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EMATRIX - JUST SAY NO! - California

Good face gone bad
posted 1 year ago
updated 1 year ago

Not Worth It
Cost: $3,000
California

I'm so over all these mystery machines and...

23 Mar 2012

I'm so over all these mystery machines and their claims to: a) magically rejuvenate skin with no downtime, b) tighten sagging skin, c) be safe for all skin types d) blah, blah, blah, blah.

I'm here to tell you that I've tried a lot of different things by qualified an (unfortunately) unqualified people and I've finally been hit over the head enough times to say, "Oh, that hurt and was really stupid." So here are a few thoughts:

1) I understand the government has a lot to do with the economy and all - so I propose that it simply admits that anything cosmetic is at your own risk and they really aren't paying any attention when they approve all this crap – or they are getting paid off by these companies.

2) Companies like Syneron (eMatrix) and other second-rate entities should have to admit that they allow anyone with the money - to buy their machines and administer treatment. If a monkey had the cash, they'd sell it and let the monkey brand your face with their grid (4 squares) hand piece.

3) These companies should have to admit that the standards for use of these machines are about as loose as my now sagging skin, and that any studies they provide are merely handpicked best case scenarios in controlled environments. The photos that don't turn out just end up in the shredder.

4) All centers offering treatments like eMATRIX or other non-gold standard products should have to write the word "SUCKER" on your invoice.

So let's look at eMatrix claims:

1) “Sublative Rejuvenation™ treatment may result in improvement of: (To be fair, they do say "may result")

Wrinkles – Wow. . . that’s a stretch as long as a football field.

Scars – HUH! I would love to have Syneron explain the squares on my face that look just like their hand piece. The four depressed squares that showed up in the middle of my brow two weeks after a treatment were particularly interesting. A little filler and 35% TCA is helping to fix that. Keep in mind, they claim that this technology does most of it's work below the skin and should have minimal if any impact on the top layer.

Textural irregularities - You betcha! My skin now appears to have a variety of interesting textures and patterns. I also ended up with some bizarre red rash and severe dryness that lasted for a month. I had not changed any products or experienced anything like this in my life.

2) Minimal downtime: This is pretty relative. If you do "A" treatment which won't do anything at all, you'll be able to go back to work. If you do the "C" treatment - which is the only level that could possibly do anything - you will have a face as red as a baboon's bottom for a few days and you have swelling. You can't go to work.

3) Safe for all skin types: Ok. . reality check. INFLAMMATION and injury to the skin cause hyperpigmentation. Ohhhh. . . I guess that's what would explain the hell I'm going through now to try to get rid of this blotchy mess!

4) Collagen building should continue for months after the series of procedures which should lead to skin tightening: Whatever!

3 months after I was done with this I have a picture that shows lifeless sagging skin. It was like an overnight drop. Let’s say for the sake of argument that I just rapidly aged and this treatment had nothing to do with it. Fine. . . At least there should be no debate that there was no visible benefit in the area of tightened skin. I will admit that I thought I liked this product after the first couple treatments. I'm now of the mindset that I might have just been swollen - or I was in such a state of desperation that I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on.

So, if you saw me post positively, it was early on in my treatment. Some of my discoveries were made with continuing procedures (that I should have stopped) and in the months following. I’m sure they will deny all claims, but - the squares don’t lie! If you are lucky enough to not have any damage. . . then the other side is that it doesn't do anything. It's just not worth it. TCA peels are less expensive and when administered by a doctor you can get great results. Not only are TCA peels currently cleaning up this mess for me, but my skin is improving beyond anything more that those 6 eMatrix procedures. Centers/offices make fortunes off these machines. That's why they use them. Also, once they invest in one - they have to use it whether it works or not. This is just my opinion. . . Everyone has to do what they think is best. Good luck!

I just met with two different Laser doctors in...

11 May 2012

I just met with two different Laser doctors in SoCal to evaluate my skin. Both said that eMatrix is a piece of crap. One bought it and ended up selling it because he didn't see any results. The other one JUST SAID NO! after evaluating it. While I did have some damage, the thing that comes up the most with this machine is the lack of results, period. It's a pretty pricey thing to do without getting any benefit. I recommend going on a vacation or giving the money to charity - or throwing the cash out the window 'cause that's what you'll be doing anyway.

