Face, Neck & Chest-50 years old, large pores, sun damage, broken capillaries Halo and BBL

I thought the redness from the treatment would never go away but it finally did.

Prior to the procedure, I used a rentinol cream on my face each night. After 1 year I was very unhappy with the retinol because my face was always a flakey mess. I couldn’t exfoliate enough to get it to look healthy without hurting my skin. So not only did my skin look dull but it also looked flakey. I also struggled with uneven skin tone and melasma.

Getting this procedure really helped with the uneven skin tone, texture and ability for my skin to renew itself. What I mean my renew itself is that I no longer have dull flakey skin and all the products I use can really soak in better than ever. It’s such a pleasant surprise. I guess I thought the melasma and uneven skin tone would improve but the ability for my skin to look fresh is fabulous. I don’t wear any foundation or powder so fresh skin is the best!!

The treatment didn’t get rid of all my dark spots on my chest but I do see improvement and my husband really notices the chest has significant improvement.

The redness has finally subsided. I had striations and hyperpigmentation in my chest. Both have improved but the striations in my chest are extra specially improved. My pores have improved. Overall the texture is better and the tone of my skin glows. A lot less dullness.

I saw my Dermatologist for my 14 day follow up today. We both agree that my skin is looking better. I am still healing, especially on my chest. He said the chest always takes a lot longer to heal than the face. He told me he used a fairly aggressive setting for my Halo treatment, so that will also stretch the timeline for healing. When looking at my forehead and chest, we can still see lines of demarcation from where the wand delivered the laser compared to non-lasered skin; further proof that my healing journey continues...although, I am mostly healed now. I will post another post treatment photo after those lines of demarcation have dissipated, which will tell me I have finally cross the finish line.

In the meantime, I definitely notice significant differences in several areas. 1. Difference in skin texture. My skin is so much more smooth. A couple years ago during my skin cancer check up, my dermatologist at Kaiser told me I had, what she called, "barnacles" on my face, which are rough, dark spots. I have zero barnacles now. I don't have rough or bumpy textures anymore. Additionally, my pores are visibly less pronounced. 2. The constant red tone to my face and chest is better, even though I am not yet fully healed. 3. The age spots/malasma have significantly reduced. They aren't completely gone but a pretty big improvement nonetheless. My chest had a lot of melasma due to poor sunscreen habits. My face wasn't as bad because I often wore hats while outside but my poor chest had significant sun damage.

In the past, I've had chemical peels and notice fresh glowing skin after, but I've always been disappointed that no one else notices the difference, not even my husband. With this treatment, he noticed. We were in the harsh light of Home Depot and it was only 6 days after treatment when my husband said, unprompted, that he noticed a big difference in my face...my chest was still a bit of a mess at that point. Two nights ago, he commented that my chest has caught up and he now sees "new looking skin."

The treatment was painful and the first 4 days of recovery were humbling and scary. I was so crusty and rough, I worried that my face was damaged. I looked on realself.com for other women's recovery journey. I saw women who said they were wearing makeup by day 2. There is no way I could have worn makeup for at least 5 days. I don't think I would have felt comfortable going back to see people at work for 2 days due to my face being so crusty, swollen and red. Now that I know that my doctor used an aggressive setting, that explains the pain and longer recovery time. It's not the least expensive treatment around, so I am glad that he used an aggressive treatment intensity, especially now that I see the results.

All of my pictures, I am still not wearing face makeup and I use zero filters or touch ups. Just mascara and eyebrow liner. I actually don't think I need to wear face makeup now that I am mostly healed. My skin looks so much more even, smooth and bright.