CO2 Laser: Stories

am a 30 y/o White Female I did the Deka Dot Matrix Full Face Resurface. Unsure if it was a fractional or what the difference is really.

First and foremost I wanna say I was told how the procedure would go totally different thans or complications I was told No. Never. So I was ready and willing. It never once occured to me to look on the internet where I later have read alot of stories of Lasers gone wrong.

I had about 4 purple scars on my right cheeck from picking at my face last year. Never had a problem with acne or bumps in my life. I also had 2 spots of sun damage on my forehead. Simple enough I thought I could make them go away.

I did the Resurface on October 3. She gave me a discount for 800 instead of the full 1000.

Numbing gel was applied to my entire face then I waited for about an hour and she began. It was NOTHING like my lip at all. Very painful to say the least. I was totally brown and went home. I did this on a Monday and everything was fine until the following Saturday 5 days post. Thats when something went horribly wrong. I swelled and turned Blood red I was itching so bad I couldnt sleep eat or anything. I called and returned to the Med Spa that Monday where I was given steriods and Acyclovir.

The red and swelling went down through the week. As the swelling slowly went engraved lines appeared everywhere covering my entire face. Along with Dark brown spots and what I wanna call indentations but Ill call it Chunks of missing skin.

I am now about 8 weeks post procedure and so Disappointed and I cry constantly. I have got the color more tolerable with 1 IPL and 1 Chemical peel. The lines are what is totally horrible at this point. I have no idea what they even are. The woman who done this resurface says shes worked with lasers since 2002 Licensed and Teaches Physicians how to do lasers. She has not seen the lines either so she says. I have no idea what to do or how to get myself to where I can even look in the mirror without crying.

I dont even know why I did this at this point. My face had no scarring to speak of on my face just some purple spots. That were easily coverable with concealer. Now I cant even go outside without Make up. I didnt even have to really wear make up before. I looked very young for 30 and now I look way old and totally damaged. I have never been so scared in my life I have read stories that it only gets worse as time goes by and that it takes 6 months to see the final result. I am making myself sick over this and so Moral of my story is JUST SAY NO!!! Dont do it EVER!!! After now knowing the risks involved I see that I was not a canidate for this and the risks far out weighed the benefits for me. If I had severe scarring or something then maybe it would have been worth the chance but I didnt and IT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES I THINK I HAVE EVER MADE. Hoping that If it does get worse that maybe there will be some kind of product to help me look better. Please think this kind of procedure over VERY well and make sure that you can deal with the negative if it should happen to you. Thanks!

Thought I should update on my progress. Its now June so Im at 8 months post procedure. I have done a number of peels and facials about every week since January. I have done Laser Genesis for the texture on my face about 4 weeks apart I have had 5 now and 1 more to go. It has improved the texture alot. The color issues seem to improve with time and dont seem so dark now. I have had alot of improvement. I do notice I have almost no frown lines and no wrinkles on my face at all now. My pores are still a bit large, never had that issue before but they are getting better with time also. I have been using a daily moisturizer with vitamin c and a daily wash with a good face scruber and all in all my face is better now. It does take a long time to get back to yourself after this procedure and I wish you the best if you decide to go through with it. If I could turn it back I would still never do it again. It has been an expensive long road to recovery full of trial and error trying to find things that work for me. From cleaners to moisturizers and the right make up each day. So this is something I would never recommend to anyone.