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Comments (32)

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Blossoms 20 Mar 2013

Hi good face gone bad. Thank you for all your help. My forhead was treated on a low C setting and went over it twice. Lower face was done high c and over twice. It is day 19 after treatment and I still have a square indented impression in my forhead and one square mark on lower side of face. They reckon it will go in two weeks. What do you think? I am just under 40 and had good skin with no real issues before the treatment.

Blossoms 19 Mar 2013

If you look up what abalation means. It is to remove or take away. Why would you want to remove all dermal components. No wonder it screws up skin. Take my advice DON'T GO THERE!!!

Blossoms 18 Mar 2013

At day 17 my skin is a disaster. Square scar grid marks, one if which us indented. I had beautiful skin for my age and would rejuvenate it. It has wrecked it. I am so depressed. It's a terrible treatment that dies not even give proper even coverage when it treats. It is absolute rubbish that this is superior to any fractional laser treatments. It is cheap and nasty.

Blossoms 16 Mar 2013

At this stage I would agree with everything that good face gone bad has said. I have seen good skin go to a patchy mess with scars in some parts that look like pock marks with dots in them from the head piece. It definitely burns the skin and totally messes it up. Just hoping to no see dramatic. Ageing over the next three months. Unsure how to fix it at this stage. Am considering peels.

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 17 Mar 2013

Hi Blossoms, Sorry for not responding sooner. I was out of the country. The devascularization actually occured from an IPL I had had done prior to the eMatrix. I am about 1.5 post my last eMatrix. I had several treatments done and it was too agressive. My hope is that since you have only had one done - your skin will recover. My advice is to do nothing at this point. Let your skin heal on its own. Keep it very well hydrated/moisturized and stay 100% out of the sun at all costs. You really can minimize any damage at this point - but you have to be patient. You don't want to do further damage to the skins natural barrier. My damage was too extensive and progressive over the course of time. eMatrix is suppose to rejuvenate under the skin, but it does ablate as well, so repeatedly aggressive treatments can cause thinning of the skin. I used to hear what great skin I have. . . now every doctor or skin rep I meat comments on out thin my skin is. You can see the blue veins and using some fillers is a problem - because lumps are more likely to show. Anyway, If I could do it again. . .I would have been much more patient and let my skin do it's thing without intervention.

Blossoms 17 Mar 2013

Hi thank you got getting back to me. I'm just praying mine recovers, especially the square impression on my forehead and hope I don't end up with bad orange peel in a few months. Thanks again

Blossoms 15 Mar 2013

Sorry I did read further on and see that you said some of your skin got devascularised. How long after the procedure did it take for that to show and what exactly did it look like?

Blossoms 6 Mar 2013

Hi I'm day five after mine and am fearing the same as what you exoerienced. Did your skin eventually recover?

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 6 Mar 2013

You will probably be just fine. After five days, you could still have some swelling, etc. The skin has an amazing way of healing if you don't push your luck. Be kind to it and allow it to heal. My treatments were way too aggressive and the results were not reversible. Trust your gut and if things still don't feel right after a few weeks, then don't do the next one. I wish I'd been more patient and not done anything. . . but these Doctors convince us that more is better - and it's simply not. Good luck Blossoms.

Blossoms 14 Mar 2013

Hi thank you for replying. I am day 14 and have one indent in the middle of my forhead. Light brown splotchy square marks on sides if face. The practitioner tells me the forehead is still healing and that the brown marks are pigment coming up that will go. Did you ever get rid if the indents in the forehead ?

Blossoms 16 Mar 2013

Hi, can't believe I did this to my skin. I am day 16 out if the treatment a have scarring. So much for the no down time and not damage to the outer layer. They are square pock marks like the ematrix head. I will be uploading pics. My skin was burnt. I had no issues to correct. Was told it would just stimulate collagen and rejuvenate and would have a 3 day recovery. Now my skin looks the worst it's ever been. I will be uploading pics. You can't just fry the crap out of skin in small square areas and not expect damage and scarring. I would say I was treated on level 3.

