in the genome, the researchers found that the laser treatment shifted DNA methylation in the opposite direction of normal skin aging at nearly 84% of the age-related sites that responded to treatment.
Equally notable was the timeline. The molecular changes did not appear immediately after treatment. They emerged about a month after the treatment series, continued to strengthen over the following months and remained stable six months later, suggesting the skin was continuing to remodel itself well after the laser sessions had ended.
“This study is an important first step toward understanding the biology beneath what we observe in the clinic,” said Dr Konika Patel Schallen, lead author and Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Operations at Candela. “Physicians have seen that Nordlys treatments do more than improve the skin’s appearance and until now, we could not fully explain why. For the first time, we have evidence of the molecular mechanism behind why skin is healthier and appears more youthful. Importantly, it also points to a molecular link to skin cancer biology and supports prior studies that link to lower keratinocyte-carcinoma risk.”
The molecular findings were mirrored by changes people could actually see. Using VISIA imaging, researchers recorded a median 38% reduction in brown spots on the treated side of the face one month after the treatment series. Improvements were also seen in skin texture and pigmentation. Importantly, the genes influenced by the treatment were linked to processes that help maintain healthy skin, including collagen production, skin barrier function and normal skin renewal. Rather than simply creating a temporary cosmetic effect, the results suggest the laser may encourage the skin to repair and reorganize itself over time.
The study also uncovered another intriguing signal. Researchers observed changes in DNA methylation involving genes associated with the biology of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, the two most common forms of skin cancer. While the study was not designed to measure cancer prevention, the authors say the findings provide a molecular explanation that aligns with earlier clinical research linking non-ablative fractional laser treatment to a lower risk of developing facial keratinocyte carcinomas. That doesn’t mean the laser should be viewed as a cancer prevention treatment; instead, it opens a new avenue for understanding how regenerative therapies might influence long-term skin health beyond cosmetic outcomes.
Skin has often been treated as a cosmetic concern, but it is also the body’s largest organ and one of the most visible indicators of biological aging. Longevity research has increasingly shifted toward measuring interventions by what happens inside cells rather than simply by outward appearance. Epigenetic changes have become one of the field’s most closely watched biomarkers because they offer clues about biological age and tissue health.
“Epigenetic patterns are among the most reliable molecular markers for measuring aging. By profiling more than 3.8 million sites across the genome, we found that the changes were not only directional, opposing the patterns we associate with aging, but also durable and strengthening over months. That combination is what makes these results scientifically compelling,” said Dr Cristiana Banila, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Mitra Bio, and a co-author of the study.
The findings do not suggest aging can simply be erased with a laser, and larger studies will be needed to confirm the results. However, they do reinforce a broader trend emerging across longevity medicine: interventions once viewed as purely aesthetic are increasingly being evaluated for their ability to restore healthier tissue function at the molecular level.
