I went to my dermatologist, Dr. Jill Waibel, I’ve been going to her for years- she’s conservative and recommending procedures, so when she recommended Ellacor for the beginning of jaw/(double) chin area laxity trusted her judgement. Today is day 1- everyone’s posts here were so helpful I wanted to bring you all along for the ride. Updated on 16 Nov 2023: 24 hours later. No pain. Some swelling on my right side (likely shows up as my left on the photos) from where the ellacor tapped on my lower jaw (I have TMJ so im thinking it’s related to that having already been tender- likely unrelated to the Ellacor but I’m including it). I took a bunch of pictures in different lights. My family says it looks worse in person than in pictures so keep that in mind. I looked at so many pictures before the procedure that I know my recovery is actually going really well. Had I not done my homework I may have been surprised but this seems par for the course. Updated on 17 Nov 2023: Day 2- 48 hours from Treatment Still on swelling on one side. Washing face 3 times a day w/ gentle cleanser & applying a moisturizing serum and Vaseline. I think that I’m going to end up loving this treatment once the healing and full effects are visible in 3 months. I like that it won’t be a drastic change up front and that it’ll just be a slow transition. Of course, that’s if it works but I do think that it will! Updated on 18 Nov 2023: Day 3- feeling good. Everyday looking better. Really looking forward to seeing results. Was prescribed 10mg prednisone for 3 days to help with the swelling on the right cheek. Started it this morning after I took these pictures. Tomorrow should be better with swelling. Updated on 20 Nov 2023: Every day has gotten progressively better as far as the appearance of the squares. I’m glad I can wear make up now. The make up covers quite a bit if you pay close attention. Of course you can see it but not enough that I’m gonna stay home. Updated on 25 Nov 2023: Dayyyy 9 I think? Healing is going a bit slower but still progressing. I can completely cover up the marks with make up and my make up looks better than ever. I need to post that after this update. I think that once this is fully healed I’m going to be very happy with the procedure. Updated on 30 Nov 2023: So far I’m not unhappy but I’m pretty ready for the squares to be gone. They don’t show at all under makeup so that’s amazing. I’m going to have the doctor look at my progress and also, I’m going to ask for a picture to be taken to compare to my ‘before’. I’ll keep you all posted! Updated on 23 Feb 2024: I am very happy with my results, and the doctor told me that this is only the beginning that full results will show by the one year mark. I plan on doing this again. No makeup as you can see from the pimple under my nose.
I have been eyeing Dr Waibel for 10 months. I started with a Co2 laser which took quite awhile to heal. Skin looks good. I am saggy on lower face so just received my first Ellacor treatment 2 days ago. The worst part was the lidocaine injections for numbing, the rest was not painful. I'll show you photos so that you can judge how I am coming along. Cost $1750 Updated on 1 Apr 2023: I will still need to wear a mask in public. I haven’t been uncomfortable. I’m starting to feel a little itchy but not touching my face. I think in 2-3 days I should be comfortable going out on public.
