V Beam For Facial Redness
The flushing and redness on my entire body...
The flushing and redness on my entire body increasingly gets worse, so I opted for V Beam laser treatments for both aesthetic and lifestyle comfort purposes.
Nelle9985's provider
Replies (12)
Dr. Rostan's laser technician, Leigh Anne, suggested 3-5 fairly aggressive V Beam treatments that would leave bruising. I was also told not to expect much with only one treatment.
Immediately after my first treatment, my skin was raised and bumpy with blotches and bruising. The nickle sized bruising intensified over the next 24 hours and remained for about 1 week. When the bruising disappeared, I was left with noticeably clearer skin.
While parts of my face are quite a few shades lighter of pink, I have not noticed a huge difference with the uncomfortable sensations of flushing. But given I was told not to expect results with just one treatment, I am very impressed and plan on a second V Beam treatment soon!
So in other words it was worth it, that's awesome :) Please let us know how your second appointment goes. And if you have pictures to share we would love to see them.
Thanks,
-Britt
Hi Shaunelle, I had V Beam for severe flushing on the left side of my cheek. (The 'before' photo I posted doesn't do it justice because it looked okay with lots of natural light, but looked horrible with artifical light.)
I was also told it would take 2+ treatments, yet the results from the first treatment surprised even me. My cheek doesn't flush like it did before.
One tip I got from the doctor was to stop using topical medications a few days before the treatment, and then actively encourage flushing right before the treatment so there are more red blood cells to hit. Hot coffee was a big trigger, so I brought a thermos to the doctor and drank 8 oz of drip coffee minutes before the treatment. Hitting more blood vessels made the brusing and swelling worse, but the results were worth it.
There's still a bit of background redness, so I'm going to do at least 1 more treatment in a few weeks. I hope your treatments go well and you get the results you want.
Some people may not prefer an aggressive V Beam treatment, but like you, it was worth it in the long run! I will use your suggestion about drinking coffee before my next treatment, too. Inducing a flush before a treatment makes perfect sense!
Keep us posted on your progress!
Shaunelle
At first I thought I just had an outbreak of acne, but when I realized that the acne on my cheek didn't get better with the salicylic acid toner that worked so well on my forehead, I started doing my own investigation on this site (since I work for RealSelf). In fact, the alcohol in the toner made the rosacea flare more.
I was pretty certain I had rosacea by the time I scheduled the V Beam appointent, so we didn't look for other conditions such as facial keratosis pilaris. But I have certainly had bumpy skin with blocked pores on my arm, and I routinely get ezcema on my legs if I take really hot showers and forget to moisturize.
Do you use Finacea? It's a 15% azelaic acid cream that I find helps prevent clogged pores that seem to aggrevate the rosacea (and would probabl help for keratosis pilaris.). The one tip I've learned is to put a moisturizer on first and then put on Finacea because 15% acid is too strong by itself and can easily burn your skin. Don't get the gel because it has alcohol in the base that will make your skin flare.
Another tip is to take a really low dose of doxycycline (20 mg twice a day) because doxycycline has anti-angiogenic properties (meaning it tells the body to prune excess capilaries), and those small blood vessels are what makes flushing worse. There was a great TED talk on anti-angiogenesis. It's mostly about cancer, but rosacea is another problem that is fed by too many capilaries.
I am sure you and many others find it equally as frustrating wondering why with all of the medical advancements we have today, why a skin condition that seems so less complicated compared to open heart surgery has so many unsuccessful treatments? Perhaps I need to learn to be less vain, lol.
I had a second VBeam treatment today with Sue at...
I had a second VBeam treatment today with Sue at The Laser and Skin Center in Virginia Beach. I am very pleased with her aggressive treatment, although I have a lot more swelling this go around.
Replies (31)
Thanks for the update, Shaunelle. I had my 3rd and most aggressive V beam treatment 9 days ago, and there is still some remaining red/black bruising. (The 2nd treatment was right before a really stressful time, and that stress seems to have muted the benefit of the treatment.) It does look like V beam helps but isn't a miracle cure, and I need to be religious about using topicals (Finacea/azelaic acid or alcohol-free salicylic acid) to keep the pores clean and low-dose doxycycline to prune excessive blood vessels (anti-angiogenic effect). I take 20mg of doxycycline hyclate twice a day, which is equivalent to the Oracea dose but available as a generic drug.
