Had a micro laser peel today followed by a 400 micron profractional laser. I'm 39 with fine lines and mild (pitted scarring in the cheek area). I previously had 4 fraxel laser restore treatments with no results at all on the scarring so I decided on this. The whole procedure last 1 1/2 hrs. I had numbing creme applied. I have a very high tolerance for pain and I will be honest, this hurt, really bad. There were times I felt like getting up and saying forget it. When it was over my face was on fire like my head was in a 500 degree oven. They applied aquaphor and I went home with the a/c on high all the way. I do not know what the outcome of this procedure will be but if you ask me right now if I would do again I will say no. It hurt that bad. I'm not sure the pain will be worth the gain but this hurt. I'm 4 hrs post now and my skin feels hot in some places. Not terrible (took 2 advil when I got home) but not great. I look like Freddy Kreuger. Im red, dried up blood all over, a little swollen under my eyes and the aquaphor makes it look even worse. I will try to update in a few days. I'm a real patient who literally just had this done. Just hope I can help someone debating this make a decision.
Not Gonna Lie, Hurt Like #$%@ - Anderson, SC
24 hours post procedure
So its about 25 hours since I left the doctors office. The night was rough. Tried to sleep sitting up (for swelling & not wanting to rub my face on pillow). I woke up this morning and looked horrible. Wasn't quite supposed to wash my face yet but I did. It stung like crazy to wash but it helped because about 70% of the dried blood was gone. I applied the aquaphor again and have gone about my day. I'm redder today than yesterday but it's not as gross looking. I'm swollen under my eyes. Looks like a very bad sunburn and my eyelids are white. I'm not in pain but my face is very tender to the touch. Feels raw. Will try to update next 24-48 hrs.
54 hours post procedure
I like to update using hours because I never know when someone says day 2, 3 etc if they are counting the day of procedure. So this is 2 days and 6 hrs later. A little less red but very blotchy looking. I have that "grid" as you can see in the picture. Tried just using a moisturizer but it stung so went back to aquaphor. You can see lines and marks from where the laser hit so it's not an even all over red, it's just weird looking. I'm peeling already like crazy. When I wash my face I get little balls of dead skin rolling up all over my face. Then when I put the ointment on you can see loose skin all over. Not sure how long this grid will stay but hope it goes away soon. Will update soon.
4 days 4 hours after procedure
Not much change to report. Maybe just a slight improvement in the redness. Still a good bit of red lines (marks from laser) When I wash my face it gets very dry and tight as soon as I dry it. It was so dry tonight I actually went back to the aquaphor. Moisturizer just doesn't soothe it. With all the swelling gone I'm starting to see my imperfections again. : ( I'm hoping this is one of those where I will see results later since I'm not seeing any yet. I went to work today and got some weird stares. (no makeup) One girl said I looked like I had a really bad sunburn. I wouldn't mind being an all over red like a sunburn but the red lines make it look way weird. But I digress..... We'll see from here.
one week later
Well it's been exactly a week since my procedure. I'm healing up pretty well. Not much redness left just a couple of pink marks here and there. I am very dry. My skin is very flaky especially after I wash it. I do seem to have a big red pimple coming up on my chin. As far as results, I see none now. My skin looks the same as it did the day I went in. So I really hope things get better with time. I guess you just feel after all that there will be a little noticeable change once most of the healing has taken place. So it's kind of discouraging to look in the mirror and see no improvement. Time will tell. I will try to post a picture later.
3 weeks out not too great
Ok so it's been almost 3 weeks. Not doing well. My skin looks awful. I'm breaking out terribly with small bumps all over my forehead, temples and jawline. I've never broken out in those places. I called Dr. and they put me on Cephalexin. If it's possible, my skin looks worse than it did before treatment. My imperfections seem way more pronounced than before. I seem to have more scarring. It's weird. I hate looking in the mirror right now because everything jumps out at me. My skin has a very waxy appearance. I can't explain it it's just yuck. I think I'm done with lasers. I've tried them several times and have no improvement whatsoever. May be time to just accept me the way I am. If this has worked for others that's great but it's not working for me. And right now I'm trying to clear up acne. So problems on top of problems. Sigh : (
About 6 weeks later
It's been almost six weeks since I had this done. Just got back from vacation. I've been a bit depressed because I saw a picture of myself taken last week and the sun was hitting my face and it looks awful. I swear my skin is worse than it was before I had this done. I have no volume in my face at all. It's sunken in and 1 or 2 people have even commented to me that I look like I've lost weight in my face. I really think my imperfections are worse. I'm also stil fighting breakouts in strange spots. I have broken capillaries on my face now too. It just doesn't look good. I wish I had just stuck with microdermabrasions and chemical peels. They're not miracle workers but they do make my skin more even. Now I just look yuck. I would say to people do not have this done. It's not worth it in the end. I realized before having this done that all the research I did on this was posted by doctors and medical spas. Of course they talk it up. It sounded like a sure thing. I wish I would have listened to the reviews of people who actually had it done. Sadly if you read on here, the majority of the reviews are bad.
Almost 3 months later
Well, I thought I'd take a minute to update. Things not too good. My skin has not improved at all and I hate it more now than I ever did before. I keep big pinkish bumps on my forehead and temples. I never in my life broke out there but it stays broken out now. I still have no volume in my cheeks and am considering sculptra. My pores are bigger. The texture of my skin is waxy and my forehead looks like an orange peel. I've been doing salicylic chemical peels (they used to work great on my breakouts) now they don't do much. I might get clear for a day or 2 then break out all over again. I wish I would have just had a co2 laser. I had one done about 5 years ago and other than a week of downtime I had none of these issues and better results. Well, good luck to anyone who has this done I hope it goes better for you than it did me...
4 1/2 months later
Definitely not worth it... Nothing improved, I lost volume in my face & I battle more breakouts than I ever did before. I'm having chemical peels & microdermabrasion done fairly regular and use retin a daily. Helps... After a glycolic/lactic peel my skin is soft & glowing for about a week. Salicylic peels help with the breakouts. There are days I feel my skin looks better than others and then worse than other days. So no, I would not do this again. Wish I could undo it : (
15 month update
So, it's been over a year since I had this done. Zero improvement in my scars. Since this I have had mircodermabrasions, chemical peels and even a fraxel restore laser. Still, scars exactly the same. Oh I tried a skin pen (like microneedling) about a month ago. Nada!! I swear sometimes I think my scars are actually worse than when I started because I seem to be way more self conscious about them now than I was before. I've tried to accept my skin the way it is but man it's hard. But I can say there are no treatments out there to really decrease acne scars at all. I would love to shed a ray of light to someone dealing with scars but I have to be realistic. Nothing works. Is my skin brighter, healthier looking? Yes, but still has the scars. Seems really bad in certain lights too. Well, if anyone discovers a miracle treatment please let me know. Good luck to any of you out there trying.
Doctor and his staff were absolutely great. Very personable and constantly asked me if I was ok during procedure or if I needed anything. Would recommend them to anyone.
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