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*Treatment results may vary
One Week Later
The last of the darkened spots came off yesterday in the shower, so my skin seems to have healed up within a week. Now that they are gone I can see the results much better. I think it actually might be a 50% improvement. It definitely did improve a little after I posted my last update.
There were three areas I really wanted to improve. The spots on my forehead, which were the result of one specific bad sunburn are almost totally gone. It's a huge, very noticeable difference! My forehead came out the best of anywhere, I think maybe because that area was not freckled, just sun damaged. The spot under my eye, which I have hated for at least 10 years, is improved by about 50%. The spot on my nose... unfortunately escaped being treated. The doctor only fired twice at my nose, once from each side, so maybe he somehow missed it, although it's right in the middle on one side, so I don't know. Ugh. It also took away probably 50% of the spots going down each side of my face. There were a ton of those, but they didn't bother me as much.
Now that some of the darker, smaller spots are gone, I can see larger patches of lighter sun damage if I get up close to the mirror when I am not wearing any makeup. I'm not sure yet whether those bother me or not. Once I put my makeup on (tinted moisturizer & pressed powder) I think it looks pretty good!
I am interested to see what will come back over time. My doctor said once you have the spots removed, they do eventually come back from continued sun exposure, and that most of his patients are more unhappy about it after they have had them removed once. I'm not sure if the exact same spots come back or if you just get new ones in new places.
I think I need one more treatment to get the result I was looking for. I just have to decide whether I want to get it done in October/November, or wait about 6 months till I have to go back in for a prescription refill. I may just use a bleaching cream for a while again. That would probably be enough to get me through winter and I just use the Ambi fade cream which is only like $4 vs $300 for another IPL treatment. That is what I used before my wedding and it did make a significant difference, although obviously not as much as the IPL!
There were three areas I really wanted to improve. The spots on my forehead, which were the result of one specific bad sunburn are almost totally gone. It's a huge, very noticeable difference! My forehead came out the best of anywhere, I think maybe because that area was not freckled, just sun damaged. The spot under my eye, which I have hated for at least 10 years, is improved by about 50%. The spot on my nose... unfortunately escaped being treated. The doctor only fired twice at my nose, once from each side, so maybe he somehow missed it, although it's right in the middle on one side, so I don't know. Ugh. It also took away probably 50% of the spots going down each side of my face. There were a ton of those, but they didn't bother me as much.
Now that some of the darker, smaller spots are gone, I can see larger patches of lighter sun damage if I get up close to the mirror when I am not wearing any makeup. I'm not sure yet whether those bother me or not. Once I put my makeup on (tinted moisturizer & pressed powder) I think it looks pretty good!
I am interested to see what will come back over time. My doctor said once you have the spots removed, they do eventually come back from continued sun exposure, and that most of his patients are more unhappy about it after they have had them removed once. I'm not sure if the exact same spots come back or if you just get new ones in new places.
I think I need one more treatment to get the result I was looking for. I just have to decide whether I want to get it done in October/November, or wait about 6 months till I have to go back in for a prescription refill. I may just use a bleaching cream for a while again. That would probably be enough to get me through winter and I just use the Ambi fade cream which is only like $4 vs $300 for another IPL treatment. That is what I used before my wedding and it did make a significant difference, although obviously not as much as the IPL!
Days 4, 5, 6
I thought the spots would flake off like dead skin, but I don't really notice when they come off. They are like little black very flat scabs. Every day there are fewer. Almost all of the black spots towards the center of my face are gone now. There are still quite a few around the edge of my face, mainly my cheeks and the area that had a lot of damage on my forehead.
I assume that once the black spots have fallen off, that's as good as it's going to get in that area. I think I am going to have to have at least one more IPL session because there is still a lot of pigment left that I wanted to have removed in the center of my face. It is not even a 50% improvement I don't think.
The doctor did say that people usually do a series of 3, but I was hoping I might be happy with the results after just 1 session to save some money. I'm going to have to take some pictures to compare. The camera always picks up way more flaws than I thought I had.
I assume that once the black spots have fallen off, that's as good as it's going to get in that area. I think I am going to have to have at least one more IPL session because there is still a lot of pigment left that I wanted to have removed in the center of my face. It is not even a 50% improvement I don't think.
The doctor did say that people usually do a series of 3, but I was hoping I might be happy with the results after just 1 session to save some money. I'm going to have to take some pictures to compare. The camera always picks up way more flaws than I thought I had.
Days 2 & 3
At the end of Day 1 I ended up going out to dinner with my husband and I put a fair amount of makeup on. I used my sort of full coverage foundation and it did not really cover the dark spots, but I felt like I looked fine and good enough that I could go to work. I had asked for three days of working from home this time because I wasn't sure what I would look like (Wed/Thur/Fri + Sat and Sun off seemed like enough time just in case.) Next time I may just go in the afternoon after work and go back the next day with a little extra make up.
On Day 2 my spots looked about the same. They had darkened up within 2-4 hours and I don't think any new ones have gotten dark or that anything has gotten darker over time. I had to go out into the world to do some things in the afternoon and I barely put any makeup on (which is my usual going to the grocery store MO.) I just used my drugstore mineral pressed powder on my face. I feel like when I get a little bit of sun, even with reapplying spf, my freckles/spots turn almost this dark anyway, so I was like meh whatever, this is good enough to stand in a checkout line and go to the gym.
Today is Day 3 (counting procedure day as Day 1 since I went first thing in the morning) and it looks the same to me. No change. No flaking. No new spots. No tingling, itching, or discomfort. I think some of the spots have maybe shrunk a little. In particular, the spot I hated under my eye looks like it's sort of dissolving away.
So far so good, but I would love to see some of these spots fall off!!!
Also regarding freckles, I just felt like my doctor was being a little dismissive like "oh those are just freckles on your face" when I know that some are freckles and some are age spots. They may well be the same thing from a medical perspective, but I feel like freckles are a cute little sprinkling in the areas where you've always had them, and age spots are like OMG WHAT IS THAT THING UNDER MY EYE NOW??? My freckles were smaller and darker and the age spots were lighter and bigger. So the goal wasn't to eliminate freckles, but if they go away, I do not care. They are not a big part of my visual identity to me.
On Day 2 my spots looked about the same. They had darkened up within 2-4 hours and I don't think any new ones have gotten dark or that anything has gotten darker over time. I had to go out into the world to do some things in the afternoon and I barely put any makeup on (which is my usual going to the grocery store MO.) I just used my drugstore mineral pressed powder on my face. I feel like when I get a little bit of sun, even with reapplying spf, my freckles/spots turn almost this dark anyway, so I was like meh whatever, this is good enough to stand in a checkout line and go to the gym.
Today is Day 3 (counting procedure day as Day 1 since I went first thing in the morning) and it looks the same to me. No change. No flaking. No new spots. No tingling, itching, or discomfort. I think some of the spots have maybe shrunk a little. In particular, the spot I hated under my eye looks like it's sort of dissolving away.
So far so good, but I would love to see some of these spots fall off!!!
Also regarding freckles, I just felt like my doctor was being a little dismissive like "oh those are just freckles on your face" when I know that some are freckles and some are age spots. They may well be the same thing from a medical perspective, but I feel like freckles are a cute little sprinkling in the areas where you've always had them, and age spots are like OMG WHAT IS THAT THING UNDER MY EYE NOW??? My freckles were smaller and darker and the age spots were lighter and bigger. So the goal wasn't to eliminate freckles, but if they go away, I do not care. They are not a big part of my visual identity to me.