Melasma Treatment - Illinois

I just had the treatment today, so this review is currently reserved for commenting on pain/downtime. Here are a few pertinent facts: My skin: very fair, burns easily in the sun Age: 37 Gender: female Hair color on face: invisible Treated for melasma all over face (about the color of light freckles and in patches on my forehead and cheeks primarily) and for 3 acne scar areas (two on chin, one on nose).

The Palomar Lux1540 laser was used with 2 different head attachments. The first attachment was for the melasma and my practitioner initially set it around half power, she said. I don't know if she increased the power or not when she saw I was tolerating it well, but she did decide to go over my skin in 3 passes. I was given topical numbing gel about 15 or 20 minutes prior to the procedure.

The procedure itself was not as bad to me as when I had an IPL photofacial. The 1540 laser did not feel like a rubber band snapping to me--it felt like little pinpricks of heat. If you have ever used a derma-roller of .5 mm or more, I think you will be well prepared to deal with any pain from the 1540, at least on the settings used on me. After she went over my entire face in 3 passes, I could definitely feel the heat in my skin. It felt like a strong sunburn and I was happy to have the icy roller my practitioner provided to roll over the hot skin.

I cooled my face down with the roller while she switched the heads on the 1540. The new head was used for the acne scarring. I didn't really notice any difference with the pain level, but I do see a small 'waffle' pattern from the acne scarring head. This pattern is very difficult to detect, and there is no way anyone more than a few inches away would notice it.

It's been about 8 hours since the procedure, and I am slightly pink but it isn't very noticeable. It looks like I've been exercising. My face feels a little tender when I smile but it doesn't hurt. One thing that I did as soon as I returned home after the procedure was to wash my skin in cold water using the gentle cleansing milk from Yon-Ka that I have always used. I also put on some Yon-Ka Juvenil, which gets absorbed more deeply into the skin and hopefully will ward off any breakouts that the procedure might otherwise induce.

I'll update this to let you know how it all turns out. Overall, the procedure was for melasma, which calls for a less intense procedure I was told, and is likely why my downtime has been so short.

Update: I made an error above--it wasn't the "Lux 1540" that was used but the newer "1540 Fractional Laser." The 1540 Fractional Laser attachment is used for the Palomar Icon, whereas the Lux 1540 attachment is used on the StarLux. You can compare the two products on Palomar's site: http://www.palomarmedical.com/products/palomar-icon.aspx

I don't know if there is any difference between the two attachments, but I'll let you know if I discover anything.

Okay, I have a bit more information about the two 1540 heads used for the melasma and for the acne scarring:

Melasma attachment: 15 mm 1540 Fractional Laser; pulse width 10; 7 mJ/microbeam

Acne scarring attachment: either the 10mm or the 12x12 mm 1540 Fractional Laser; pulse width 10; 40 mJ/microbeam

I checked the differences between the StarLux 1540 attachments and the Icon 1540 attachments, and they appear to be identical. You can check yourself here for the StarLux: http://www.palomarmedical.com/products/starlux/handpiece-specifications.aspx

Here for the Icon: http://www.palomarmedical.com/products/palomar-icon/handpiece-specifications.aspx