My Experience with Face, Neck, Chest C02 Laser Resurfacing Treatment

Almost 72 hours post treatment and still healing. I had laser resurfacing on Monday using a fractionated C02 laser on my face, neck, and chest. I almost backed out at the last minute because of stories I read online but I am glad today that I went through with it. I am 40 yrs old with fair skin that had sun damage, some wrinkles, and uneven skin tone. I have had laser hair removal and laser removal of brown spots and spider veins in the past and was completely satisfied. I still feared permanent scarring to my face but decided to go through with it because my skin had responded well to the other treatments. I used the same highly recommended professional that helped me in the past. I would recommend that anyone have a small area treated by laser to see if they respond well before having their entire face treated. I am allergic to most sunblock and my skin tends to heal slowly since taking acne medication years ago so I was very afraid. I decided that beginning a week prior to treatment I would drink 8-10 glasses of water today to help hydrate my skin. Not sure if this helped but my skin always improves if I consume a lot of water. I experienced a little pain during the procedure around my eyes and lips but it was totally tolerable. I did not experience pain in the other areas. I drove myself home (1-1/2hr drive)though my face was covered with petroleum jelly. Tuesday, the following day was the worst as the swelling was at its peak and my skin was very, very red. Wednesday evening my skin started to itch then the dead skin started to come off around my mouth and cheeks when applying more shea butter. Under the dead skin was very smooth (still red but not very red) new skin. The dead skin continues to drop off in the shower and when applying more shea butter revealing more smooth skin. It is now Thursday and I have a little swelling but 50 to 60% of the dead skin is gone. The dead skin on my forehead, chest, and neck is the last and beginning to come off. My aftercare consisted of continuously applying petroleum jelly Monday evening and Tuesday. I showered Tuesday morning and washed my hair with baby shampoo letting the water splash on my face to rinse. I tested an area with vinegar water but it was irritating so I used only shower water to rinse my face. After showering Wednesday morning I switched to Shea Butter and constantly applied it to my face throughout the day keeping all areas moist. I am continuing to constantly apply Shea Butter on Thursday and will do so until all of the dead skin is gone. At that time I plan to switch to marine moisturizer and apply makeup. I was told this should happen on Friday but I think it may be Saturday. I still have some swelling but I am very happy with my experience so far. As the red fades I believe my face will appear much more youthful with an even tone. I did have pinpoint bleeding in some areas on day one but the petroleum jelly kept that from crusting and it disappeared with the first shower. I also had a pattern on my skin that seems to be going away as the dead skin falls off. One other precaution I did take was not to exert myself at all. I have rested in the bed or on the sofa and watched movies since the procedure. I didn't want to increase the blood flow to treated areas at all. Maybe it didn't help but I am healing nicely without any complications. Total rest was not mentioned to me by my professional but I thought it seemed logical because of the swelling and bleeding. I scheduled my treatment on Monday and took the entire week off of work so I will have a full 7 days to heal. Days one and two I looked like something out of a horror film so I think the entire 7 days is needed to be presentable enough to go to the office.