First things first: highly capable and concerned physician! A plastic surgeon perfomed my lower lid blepharoplasty w/fat transfers to undereye area 5 months ago. The blue veins around my eyes always hidden by the bags became quite prominent. When Sciton failed to eradicate them, the plastic surgeon sent me to Dr. Goldberg at Pima Dermatology for Excel V treatment. The consultation (staff) involved extensive photography and analysis, which the doctor reviewed before calling to confirm I was a candidate. Had the first of 1-2 treatments today. No discussion could have prepared me for the pain, which was unavoidable, because these were not red surface veins but thick blue ones overlying bone. They were "zapped" at 1064 nm from the temples through the undereye area. I regret to say I cried throughout, each eye taking about 8 minutes. The doctor was completely supportive and balanced concern for my distress with delivering a successful outcome. I was quite red for just a couple hours. Now, 8 hours later, I'm only as pink and puffy as someone with allergies- no stranger would notice I had a procedure today AND I CAN BARELY DISCERN WHERE THE VEINS WERE. Over the next 2 weeks the vasculature will continue to dissolve and I will determine if a final "touch up" is needed. Dr. Goldberg said the swelling would be most prominent at 48 hrs: at 2 weeks I will post the before, worst of and after.
I saw a half price offer for Sciton Halo, and I decided to do my face (so it was $450). I have shallow wrinkles from my mouth up to the crows' feet when I smile, some light brown spots, and some general aging. I've had ematrix in the past (several years), but wanted the mild ablative effect to remove sun damage, hopefully help prevent future skin cancers since those run in the family. I want to preserve the health of my skin as best I can. Day 0: I went in about 45 minute early for numbing cream, and my face felt really numb when they started. The nurse had a specific pattern she followed rolling the device across my face, one section at a time. There were some painful spots around my lips and nose, and on the temples, either less numbing cream there or just sensitive spots. By the end, I was feeling pretty hot. The nurse gave me a cold air blower and a couple of cold packs to take with me, and after a few minutes I headed home. (Pay in advance! You don't want to hang around with a hot face!) When I got home, I looked red and freckled, though some of the freckles were pinpricks of blood. I blotted with a cool, moist cloth and used cold packs for about 2 1/2 hours, then I felt less hot. That night I put on a little makeup and went out to the movies. My sweetheart said I looked freckled, but otherwise normal. Day 1 (24 hours after): I woke up looking like I had a bad skier's sunburn: very red with a smattering of brown, and pale around the eyes as if I'd been wearing sunglasses. It made me think that ematrix around the eyes might complement this procedure. My face was slightly swollen and gritty with dry skin. I moisturized, put on a little makeup, and went to visit my father (he noticed nothing, but he's not likely to). Day 2: My face is still puffy and slightly red, but not terrible. It feels like coarse sandpaper, and I have been warned not to exfoliate or scrub to let it heal normally. The desire to scrub is pretty intense. I can use cold water compresses to help the dry skin come off. After slathering on a thick layer of cicalfate, my face is white and textured looking. My cheeks are swollen, to my surprise; I guess I won't go for a run or heavy exercise today with my face still red, but I can put on makeup and go to the store. Close friends might ask what's going on, but I probably won't run into any. I wouldn't want to go to work like this. Updated on 31 Dec 2015: I still have some swelling and redness across my cheekbones, and my skin feels very gritty. I am slathering on the moisturizer which kind of highlights the rough texture, but it feels good. Updated on 31 Dec 2015: I should add that before we did the procedure, the nurse spoke to me about whether I wanted to be aggressive or not. I was intimidated about recovery. The nurse felt the aggressive treatment gave better results. I didn't want to do it twice, so I asked for the aggressive treatment. I tried to remember the numbers she punched into the machine. I think they were 500/40 and 100/20 for the two different frequencies. Updated on 2 Jan 2016: By Friday, the 4th day after treatment, the swelling was gone. I was still rosy across my cheekbones. My skin was VERY gritty and flaking. I slathered on sunscreen and went about my business, including exercise (which I wouldn't do while hot or swollen). I even met with friends -- not my closest circle. They were too polite to comment. :) Day 5: My face is peeling like crazy. My lower cheeks are smooth, but there are huge flakes elsewhere. It's hard to cover this texture with makeup. I can see dark brown (mends?) on my cheeks where I've had age spots for a long time. I think they will peel off and go away!! I'm excited to be improving the health of my skin though it's rough socially to have all this flaking skin. I will try the water/vinegar soaks later today to see if that makes the skin fall off. Updated on 3 Jan 2016: Most of the large scaley patches have flaked off. Prior to this, my face had the texture of stucco when covered with makeup or moisturizer. Now it's mostly smooth with some dark brown mends, and it's quite pink, but can be covered easily. The new skin is so clear and beautiful! I didn't think my "before" skin was that terrible, but I'm amazed at the difference. I feel great when I look at it in the mirror! It will take a while before I know whether fine wrinkles will go away, but the clarity of my skin makes me feel years younger. Updated on 11 Jan 2016: My skin looks beautiful, but still a little pink especially across the cheek bones. Wrinkles are softened or disappeared (time will tell). All the brown age spots are gone.
I had a full face Halo Laser and then just a partial around my mouth and lower face. Very little to no improvement as my wrinkles appear the same. Do not waste your money on this laser as you will be disappointed and sad.