it’s been 5 days since clear + brilliant procedure - am very tempted to remove it will i regret this terribly if i do?

this is not the type of reaction from clear and brilliant seen in my practice and we do not use Aquaphor after lasers anymore, I suggest you see an expert for the proper aftercare.
 I would suggest a combination approach for facial rejuvenation.
1) skin care with products and PRP/microneedling
2) PDT light therapy few times a month with growth factors
3) laser treatments like clear and brilliant regularly and a few times a year Fraxel, Viva, Co2/Erbium
4) Sculptra injections a few times a year for collagen production with fillers like juvederm/restylane/belotero/radiesse/bellafill
5) thermage/ultherapy for yearly skin tightening with or without PDO or cone based instalift threads for lifting
6) botox every 2-3 months to stop movement lines and prevent lines at rest
7) deep microneedling RF like Fractora/morpheus8 for tightening of the skin
Best, Dr. Emer.

Dear patient, I strongly recommend that you contact your provider and ask for his or her post laser regimen. In my practice the little brown spots usually come off after 2-3 days with washing  with Cetaphil and 2-3 times a day application of aquaphore. I hope this was helpful.

It sounds like the treatment lifted a lot of pigmentation, and you're going to have a great result after that damaged layer sloughs off. After 7 days you can gently exfoliate to remove the peppering. Be sure to diligently use a physical spf of at least 30 everyday.