“Smartxide dot laser therapy”
Laser resurfacing: Worth it
Pain: Uncomfortable
Today is Wednesday, 11/26/08. I had the SmartXide Dot treatment on Monday, 11/24/08. I'm 55 years old, with some acne scarring, uneven coloring, patches of large pores, some small broken capillaries around my nose. I would love to see my coloring evened out & the scarring diminished.
My doctor numbed me, but there was still quite a sting. The burning sensation was more of an issue for me than the stinging, but that subsided a few hours later. I am very fair and I turned pretty red all over. I had my neck done and it was actually less painful than my face. I thought it would be the opposite. The doctor told me that the neck area is less sensitive than the face.
I can see though that it might take longer for my neck to get back to its normal color. Some parts of my face are starting to go back to normal color, but some parts are still red. My neck however is one big reddish-pink area! It's hard to imagine that my red neck will be back to normal by tomorrow.
Right now I look pretty awful, but that's not stopping me from getting out and doing some shopping! I pack on the sunscreen and put on some big sunglasses and wrap a light silk scarf around my neck so the demarcation line is not so stark.
Later today I visit my doctor, who'll check on the progress of my SmartXide treatment. We'll see--right now the jury is still out on whether it was worth it since it's too early to tell.
I'll check in later with an update!
Nov 26, 2008Comments and replies (18)
34 posts
7 Dec 2008
Hi, It has been a week and a bit since you had the Smartxide treatment. Have you noticed any other changes. I actually noticed changes were still occuring three months down the road. Subtle things. People are guessing me to be 10 years younger than I actually am and I am getting way more attention from men. I am not sure if its because my skin looks better or that the treatment has helped my self confidence. I have my next treatment on Tuesday. I am a bit scared as some people have said that you will notice more pain the second time around as the skin has thinned a bit. I guess I will see if that is true or note for me. Allison
19 posts
10 Dec 2008
Allison--Here's something below that I posted under laser treatments (I think.) Let me know how the next treatment goes--good luck! I have some light (not too deep) acne scars and patches of large pores. I'm very light skinned with blotchiness & redness around my nose. I think you could say my skin is coarse & thick. I just turned 55 so my skin is getting drier but I have a huge problem with whiteheads & blackheads! Although my skin still looks pretty good for 55, it was starting to get crepey with tiny little surface wrinkles. So any or all of these things would be nice to get rid of with the Smartxide. Monday Dec 8 made 2 weeks since I got lasered. It wasn't until this past Friday that all of the tiny dot scabs had fallen off. I still continue to show some redness, actually light pink, on my neck, but it feels so smooth & soft! Now let's see if it tightens up any. Now to my face. The doc told me that she used a really high setting near my eyes to try to help with my sleep creases, so I'm still redder there than anywhere else. But I'm able to cover it up just fine. Where I really wanted to see some change was in the texture of my skin and I think I'm seeing that. Even though the little scabs have flaked off, I see some very fine peeling going on, but when I step back from the mirror my skin looks much smoother and less blotchy than what I recall. I'm really excited about this and hope that I continue to see improvements. As I said in earlier postings, I think it's going to take at least a month to truly see the results. SO far I like what I'm seeing and I have my next appointment late next week!
19 posts
20 Dec 2008
Dear Sandrasue, I looked pretty bad. I have to admit it sort of surprised me. I had some swelling and puffiness & I was very red. Really a good comparison is like a very bad sunburn. That's also how to describe my skin's sensitivity afterwards. I was given a DOT aftercare kit kit made by DOT. The first day I didn't wash at all because skin was so sensitive, again like a bad sunburn. For about 1-2 hours after the treatment, your sking feels hot & the doc told me to "bring down the temperature of your skin" with icy cold plastic bags. This part is kind of scary too because it IS burning. But it does cool down and then you don't have to ice down as often that day. My doc also advised to put Aquaphor on it. I hesitated to do that at first because it's so thick & greasy. But by the second day, I could feel my skin drying & scabbing. In a couple of spots I could see raw skin and so I started to use the Aquaphor to keep skin moist and slow down the drying. I think this was a good move because I believe it helped prevent scarring--that's just my opinion. The second day I washed VERY gently with a DOT kit cleanser, applied kit balm. By the 3rd day the dots turn to little brown scabs and the red skin starts to turn brownish. As for results, I think it is still too early to tell what the full impact will be. I had this done on 11/24/08. It's now 12/20/08 and I can tell that I am still healing. There is still a patch of redness under both eyes & around my nose. Small brown freckly patches have been definitely reduced. While it's hard to be sure I do think that the texture of my skin is a little better--pores a little tighter. I went to an open house at the medspa where I had this done and was able to talk to the Smartxide DOT representative. He took a look at my face & treatment log (strength of laser used on which parts of my face) & he said that he felt that I was healing on track and that I would be seeing changes in my skin for another couple of months. In fact, he suggested that I wait until March to have a second follow-up DOT instead of now in December. That way I could see what one treatment had accomplished. So I am taking his advice. The best advice I can give you, assuming you have a good doc, is to take care of your skin once you have the DOT and don't rush it. Let it heal up and keep it moist with what your doc gives you. It took me a good 5-6 days before I felt that I looked normal. That didn't stop me from going out, but I know I looked really weird. Hope this helps, glad to share.