Stillookingforasolution 20 Sep 2012

Hi Good face gone bad, shame I have been reading your story and speachless to say the least. My appointment is with the doctor today so lets see what he says, fortunately within 24hrs of using Burts Bees wax cream, my eyes seem to have gone down a bit and look less crepy. Just something for you to consider and please google as this stuff does work, but on your face do a daily face mask using turmeric and honey. I use this on my face and its amazing! Let me know how you get on, but do remember its a timely process this one.... wish my skin around my eyes were as good as the rest of my face :( but onward and upward. I will definitely keep you up to date

Stillookingforasolution 19 Sep 2012

I have completed 1 ematrix treatment only around my eye area, the setting was set on B (medium). Its only been one week and maybe the longer I wait the better the results, BUT its looking awful right now. All the redness, little flaky skin and swelling has gone down except the top of my eye lids feel raw and they feel sore and strained and there are definitely a lot more under eye wrinkles than before I had the treatment. Not very happy right now, having a check up tomorrow with the Doctor who did the treatment and after challenging him first will decide whether I will continue. In the meantime I have just bought some EL Advanced repair complex serum in the hopes I can recover some of my good undereye condition again! Be careful out there getting these treatments!

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 19 Sep 2012

Thanks for sharing. I had co2 laser performed over some of the square grids to try to fix this. The marks are still there. Lovely square grid in the middle of my brow. Co2 did tighten my under eye a bit but it it is still red 4 weeks later so it's not pretty for a while. Because the doctor numbed me it was painless - unlike ematrix. No idea what I can do about the scarring from ematrix. I continue tca peels for the pigment issues and am consulting with a dr. About fraxel and deep fx. But. It may be game over for me. Good luck. Let us know how it goes

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 11 Aug 2012

On another note: If you are predisposed to hyperpigmentation. . . please do not be fooled into thinking these procedures will help. Causing injury (i.e. zapping the crap out of it) to the skin could increase the problem. Hypopigmentation is just as problematic. I learned the hard way. I got to see a digital image of the damage and it scary. I could even see completely devascularized areas where the treatment was far too harsh.

For any skeptics out there. . . .We aren't making this up. This many people can't be describing the same issues and all be imagining it. Most of us would much rather be using our time to shop, date, socialize, be with family, enjoy life, etc. than posting on these boards for kicks!

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 11 Aug 2012

I just read your story apapel and it sounds so familiar.

I have no forehead or temple fat at all. You can see the bones and veins. I don't have good pictures to show what this looks like in a way that would make sense to the casual observer. I just keep hearing how thin I am - because they see this long face with no fat.

The orange peel skin is another ball game. I used to get compliments on my skin all the time. It's been unbelievable to watch it deteriorate long after these procedures were done. Age is one thing. .. This kind of textural change is beyond what I see on a normal aging person in my age group - who adhered to good skin care. And, I can actual see different marks. IPL was rectangle. eMatrix was square and then there are "zaps" that appear like small circles. . . like a perfectly formed acne pock mark. I knew my face very well. I knew every pore and mark on my face prior. Now I can't begin to count. . .

My quality of life has dropped so much. I have regrouped the best that I can to move foward. . . but I sometimes wonder if I'll ever feel the same and wish the old me would show up again. She wasn't perfect. . but I miss her.

ajapel 11 Aug 2012

Laser companies pay big bucks and bury data that doesn't support thier viewpoint. It's tough. I made my own website about my damage using word press. It's simple and you can edit things quickly any time you want. If everyone who was damaged put up their pictures and made websites things might change. I put my pictures up here as this site is wonderful for people to get the word out that these devices can really damage people.

Scarsstillthere 9 Aug 2012

How do we get Syneron to stop their false statements? People like me are desparate to get their acne scars removed. I was so hopeful that I would end up with a flawless complexion (as I was promised). The treatments were also very painful. I didn't go out in public for a few days afterward because the grid marks from the procedure were so visible.

ajapel 7 Aug 2012

Scarsstillthere: I'm glad you didn't end up with more scars, fat loss, and problems like many of us. I'm thinking you are lucky and only ended up wasting money. Syneron should stop with these lasers that just seen to either not work, or cause damage on too many people.

Scarsstillthere 7 Aug 2012

Save your money. It does not work as promised!! I had 5 treatments for acne scars. I was told that it would take time to see results. I waited a year and the center gave me another treatment. It has been 6 months since last treatment. I still have acne scars. Contact "The Doctors" tv show to have them publize that this doesn't work!!!

ajapel 15 Jun 2012

I have enlarged pores and a bumpy sort of texture. I have volume loss around my eyes and on the areas where the machine was turned up. It looks like crepey skin and just wrinkles all over (very quick aging). I also have a dent under my right eye and subsequent orbital fat prolapse (at age 38). I did a full review under IPL but my treatment combined IPL and radiofrequency.

