“So Far with the Lux1540 - Pennsylvania”

I just had my first lux1540 procedure done 3 days ago. This was the first of 5 procedures. There are alot of negative reviews about this laser, and only being day 2 I can't give any real answer to if it works or not. But I think alot of people don't understand that this procedure helps improve acne scars, wrinkles, etc., but will definitely not get rid of them. You can never remove a scar. So if you are looking for some type of improvement, in theory, this laser could help. And that being said...

At first I was really skeptical about going to my first appointment. After my doctor said this would be the right avenue to go for the shallow acne scars, I decided to do some research. I read alot of negative reviews. Tons. Some positive ones, but mainly bad ones. Though, in the end, I decided I had nothing else to loose. So, if I don't see any improvement then I at least tried to do something about it. I don't want to do dermabrasion -- the risks are way too high. Besides some scarring that I am self conscious about, my skin is pretty good. I don't want to take the chance to ruin all of my skin. I thought about excision, but my scars are too shallow. I went to a few doctors who said they would never replace my shallow scars for excision lines.

I am only getting laser done on my scars -- not my entire face. So to me it is less risky. I made sure I went to a facial plastic surgeon. I don't want to go to a spa where I see a doctor and then he sends me off to a less qualified technician. If I was going to spend the money on this, I wanted to make sure I had the right person doing this. I spent a month researching doctors before I made an appointment. Also, I am paying 350 a treatment.

The day that appointment came, I was sooo nervous. My doctor made me feel really comfortable. Told me that with my fair skin I need not worry about hyper pigmentation or any other major risk. I asked about fat loss -- he kind of pointed out that this occurs from less qualified professionals using the laser incorrectly. I said okay. We decided not to go to aggressive the first time, but not too light. Somewhere in the middle.

So, I didn't use the numbing cream. He decided to use local anesthetic to the several areas of my face. And ouch! I think that hurt more than the laser! Next time, I might just ask him if he wouldn't mind to use the numbing cream.

The laser part was not so bad. I definitely could feel it -- but it wasn't in my mind painful. It was like being poked with a dull pin. The part that actually did hurt the most was not an acne scar, but a tiny burn scar I have.

When I left the office, the parts of my face that were lasered where extremely white. I had a few blood drops from the local. But other than that, it wasn't so bad. It burned a little bit, like sunburn. When I got home, I immediately put ice on it, which helped alot with the swelling. My face started to turn slightly pink. The first day wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Day 2. I woke up, and could definitely see the little dots on my face from the laser only the spots that I believe he did a little more aggressively. My scars weren't pink -- they were beat red. And my skin felt very tough. I did what he told me -- only put some lotion on it. And I stayed home all day. Though I wasn't peeling or swollen, I didn't want to go out in the sun and I felt my scars looked awful. I didnt want anyone to see me.

Day 3. 2 out of the 5 areas done are still kind of pink -- not so bad. 3 of them are still extremely red. Especially the burn scar. It hurts to even touch it. I knew I'd have some pinkness, but I didn't think it would be this red! I still have some tiny dots on my face -- not so bad. Mineral makeup really helps cover some of the red, but I hope that fades soon. My scars do look a tad bit better, but it could still be some swelling. I know my face is going to peel in those red areas soon -- the skin feels so tough.

As of right now, I feel unbiased about this procedure. As far as bad side affects, I would say I haven't had any. I'm just more concerned about the redness. It might be a result of my extra fair skin. I am hoping that fades on its own. As of right now, I am listing my satisfaction as good because my doctor was so kind, spent so much time with me, and I haven't experienced any sort of damage. But it is also too early for results. In my mind, everything went better than expected, but I'm a little worried about the redness.

Hopefully, I will remember to keep this updated!

Updated on 20 Aug 2011:

Five days ago, I received my third treatment with the lux1540. The second time when extremely smoothly. Though, I have not seen any immediate results. My doctor said it takes time, 6 months for each treatment to receive the full benefits, and since my recovery was pretty easy the second time around he said it would be best to go up with the laser. Unfortunately, I can't really remember what I was at and what he went to. I want to say we were at 10 and went up to 15? But I can't remember. I will have to ask next time. Anyways, this time, my recovery has definitely been alot more rough than before. It wasn't so much the redness, or the swelling, because I was prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was the acne that would surface from doing it at a higher setting. Day 5, and every morning when I wake up, I see a new pimple where my procedure was done. Normally, I'd use some type of product on it to make it go away, but I have been hesitant to because I'm not suppose to put stuff on my face to irritate it further. Also, my skin just hasn't been flaking off this time, it was been peeling. (You know, like when you get really bad sunburn.) Before, I could go to work with some makeup on the redness and you couldn't even tell I had some laser done. Now I have people asking me what happened to my face! Ugh, it's sorta embarrassing because I'm not really that open about it. If I would have know it was going to be worse this time around, I would have taken a few days off of work. But, I guess I know that for next time. It might be still early to tell, but I feel like my scars are definitely looking a little bit more plump than before. And no, my face is not swollen at all anymore. Not to drastic of a change, but enough that this time I actually noticed. I am supposed to go every 6 weeks, but my next appointment won't be for a good 10 weeks because of conflicts with my work schedule. I hope that doesn't affect the outcome at all. Anyways, just thought I'd give some updates with my procedures...