FriedaFoxworth

Would you mind sharing pix?

send me a private message with your email and I'll send you photos.

By getting worse I mean an increase in dullness and laxity of skin, major increase in pore size, tiny holes, fine lines and bumps

I would never put another laser on my face again. And it may make it look better for a while. My skin looked fine for the first month or two. The real problems came 6 months to a year later so I'd be afraid any "corrective" laser would yield similar results on down the road. And of all the women on this board who have had bad results from lasers I'm not sure I have heard of any having them fixed with lasers. And yes, of course, I've seen many doctors and tried many things, none of which worked. And like your doc said, the "corrective" lasers he recommends carry greater risk of larger complications than the one you used, which wouldn't exactly inspire confidence if it were me.

Again, the area cannot be "sanded" because "sanding" applies to the very top outermost layer of skin whereas fractionated laser is designed to pass that top layer of skin and "destroy micro-columns of tissue" deep *below* the surface- therefore with these procedures you are just be bringing deeply embedded damage to the surface quicker. I did microderm shortly after my laser treatment with zero result- who's to say in retrospect if that made things worse? I can't. In any case, I wouldn't rush to put your skin through anything else traumatic right now while your body's defense mechanisms are already down. You're in the very beginning stages of healing- my inkling is to say don't push it, but I'm not a doctor, I just speak from experience and from innumerable accounts I've read of people in our position. Ask your doctor if there is any reason this approach would work now versus in six months? If not, then wouldn't it be prudent to wait and allow yourself time to heal? My doc wanted to also do photo-facial after my treatment but I read so many accounts of photo-facials being a temporary fix that caused even more damage later that I decided not to. I had already ignored such warnings about fractionated laser I felt I'd be foolish to do so again. I know you are desperate- we all have been there- and sadly, isn't that feeling the bread and butter of this industry? Just take your time and think about it and remember promises of a "quick fix" are what got you here. Look at the negative reviews on this procedure on Realself and look at the numerous replies from doctors on this board who FAIL to address or recommend any tried and true solution with any positively reviewed results from consumers.

I hate to be a bummer but mine got worse. Fractionated laser is designed to go DEEP under the skins surface, which is why damage a) often worsens over time b) cannot be sanded down or ablated to reveal new skin because you've been zapped through to your deepest layer of skin. When they say fractionated laser "vaporizes tissue" in their literature they aren't kidding- it's gone. I got my treatment 17 months ago and I guess the best advice I can give is be patient, take care of yourself, and live your life. Try not to obsess about it- I'm horrified at how my skin looks but there are an awful lot of people with really awful skin that still find a way to wake up in the morning and make each day count. Don't waste too much time on what you lost, it's pointless. Some people have had pretty bad damage and made improvements- there is always that possibility- healing is contingent upon so many individual unforeseen factors so there's no reason to be hopeless. Be willing to try things but I'd be leery of anyone trying to sell anything corrective and have never, in all my many months of research heard of anything "corrective" working. Usually people who see improvements are using certain skin regimens (retin-A, obagi, etc) and eating right, exercising and taking various supplements and eating right. So sorry this happened to you too- try not to worry and take care of yourself