V Beam Reviews
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“Treat Dermatitis first, then V beam reduces rosacea flares”
Eric K
Worth It
Spent: $1,250 in Seattle
Spent: $1,250 in Seattle
Rosacea is only apparent on my left cheek and a tiny bit on my nose. Both appear to be caused by sun damage because I've had bad sunburns in those locations because I didn't reapply sunscreen enough.
I also slept on my left side for 7 years. Once the rosacea started flaring up in 2010 due to stress, hot coffee and red wine, sleeping on that side made it worse. So I now sleep on the other side and only drink iced coffee.
I've tried taking doxycycline (20mg twice a daily) and Metrogel and Finacea, and it controlled the acne portion of rosacea but the redness was always there and flares still happened too easily. I'm hoping that V Beam will reduce the redness and the flares.
The treatment itself was a lot like lower power version of hair removal. (Dr. R used 7.5 joules versus the 25+ joules for past Laser Hair Removal sessions.) It's less painful than hair removal, and the strangest part is seeing green flashes with my eyes closed and the metal goggles on.
A few hours after treatment, I look like I got in a fist fight. I'll post an updated photo with the same camera as the before in a few days.
Updated on 2 Feb 2011:
My whole cheek was swollen and bruised for 5 days. After 1 week, the bruising is completely gone and my cheek no longer seems to flare. I feel normal again for the first time in a year. I still plan on going in for another treatment in a month to treat the remaining redness.
Updated on 22 Feb 2012:
If you have persistent dandruff, one factor in your rosacea is probably Seborrheic Dermatitis. After the redness got worse after a rainy 4 day hike in Hawaii (perfect conditions for a fungus), I was researching dandruff treatments and learned people with Rosacea often also have Seborrheic Dermatitis, which is caused my a fungus. I bought some Nizoral shampoo and some Lotramin Ultra cream, and those two have cleared up the persistent redness that remained even after 5 V Beam treatments. So please, make certain you have your Dermatologist check for any signs of Seborrheic Dermatitis before you start V Beam. V beam did fix the rosacea flare ups but not the persistent redness, since that was a rash. I probably could have only had 3 V beam treatments if I had been treating the Seborrheic Dermatitis from the beginning.
Products I recommend for Seborrheic Dermatitis:
Nizoral 1% Ketoconazole shampoo (use daily for 2 weeks, then once per week)
Neutrogenia T/Sal - 3% Salicylic acid shampoo (alternate with Nizoral)
Lotramin Ultra - use on worst areas of redness
This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.
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My Doctor: Jennifer Reichel, MD
My rating:
Dr. R is an expert Dermatologist with just the right amount of humor to make having your face lasered a less stressful experience.
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Looking good, Eric. I can definitely see a difference. Good luck w/ your next treatment!
The deeper redness -- the kind that shows up if I use video chat at night -- is much better. There is still superficial redness, and I'm going to schedule another V Beam treatment to try to reduce that further.
I'm feeling much better than I did a few days after the first treatment even though the setting was higher this time. The was less bruising and almost no swelling. I need to post updated photos showing the result. I think I won't need another treatment for a long time.
It's better after the second treatment, but I think I timed the treatment poorly because I had a lot of deadlines in the days after the treatment. I had stress-related acne on my face and not just the areas that were treated. The one area that may need to be touched up is between my eye and my sideburns since that's where the doctor was less agressive. The areas treated lower down on my cheeks look much better.
Added photo.
Yes, V Beam has made a huge difference for me and I'm relieved that the painful flushing is gone. It was awful.
Downtime and swelling was much easier the 2nd time around even though the setting was higher. There were just a lot more blood vessels to target the first time.
Yes, the painful flares are gone and using Azelaic acid cream (Finacea) has helped keep my skin clear. I previously used Salicyclic Acid on my cheeks but the alcohol base became too irritating when my roscea started a year ago. I read that Finacea helps with the superficial redness and acne and that has been my experience. Just make certain to mix it with a moisturizer because the 15% strength is too much by itself even in the cream version.
I am trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet so I only eat whole carbs.
I'll probably have one more treatment in the fall since I had the last treatment right before a really stressful period at work. I should have postponed the treatment until after that...