I watched and waited to get Ellacor for nearly a year. I then waited to write this review until the full healing was over. The concept is perfect. They punch out cores of 8% of your skin in your mid to lower face. (and neck in my case) And you can repeat it, up to monthly for even more improvement. Less risk of looking unnatural as a facelift might. The Ellacor treatment was not painful for me during or after, and I took no drugs -- most people do. They do inject a local. MID-LOWER FACE & NECK thumbs up. The progress is slow enough-- it takes 3 months to see the outcome -- that if I hadn't taken pics, I would have barely noticed. None of my friends could tell any difference, but the pics don't lie, it DID make a substantial positive difference. Ellacor is still not for everyone IMO. They say '3-5 days downtime', but I learned that is just for the ability to put on makeup, and even that can take 2 weeks if your skin is still raw. I had an event 4 weeks after treatment and still had to cake on thick makeup to hide the red squares. thick makeup --ugh). It took at least 2 months for me to not have to cover up my red squares. I was told beforehand that was rare for redness to be there after a month, but my friend who did it still has red spots after 3 months. And another clinic told me multiple people took 3 months. I believe it takes longer if you are fair-skinned as we are. So ASK re redness duration, especially if your goal is multiple treatments to get the result. I'm happy I did it this once, but I would not go the through months of healing again -- and the worry about scarring. That is too long to do Ellacor multiple times. ____________ ABOVE THE KNEES thumbs down Okay, in fairness, knees are off-label. (so is the neck fwiw). But, I wanted to avoid knee wrinkles that we starting. So, 3 months later I still have red square scars in the entire area. I just did BBL laser for it last week. Fingers crossed that they go away. A PA told me it was taking multiple IPL treatments for redness. ____________ MORE: I also did CO2 laser on my upper face at the same time. That looked great, and my local doctor & I can see the improvement. Healing was in the normal time frame. Good news/bad news: Ellacor dissolves filler. For me that was *good* as my filler from years ago had migrated lower (Go on YouTube, it's more common than you might think). So, I was happy to have it gone. __________ BOTTOM LINE: Ellacor is still new. I would wait for more RealSelf reviews to try it out. Especially since Cytrelis is just starting to scale this, so they will have to make sure there is adequate training and the right calibration. The downtime may improve as they do so. I'm not sharing my doctor's name, because this review is on the technology, not the doctor. Important to separate the two. Updated on 12 Sep 2022: It has been almost 6 months. I think my face looks the same as at 3 months. I realize I should take pictures -- as hard to remember. Cytrellis does state 3-6 months for full healing/impact. So it will be important for me to take photos. I'm still glad I did my face. I want to add that for a while the skin texture ('dewiness') for my face didn't seem as good as before Ellacore -- and now it's finally back! I also did some exfoliation a couple of times (light glycolic acid -- only for a minute), and maybe that helped. I'm use to laser treatments where the 'injury' actually improves texture right away. It may have just been time, but it is a relief to have healthier looking skin again. KNEES The BBL did help the red marks on my knees somewhat -- but it took months -- for the first month I noticed no improvement. I'm going for 1 more round of BBL for my knees this month and my fingers are crossed that they will finally look normal again. The good news is at least makeup covers it -- but who wants to wear makeup on their knees? I actually do wear makeup on them when I'm out with shorts as I'd be too self-conscious about the red marks otherwise. Once the knee redness goes, I can better assess any improvement in knee wrinkles. If Ellacor + 2 rounds of BBL is what it takes, it will have been worth it for my knees and I will revise my rating for it. Yes, BBL adds to the cost -- but I don't see any other solution for knee wrinkles. Surgery on an area you bend all the time is too risky for me. Updated on 13 Sep 2022: I just took my ~6-month photo in the same lighting as the 3 month. I can't tell the difference between 3 months and 6 months. But then I took a pic in super unflattering lighting. Still an improvement over my before pic, but not as great. Looking back, that before pic must have been taken in unflattering lighting too. Trying very hard for consistency and accuracy. I'm always aware of lighting and angle in before/after pics. My conclusion: Yes, improvement from before Ellacor. My current look is like the more flattering pic, but my 'before pic' was not as bad as it looked relative to my 3 months due to the unflattering lighting. Thus the improvement from Ellacor is not as remarkable -- but still I at least had improvement. And I'm happy with my current look. ps Good news: Knees redness MUCH better from the first BBL round (took new pics) -- but not posting those pics to keep anonymity. Updated on 18 Jul 2023: Dr. Waibel in Miami told Ellacor round 1 + CO2 round 2 was the best combo -- over 2 rounds of Ellacor. She offers both, and is all about the best result for the patient, so I trust her. I get the reasoning, -- because CO2 laser makes your skin look better/healthier/dewier, while Ellacor only does tightening. Plus I still have some acne scars, so my motivation may be different from others, as CO2 helps there also. Dr. Waibel does fractional *ablative* CO2, which is more intensive and supposed to also do some tightening. I personally found that just fractional CO2 laser never did any tightening -- though it did make my skin look dewier. If I post photos and information on it, I will likely create a post in the CO2 section. However, I expect to come back here and compare it to Ellacor in terms of tightening. It does take 4-6 months to see the results, so it may be a while until I do. Still glad I did round 1 of Ellacor for my face. (but not recommending it for the knees as the redness for me didn't go away until I had BBL). Updated on 23 Feb 2025: My laxity is now worse than before the treatment. Further, not only did I have to do two IPL treatments to get rid of the red marks, I also needed ablative CO2 laser to restore my (relatively) dewy skin texture that was lost after Ellacor. Given all the time for healing, the expensive additional treatments, it's not worth it. I still think Dr. Waibel is a great doctor, just not big on this treatment. And she is great and aggressive with CO2.