Derms have explained that it is atrophy from thermal damage. Too much heat too deep caused dermal shrinking and fat loss. Unfortunately they treated too close to my eyes so I have eye damage as well. The bottom line is that many treaters do not report these adverse events to Syneron since that admits something went wrong. Syneron doesn't take reports from the patient. It is very sad. They need to know what is happening and take it seriously.

I would hesitate before doing another procedure. I saw many derms and some would suggest a different laser (the ones who haven't seen many damage cases) - but they all work the same way - they heat the skin and cause damage. The derms I saw from universities were adamint not to use more lasers as the skin had thinned too much already.

Good luck!

The studies done from these machines are usually from practitioners who are paid by the laser companies to do them - and they use very conservative settings. Essentially we are tossing dice as to how our outcome will be.

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 15 Jun 2012

You are 100% on target here - on ALL your points - and I can corroborate the experience! I hope more people do listen and realize that it's not coincidence when people don't know each other and live worlds apart have the same story!!!!! And, I went to a doctor who was recommended by 3 different people on three random occasions - and is well known in the laser community.

I actually agree with not doing laser again. I've been doing TCA peels which have helped. Babying your skin helps even more. That said, I've been working with this other surgeon for about a year and a half. He knows my history and he is so conservative and most importantly - will spot treat me. Most doctors will only do full face. I don't want full face even though I have damage throughout - I just want to get to some of the most distressing areas which have left me heartbroken.

I went to one of the developers of Fraxel and not only did he not recommend that product - he recommend the Erbium Yag (C03) full face for $4000 - knowing my history. Erbium Yag has a 20% approval on RealSelf. No thanks. Trust me. . . I don't recommend starting any of this to anyone - and wish I'd I'd been more grateful for what I had.

Keep us posted if you see any progress on your end and thanks for getting the word out!!!

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 15 Jun 2012

Hi Ajapel,

So sorry you had an unhappy experience. Are you comfortable describing the specific damage? I'd be curious to hear what you are seeing. Did you just have one treatment or a series. What were your objectives is have the procedure.

Mine is textural and aging - In addition, I have square dents in the shape of the gridded handpiece. I literally have a dented grid in my glabella (the area between the brows). That doctor claimed they didn't exist. Frankly, I'm not convinced that RF, IPL, etc. don't cause fat loss because I lost forehead fat rapidly. I'm suggesting this because more and more large veins started showing with each month and my foreheads bones started becoming more prominent. It was slow - and then all of the sudden.everything dropped - all over the course of 6 months.

I agree that some of this is service provider's fault and the heat was too extreme and unmonitored. .but the fact that these adverse results are ignored, not addressed or even possible with the Syneron technology is frustrating.

The new doctor I'm working with is going to try some fractional CO2 to clean up the scarred areas. . . . I don't want to do anything because I"m so tired of it - but I trust this doctor and he's willing to do specific areas instead of full face. He'll do it when he does a different scar revision he's been workng on.

Thanks for sharing!

ajapel 14 Jun 2012

I had a treatment with Syneron's EMAX machine. The bipolar radiofrequency is the same technology. I have major damage and look much older than before. This company needs to look into their technology and figure out why so many people are having adverse events with their machines.

Good face gone bad (RealFriend) 8 May 2012

Hello FSRB - No improvement. It's been almost a year since my last one and if anything, it looks worse I've had two TCA peel. I've used Tretinoin as well. Other than that, I use Kinerase products and stay as moisturized and SPFd as possible. My skin has a curdled appearance and hyperpigmented blotchiness - if that makes sense. It's very strange.

Anyway, I'm interviewing a couple dermatologists on Friday and will take it slowly. I will keep looking until I find an honest one who says, "Yes, you have geometric shapes on your face and yes, those are depressions and no, your skin will never be perfect, but I'm willing to do some work on you in small sections to see how you respond to make sure that you are happy with the outcome." That would be refreshing. I hope I'm not waiting too long to hear this!!! :).