I had Active FX in May 2008. The results were awful, just as you are describing. Rest assured it will all go away, or at least back to where you started, but you will probably need several IPLs, and the hydroquinine. My hyperpigmentation was so bad from the Active FX I had to wear a lot of makeup to cover the damage for several months. The doctor was great about providing free IPL treatments, but that doesn't take away all the down time and anxiety that comes with having your face so messed up. Most of the age spots have come back, but my skin does seem to be a little tighter and smoother. I would never do any of these procedures again. I would start the IPL ASAP, and keep your skin moisturized. Mine was so bad, I started using Vaseline once a day. I smoothed it on very lightly, and it made a big improvement over how the makeup would look on my face. Hang in there, it will eventually remedy itself.
Just about my whole face was done, excluding my nose and forehead, since I didn't have the hyperpigmentation there. It looked awful for about 5 days, and then it started to flake off and I could use minimal makeup to cover it. I've been using Retin A or Tazorac for close to 15 years and I continued using it after the Active FX and all of the IPLs. Before the procedures I used it daily, but I find my skin now gets too dried out. I try and use it every other day. Since I'm not planning on any more procedures, I hope to be able to use it daily again. It really smooths out my skin. I think Tazorac is similiar to Retin A, but for some reason my derm switched to Tazorac a few years ago. I would give IPL several chances. Every session the power was raised a little, so I didn't see dramatic results until this last one, although each time it did get better. I was hesitant about the whole IPL thing since burns can occur. My doctor wanted to take it slow and do more at lesser powers, than risk a burn. Good luck. It takes time, but there is an end in sight.
Today is day 9 since the last IPL. The hyperpigmentation is barely there now. There are really just two light spots by the jawline, which are usually covered by my hair. The rest of my face looks great. I think I'm done with all of this now. It's been a total of 8 1/2 months since the Active FX. I have seen much improvement as far as texture and overall color, but would I do Active FX again. Definitely NO. Too much stress, downtime and fear of the unknown. Seeing how well the IPLs have worked, I probably would do that again, but I think I'm just going to stick to Restylane.
I'm fine. I didn't mean my whole face turned brown, I meant the areas that were done. That's what is supposed to happen. The spot treated gets red, then brown and forms a very light crust and then flakles off in about 10 days. If your face doesn't turn red or the spots don't turn brown , the hyperpigmentation won't flake off. So, your doctor will need to turn up the power little by little to make sure you get the browning but not burnt. You want to form a scab over the hyperpigmentation, so when the scab falls off there will be new skin without hyperpigmentation, but the browning is not as thick as a scab. My previous treatments formed the browning, but not enough to make the hyperpigmentation completely disappear. It did lighten a bit, and that is why I wanted a more aggressive treatment this time. I know that my skin doesn't get hyperpigmentation from the IPL. It takes a few treatments to get the power correct.
I had another IPL yesterday. I told my doc. to be very aggressive. When I got home I thought I had burnt because my face was so swollen and red. Later that night most of the swelling and redness disappeared, but I have so much browning it almost looks like I had another Active FX. They say makeup easily covers it, but I have a lot of makeup on today, and it's still very visible. It takes about 10-12 days for the brown scaling to all disappear. This is the first time I even got red. The other 3 times I just got slight brown spots on the places with the hyperpig. I don't want to keep getting the IPL so I asked for a very powerful one. I don't think I will need anymore after this one. How is your redness today? Usually they start with a low test power to make sure you will do ok. Good luck with your IPL.
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