“Portrait psr3-scars, eyelid damage, enlarged pores”
Portrait: NOT worth it
Pain: Severe
Rhytec Portrait PSR3. I had this treatment 18 months ago & would not recommend it to anyone. It has been one of the worst experiences of my life. I am 68 & had lovely creamy ivory skin with a few brown spots & fine lines. I was told I would be pink for about two months. After the treatment I looked like I had been seriously burned & by day two the pain was intense. For several days I soaked my face every three hours with vinegar & water compresses & kept it moisturized the rest of the time per instructions. As my face began to peel the problems started to appear. One side of my face was not healing & looked like it was scarring. I received steroid injections on an open wound to help diminish scarring. The redness in my cheeks would not subside so I was given a series of V-beam laser treatments over seven months to diminish the redness. Why would intense heat be applied to eyelids? That's what I wondered when my eyelids were ruined by Portrait. One eyelid pulled up into the socket leaving a hollow eye & the other eyelid drooped.
Fortunately, I found an outstanding opthamologist who specializes in hollow eye repair & he fat grafted both upper eyes with an excellent outcome. My nose looks like it was boiled. The pores are three times larger & on each side of my nose collagen lumps have formed so my nose is thicker than it was before the treatment.
I sought out a top office where they are performing many Portrait treatments.
Pros: The brown spots are gone.
Cons: On one cheek I have a two inch by two inch scarred area that has hypopigmentation & my nose has enlarged pores & bumps. These areas have to be covered with makeup all the time.
Ten months recovery time for redness, scars & nose. No change in fine lines. Surgery required to correct upper eyes. New permanent makeup.
Cost: 400. to replace the permanent eyebrow & eyelid makeup that was removed, 5,000. for Portrait and 8,400. to fat graft upper eyes............ Total cost: 13,800.
Nov 28, 2008Comments and replies (2)





4 posts
5 Dec 2008
Had a very similar experience with intense prolonged redness and scarring that never goes away. My skin looks like it has been melted in cheek and around the eye area. The skin texture has been completely changed and not for the better. I will be undergoing several subsequent procedures to correct the damage of Portrait. Like C.C., I have undergone a series of V-Beam treatments to reduce the redness, but it is along process. I will now face another (safer) laser resurfacing procedure to try to return my now melted skin to a normal appearance. I completely agree with her $$$ assessment as I will be in the same boat.
1 post
22 Mar 2009
Did La Jolla Skin Cosmetic Surgery Center do this procedure? Thanks.