My Pixel Treatment

My favorite spa was running a half price special on pixel, so after much deliberation, I went for a consultation. I wanted my face, neck and chest area done and was quoted a price of $1500 for a series of three treatments. The aesthetician said she had was certified, had been doing the treatments for over a year and had had it done on herself. She told me it would be uncomfortable, but not painful and recommended I take ibuoprofen before and after the treatment as needed. She also recommended I buy Aquaphor for use afterwards. So, after even more deliberation, I decided to go for it. I did the first treatment at 11:00 am on Monday. She did not use a numbing gel, but she did give me a small handheld fan to use as needed. It was most definitely uncomfortable. Some areas I hardly felt, while other areas were much more sensitive. She did my face first, then put cold, damp towels on it while she worked on my neck and chest. She then put the towels there and refreshed the one on my face. After a while, she took those off and put a blue gel like substance on my face that she said would help with the redness and keep it moisturized (she sent me home with lots of this). After that dried, she slatered me in sunscreen. Looking in the mirror everything looked better than it felt. However, I had black, sooty looking smudges on my cheeks that made me look like I had just cleaned out my fireplace! She seemed happy about that, said it was sun damaged areas and would flake/peel away. I went home, drank lots of water, took some ibuprofen and spread the Aquaphor on my face. The Aquaphor felt really good, but it gives a shiny, vaseline like look which only exagerates the issues. The next time I looked in the mirror the sooty spots had changed to a dark tan, leathery look and the rest my face was sort of sunburned looking, but in a mottled, uneven sort of way. My neck and chest were an even bright pink tone, much more like a sunburn. No way could you go out in public....I wouldn't even go thru a drive thru! I really didn't hurt, but for the rest of the day it was impossible to ignore the very irritated feeling. I slept with a beach towel over my pillow and a head band on because of the Aquaphor's greasiness. Woke up the next morning and looked scary!!! Had swelling and puffiness on top of the issues from the previous day. Took a long shower and when I got a out I was able to very gently wipe away a lot of dead skin. After about an hour the swelling and puffiness disappeared. Looked and felt much better, but still not where I would want to be seen in public. My neck and chest were now a mottled pink. Healing, but obviously not quite right. By Tuesday evening, I did run to WalMart with some carefully applied concealer and styling my hair forward to cover the worst and wearing a turtleneck (thank goodness it was cool out!). I didn't want the shiny look, so I din't put the Aquaphor on. May have looked better, but I couldn't wait to get home and slather the stuff on. It is very soothing and helps with the tight feeling. Woke up Wednesday morning with no swelling or puffiness. Everything is getting better, but I think it will be Thursday before I'm truly comfortable in public. Had the screen door look, but it was really irrelevant compared with the redness and brown areas. Anxious to see how it looks tomorrow. The spa told me that many people have microdermabrasion to remove the dead skin. I just couldn't see spending that much more money, so I bought a Neutrogena at home microdermabrasion kit. Looking forward to seeing how everything looks tomorrow. I've got a full day planned, so it better be good!