Fraxel Laser: Stories

So, after having spent almost a year on researching for what treatment could be best for my acne, I found the perfect fit with fraxel. My acne is still active, so I thought that I would have to wait until it is fully under control to undergo a fraxel treatment, which really stressed me out because after years of batteling acne I kind of got impatient.

When I talked to the dermatologist who is going to do my treatment, she told me that the fraxel laser would heal the acne completely after 2-3 treatments. She also showed me before and after pictures of acne patients, which gave me a good feeling. The dermatologist has been given the black diamond award every year since she's doing the fraxel, so she must be good. This is the highest award the fraxel company gives to their users. I am having my first treatment in 10 days and I am reaaaaaaallly impatient.

So.. today I went in for my first fraxel treatment.
I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, because the doctor really gave me a good feeling that he knows exactly what he's doing. 8 passes, the energy set on 50. As I only had the chin and forehead done, it didn't took more than 10 minutes. Of course, the numbing cream had been applied one hour pre treatment. I have quite a high pain threshold, but it really did hurt. Bearable though, especially as it's not a one hour procedure.

So..today is day 2 of recovery. I am a little swollen around the chin, no redness though. The skin feels a little like fine sandpaper and you can see tiny brownish spots from the laser, which can easily be covered with makeup. No breakouts so far, that was kind of what I feared most..hope it stays this way. I won't upload any picture from today as it looks pretty much the same as yesterday.

Soo.. today is day number 5 after the procedure and my skin is sloowly getting back to normal. Most of the skin has sloughed off, there is still some flaking though, especially on the forehead which I suppose is the area that takes the most time healing. Hmm, what do I think so far? It definitely helped with the acne, almost every pimple has kind of fallen off, only leaving red spots which should be gone in a couple of days. I did not break out and I think I'm 'out of the woods' for this to happen, as my doctor told me that if you don't break out after 2-3 days, you won't at all.
The scars on my chin are hardly visible, the deeper ones on my forehead have improved about 50%, I hope it stays that way and not that I'm getting all excited too early. It really was much easier than I thought it would be. Went back to work after 2 days and no one commented on my skin like 'oh my god what have you done?"
I just told them I had a peeling done.. :)
I'll post some more photos on the weekend, as my skin has looked pretty much the same the past few days.
Hope y'all doing great!