24 posts
28 Dec 2008
Iracarley, Thank you for the information. I have cancelled by appointment. I received my preop in the mail. The doctor was going to sedate me and he called it a "pulsed co2 laser resurfacing." I called their office and asked if this is the same as dot therapy, and they said yes. He even gave me the brochure from SMartxide Dot Therapy. It makes me too nervous. I have four young children and I don't have a lot of down time. Thank you for sharing your story and keep us posted on how you are doing. Do you know much about photo facial procedures? I am looking for something that is no so abrasive.
19 posts
29 Dec 2008
I had a photo facial laser treatment done 2 years ago. I did not see any results and would not do it again. But I have pretty coarse skin so it might work better for you. For the Smartxide, I did not get sedated, just a numbing creme. And it was unpleasant, but I was able to take the pain. Everybody is different. Like I've said in previous postings, the worst time was the first hours after the lasering. My skin felt like it was burning. Now that I know what to expect, I am pretty sure that I will do a follow-up treatment in March. It's been almost 30 days since my first Smartxide & I do like what I see. Next time, I'll be more realistic about expectations for down time. BTW, Sandrasue, when I say down time I mean time where I wouldn't want to be seen by some people. This was the only thing holding me back. I never felt sick or so much in pain that I had to stay home. Just wanted to clarify my experience for you. Thanks & good luck on the photofacial!
unregistered guest
14 Jan 2009
I am to have the Smartxide procedure done shortly. My doctor told me that this is a one time thing and now I am reading of patients that are needing more and more treatments. Can anyone relate to this? Also, I have read from some of your replys that the skin gets thinner from the treatment and that there may be scarring. I am getting a little worried at this point after hearing these comments. What can you tell me in reference to these questions that I have? I am not sure I want to have this done now.
34 posts
29 Jan 2009
A Belz, I have done the Smartxide fractional CO2 laser treatment twice and I am contemplating doing it a third time. Each person is different in terms of the results they will see and how aggressive their doctor will be with them. I have olive toned skin and am not a candidate for a full CO2 laser treatment or dermabrasion. I was looking to address acne scars and I got what I consider pretty good results. I had tried a half dozen or so other treatments (IPL, Fraxel, microdermabrasion etc.) with not so much as one scar disappearing. Some treatments actually made things worse. Smartxide gave me 20-30% improvement the first time around and I am currently sitting with a 40-60% improvement. Its hard for me to tell what level I am really at currently as I have a hard time remembering what it used to be like before I started this process until I see pictures. All I know is my skin is night and day and very livable now. I love the freedom I have to not wear make-up. I am swimming, skiing and opening doors without thinking about how my skin looks. I know my skin now looks terrific! It has been liberating for me. My skin has not thinned and Smartxide actually corrected some pigment/scarring left over from my five fraxel nightmare treatments years earlier. If your doctor is competent you won't have any scaring from Smartxide. Good-luck, Allison
19 posts
1 Feb 2009
A Belz--I had mine done in Nov. & will get second in March '09. I did not experience scarring but I treated my skin very gently afterwards and kept it from drying out too soon. I think it is important that the first 3-5 days you keep the skin moisturized. On the first pm of the treatment, I did not wash or touch much because of the burning sensation. I very gently washed the next morning and began to let my skin air dry a bit. That was when I noticed one of the scabs was drying up and tearing away from raw skin and a little blood oozed. I gently wet my face and applied the creams provided by Smartxide and topped that with Aquaphor. This is just me but I think that's why i didn't scar. I do not see thinning as much as more sensitivity. But despite this, I see improvements in tone and texture
2 posts
2 Feb 2009
Can anyone who has had the dot therapy help answer my question? I had the procedure done 2 weeks ago and my skin looked great the first few days after I could wear makeup, but now the crepey wrinkles are back and I still see very little dots after I put my sunscreen on. I am wondering if my skin will look slightly worse before it gets better? I have read everyone saying about a month or so. I want to call the dr and ask if this is the case but dont want to offend them for they are friends of ours! I am 40, so I thought my wrinkles were not that deep? Thanks I would appreciate some feedback, for I dont know if it was worth the money and frustrated by what I see in the mirror.
19 posts
3 Feb 2009
Juliew--The smoothness that I first saw is not quite the same--I had my dot therapy done around 11/20/08. My crepey wrinkles are back, but not as bad as before. I still can see little indentations in my skin that I know are from the dot therapy because they are so evenly spaced, just like the dot laser. As time goes by I do see them diminish. I have to admit that the dot therapy is not the cureall I had hoped for, but I do see imprvement to my skin. It is tighter, smoother and less blotchy. I have to keep reminding myself that it is not a face lift nor is it Fraxel which requires several weeks of downtime. Having said all of that, I am fgiving it one more shot in March when I have a second & last dot therapy. Hope this helps.