I quit drinking coffee and switched to matcha green tea and cut back on red wine to minimize flushing. I also bought a juicer and have been adding juiced kale and other vegetables to my diet. There's a great movie on Netflix called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" where the main character had a rash-like skin condition and had to radically switch his diet to fix it and get off prednisone. I'm not suggesting you go on a juice fast (I haven't so far), but it's worth considering whether there are other dietary changes that could help reduce your flushing.
so are the results from your first two vbeams not lasting? your pics make it look like there was a lot of improvement. good call on the juicing!
There was lasting improvement from the first two V beams (the painfull flushing is gone), but I was told it usually takes 3-4 treatments to resolve rosacea that has painfull flushing. Also, most of the benefit of the 2nd treatment was negated because I had a very stressful period right after and that caused a lot of anxiety-driven flushing. Taking it easy in the first 2 weeks after the treatment is important for best results.
It's looking good now (4 weeks later). I was using a "sensitive skin" soap whose 2nd ingredient was Sodium Laureth Sulfate, and that was really irritating the recently treated skin. Now I only use Avveno Ultra Calming Cleanser on my face, and that has helped tremendously. I will probably go back for a 4th treatment eventually, although I might wait a while for that. Mostly I am trying to avoid the triggers: hot liquids, spicy foods, and wine without food.
To be honest, I don't believe avoidance is completely realistic. I have gone weeks without consuming alcohol and caffeine and noticed no reduction in my flushing. Heat and anxiety are the number one causes of my flushing/blushing. My physician recently started me on 10mg of Buspar to better manage the anxieties, so hopefully within the next week I will notice an improvement.
Eric, do you have very sensitive skin? Sometimes I compare my skin with that of a red head with the exception of being able to tan moderately. It won't take much to induce the redness, and you know, it's not entirely the flushing episode that bothers me -- it's the fear of people saying, "wow, you got some sun girl!" The ironic thing was I had not been out in the sun for nearly a year. LOL!
On an ending note, cover up make up is my best friend. 8-)
My skin is very sensitive - I've had ezcema since I was a child (now it's mostly on my calves), and after taking Accutane at 19 my skin became even more dry and sensitive. I can't use most soaps because they over-dry my skin and cause more ezema, especially on my hands. My parents, both doctors, thought I must be obsessively washing my hands when I was a child to cause such severe ezema. In reality, I was just using bar soap without moisturizing afterwards. So I stopped using bar soap and infrequently used shampoo or liquid soap. I think one of the reasons I needed Accutane is because I hadn't found a soap that wouldn't overdry my skin, and I didn't get one until the Dermatologist who prescribed Accutane recommended Vanicream soap. I didn't like the oily residue it left, so I didn't use it as religously as I should have.
Now I use a liquid soap formulated specifically for people with ezcema, SebaMed, which I read about in the Costco magazine. The doctor who created it heard about his patients who couldn't use regular soaps and thus weren't using any soap at all (like me), and created a soap that matched the 5.5 pH of the skin (slightly acidic). Most soaps have higher pH that neutralizes the skin's protective acidity.
One of the doctors on RealSelf mentioned that ezcema treatments seem to help roscea patients, so I tried Aveeno Eczema Therapy . It has helped calm the worst red rash-like patches I've had from rosacea and is much less expensive than other effective moisturizers like La Roche-Posay Toleraine Fluid. Dermatologist Leslie Baumann wrote an article that recommended La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water to calm redness, and since it has the same selenium-containing spring water as the Toleraine Fluid but for a much lower price per ounce, I'm going to try misting the Thermal Spring Water to see if it helps. I bet that would help you since your flushing affects a larger area that would be too time consuming or expensive to cover with Toleraine Fluid.
Oddly enough, I enjoy St Ives products more than Aveeno. St Ives apricot scrub irritates my skin LESS than Aveeno face washes. Word has it Cetaphil is a great gentle cleanser. I follow up my morning shower with CeraVe body lotion to add hydration back into my skin, and that works fairly well. Hempz is also wonderful!
Has anyone heard of the Rosacea Institute of Texas? Dr. Nielsen seems to have wonderful results with his Yag laser, but many forums condemn him and his practice for a variety of reasons. Shrugs*
Hi Shaunelle,
Thanks so much for the review. Am I correct to assume that since you gave the procedure a "worth it" rating it worked for the redness? Also, did you have any pain or downtime? Please keep us updated.
Thanks,
-Britt