Dr Waibel made a great impression during my consult. Even though I was able to be seen by her 2 hours past appointment time I decided on a treatment with her. I thought I could handle long time wait if the treatment is successful. She offered Ablative pro fractional laser, full face targeting acne scars. She was nice, friendly, informative, knowledgeable and even though pretty quick she answered all my questions. On a treatment day I was in the office between 2:00 - 6:00 pm. My numbing was scheduled for 2:30 (started on time), laser 3:30, but it started at 5:17 and my procedure last 13 minutes. It was painful but nothing that could not be handled. I really hope it was not that short because she was in rush. I noticed today, a day after procedure, there are parts on my face that were not touched by laser (middle of forehead, upper lip area, tip of the nose, cheeks close to the nose area). The staff is nice (especially Nabila). I was just disappointed when after the numbing cream was taken off of my face, I waited for the procedure in the room by myself for well over an hour and a half and nobody checked on me. When I walked outside to ask what was happening I saw 4 girls gathered around the desk talking and laughing. Waiting for the results and hoping that Active FX was what my skin needed.
35 Years Old - I have gone to see Dr. Waibel for over 6 years and there's no other doctor in this world that took the time to really explain everything to me in full detail and make me feel comfortable. I come every year, and I request Ana as my nurse each time. Ana by far loves and cares. Even took me home. I love her.
I had the best cosmetic experience with Dr. Jill Waibel and her wonderful team, especially Joyful Gonzalez, the cosmetic coordinator. Everyone was so friendly, welcoming and attentive. Joyful ensured that everything ran smoothly and ensured that we got the best service. I am so happy with the procedure I had. I definitely recommend them!
Its painful if you don't buy healing and protecting Lip balm. Cake it on don't lick your lips I started 1 pill a day of 40 mg (ask me for prescription name if curious) Anyway It was $370 for roughly a month in a half supply. I'm self pay.. :( Anyway ALL your acne will break out like crazy at first but you will slowly see the stubborn black heads pores disappear. She doubled my dosage that i will start 2 pills 40 mg on monday March 23, 2015... Just excited to get this [RS bleep] over with. She said I would only need 4 months than 3 month before i can get anything else done. After that I'm getting a hair transfer and Bbl :0 :) FOLLOW ME
For me, it was a no-brainer to brighten up my face a little with Botox. It started like this, I originally went in for my yearly, full-body checkup, but once I finally asked about minimizing the lines (and waves as I like to describe them) on my face, etc., The pros outweighed any cons. And what I mean by that is, in having received this minor cosmetic procedure, I would get a glimpse at how I looked around the age of 18 and see if it was worth it to me (not anyone else) to get touch-ups every 5 to 6 months. And it is!!! I feel more confident and have a presence about me that I didn't think was going to come back. Hooray.. Seriously! But wait, there's more! I was presented with the option to create an account with Brilliant Distinctions that way I could earn credit towards other services! Another... no brainer.. signed up at the office with the assistance of the seriously patient staff; I now have quite a few points racked up :)
During my highschool years I got lots of subcutaneous acne on my nose. This is due because my nose has more sebaceous glands than usual. I use to pinch my nose a lot (I regret doing so) because it only made scars worse and the acne look worse. I haven't gotten that nasty acne in a few years, so I thought that now is the perfect time to try the CO2 laser (ultrapulse).
Went in for a consultation with Joyful, the Cosmetic Coordinator. She was fabulous and extremely informative. She took the time to explain to the procedure and what I should expect as far as recovery and realistic results. I was very impressed with her professionalism and attentive nature. Dr Waibel has such an excellent reputation and Joyful made me feel so comfortable, I'm going back again. It's all about the quality of service and results. I would definitely recommend this office.
