POSTED UNDER CO2 Laser Reviews REVIEWS
Not Worth the Stress or Your Money! - Dover, OH
ORIGINAL POST
Honestly this procedure produces so much stress if...
kpat2010May 27, 2015
$1,250
Honestly this procedure produces so much stress if your anyone who does extensive research like me and it's a drug out experience with a lot of down time sitting in the house wondering if you'll be okay because the risks are so high with this procedure. I will say my acne scars that were the reason for getting the laser look the exact same as before and I have notice smaller white indentations that weren't there before also a few purplish ones close to my older scars. Yeah so basically 1200 being stuck in the house and little to no results is not worth it!! If you have acne scarring look into microneedleing that's my next go to..hopefully correct what I had originally planned
kpat2010's provider
Replies (4)
July 24, 2015
I think part of the problem is the type of laser treatment you actually received, Dr. Orafu does not have a CO2 Fractional laser, she uses the Gemini Laser which is much less invasive and takes several treatments to come close to a CO2 fractional treatment that penetrates much deeper resulting in weepy, crusty skin for several days after the procedure and much more pronounced results. I hate that you spent so much money for a treatment that will give you some eventual results but nothing close to what you had hoped for. Please look into a physician that provides CO2 Fractional Laser treatments for your acne scars, you are a beautiful young lady and deserve to have the complexion that makes you feel on the outside as you are on the inside. Don't give up, look at Dr. Goldman's website. He is up in Westlake and Beachwood-awesome staff and he is just as nice as Dr. Orafu. http://www.realself.com/review/beachwood-fraxel-laser-fraxel-scarring Look at this young lady's results, I hope you are able to try again.
July 30, 2015
Awe I appreciate that so much lilly1964 ! The procedure orafu did was a c02 it was the clar02 I believe. Or atleast to my understanding to what I paid for was a c02. I know she hadnt had that particular laser for very long I think they said I was her 7th patient that tried it. Unfortunately It was to mild of a treatment that has me looking elsewhere. I will look into the doctor you mentioned Thank you :-)
April 4, 2016
I have to say that I agree. I have not seen my results yet as I am only on day three of recovery but I would not do this again. The procedure was painful for me in certain areas of my face. I also felt somewhat traumatized by the whole thing and very spaced out when I left the office. Sitting in the house avoiding the sun has been bad for me as well as I get depressed if I do not get the right amounts of sun. And then the worry after now reading all the things that could go wrong and having to come up with excuses as to why you can't do this or that with your friends. I finally told a couple the truth. They also prescribed me a Medrol Dose Pack, which after two days, affected my mood really badly. I have adrenal fatigue and read that steroids are hard on the adrenals, so I quit taking them. I don't believe this kind of treatment warrants steriods. Pretty harsh thing to do to one's body, even short term.
After reading all the weird things that could go wrong with CO2 lasers and worrying about it, definitely the stress is not worth it. Will not be doing this again. Too much of an investment money wise, time wise, and sanity wise for probably not that much result that I might only notice in the end.
May 18, 2016
I totally agree w how it's hard not telling friends and family why you can't go out. I told a few too simply bc I didn't want to lie to them. It's a tough 2 weeks although my skin is better now than it was before so I'm happy :)
July 23, 2019
Oh my gosh I agree 100% life too short
I have to say over time my skin has very subtly improved but left with difficult pigmentation
Pure bummer experience
I have to say over time my skin has very subtly improved but left with difficult pigmentation
Pure bummer experience
September 5, 2019
Me on the other hand I've had microneedling, and the doctor went in too deep, she gave me more holes than I initially had.Also uneven texture, indents, skin just looked extremely tortured and bits of my face feel like it's missing flesh. My next step is co2 laser. If you go for microneedling, do the DIY home one with small needles would be my suggestion.
UPDATED FROM kpat2010
15 days post
15 days post c02 fractional laser
kpat2010June 5, 2015
15 days still no improvement in color or texture. Went for a follow up today and my doctor says it's to soon for collagen to rebuild although I would of been happy with simply some lightening of my old scars. I have little hope for future results stating it was to mild of a treatment for my scarring.
Replies (1)
June 10, 2015
Your doctor is right; I saw improvement over a month after my procedure and continued seeing improvement until recently (I am a year out). I was really disheartened at first but slowly began noticing improvement. Having patience can be very hard! My second laser helped more with discoloration and deeper scars. You can try chemical peels once your skin is ready and you're cleared by a dermatologist. A couple of those and the discoloration will be close to gone. Retin-a is also a beautiful medication to help with that!
June 10, 2015
Thankyou for your comment it means a lot to know that someone went through what I'm going through and eventually seen improvement. So chemical peels are good for lightening of scars? I can't use retin a, I tryed a while back but just made me break out more spironolactone was my holly grail with battling acne for so long
June 11, 2015
Yeah chemical peels are flipping awesome for both pigmentation issues and for any residual acne issues. I get salicylic acid peels.
I will say there's a possibility you will need more than 1 laser treatment. The first one I had was a lighter treatment to make sure my skin could handle the laser. The second one they went pretty deep and boy, did it hurt! I have read empirical articles that indicated people with severe acne scarring could improve up to 80% with 2-4 laser treatments. I am going in for a consult in a couple weeks to see if one more would be productive. Your scarring doesn't look nearly as bad as mine did so you may only need two. :)
June 11, 2015
Also, retin-a broke me out really bad initially but after 6 months, my face is finally clear! It doesn't work for everyone, though. I'm really glad you found what works for you!!! :) acne sucks!!
UPDATED FROM kpat2010
24 days post
24 days post c02
kpat2010June 14, 2015
With bare minerals makeup I've been receiving compliments saying my skin looks smoother which is great :) I personally don't see any difference I think it's this wonderful HD powder by eff $6 at Walmart Deffiently blurs in your scars and makes your skin appear soft I reccomend
Replies (5)
June 24, 2015
i did fractional co2 3 times. after one year, the scars is even deeper and wider.
June 26, 2015
i sign for a package of 3 times. 1st and 2nd times seem alright but 3rd times was a big mistake when he goes 2 passes which burn off my epidermal layer i suppose.
July 28, 2019
make a review in 6 months. I think people review to early and think this is an instant thing. It's not. 3-6 months your skin will start to really heal. You are beautiful btw
Thank you for sharing your experience here on RealSelf. What type of acne scars do you have? I hope that you decide to also share your micro-needling experience so we can continue to follow your progress. Here is some information that you may find helpful: Micro needling for acne scars?