J-Plasma Aka Renuvion Facial Resurfacing

I did a series of light chem peels in my 40's, no big difference. I did a light laser peel a year and a half prior to this, took 10 days to heal, hurt...burned, and no change to wrinkles or sagging...but my skin was a little brighter. I wanted to look better, was starting to suddenly look seriously old. My laugh lines went from the corners of my eyes to my jaw...and were deep, especially on the left side..even when I was not smiling. My upper eyelids were heavy, I had to lift my eyebrows to see well. I had some sun damage spots and my skin started to have crepey wrinkles. I saw different PS's, had the following procedures recommended to me: upper eyelids, browlift, lower face lift, full face lift, neck lift, and laser or chemical resurfacing. Fillers as needed to replace volume. My issue is that I do NOT like cutting. Also, fillers start out overfilled, settle down for six months, and then go away. I worry that I won't look like me(I had fat transfer once and was over-filled, took YEARS to recognize myself in the mirror again). So, I found J-Plasma, aka Renuvion. That promised to lift, tighten, smooth...pretty much everything I needed! Looked like a miracle. And only 10 days downtime! SOLD!

So, at 62, I was unhappy with the look and feel of my skin and wanted to make improvements...without cutting. I read, reviewed and saw NOTHING negative about J-Plasma(aka Renuvion), indeed there were videos of a cute gal happily sharing her experience day by day looking just pink...and she and others reported amazing results! My doctor told me that as a blonde with light skin tone, I was a perfect candidate for it, as sometimes those with more pigment can have issues. I went in, signed my release forms, and noticed that they said there could be burn scars, or something of that nature. What? I figured that was probably a general release. I next went in to see the nurse, who was older than I and had done this procedure 6 months prior...and had flawless, porcelain skin! Wowsa! She did tell me that the procedure removes the top layers of the skin by burning...cold. hot, whatever....still burning. I had a moment of hesitation, but hey...gotten this far..so took my valium and went for it.

Procedure went as planned; I felt no pain. I had researched, seen the videos showing the procedure being done, so I thought I knew what to expect. Yeah, no, I didn't. I went to the restroom afterward and looked in the mirror. I was shocked. I wouldn't go out to my husband until the nurse showed him HER after pictures. I hated that he had to see this.
I was swollen and crusty. Resembled a campfire marshmallow that had caught fire and been blown out. My eyes swelled shut that first night. My thoughts were, WHAT HAVE I DONE? But...it didn't hurt. LOOKED like it should, but it didn't. The morning after the procedure my eyes were open again, and things just got better after that. Just be warned, you will NOT want to see people, or have them see YOU, for weeks. There was a huge disconnect between how I looked and how it felt. It never hurt, or itched, but it looked like it must.
I felt tired and drained for 8 days, then felt more energetic. The healing process takes a LOT out of you. Eat well, plenty of good protein, and fluids...STAY HYDRATED. My doc gave me a bunch of prescriptions, I took them as scheduled, kept my eyes not itchy, my mouth healthy, no infections, and the Tylenol 3 helped me sleep well and relax through any discomfort(but side effect is constipation, so take minimally). My skin fell off, in patches, oozy, pink to red, and I rinsed in cold water frequently and covered with Aquaphor. (Buy this goop in the BIG jar. You will use it.)
I did my procedure in December which was good because you CANNOT have sun exposure on the very delicate new skin. There is no natural sun defense for awhile. Even though I was careful, I got a brown sun blotch(melasma) on my right cheek.
Healing felt slow. Most of it healed pretty well by ten days, tho very pink(my lips looked white). I slept on the recliner for the first ten days. The new skin was super thin, and delicate, and seemed almost like glass when I finally got to put on moisturizer...seemed to sit on the surface. I had some issues with the more wrinkled side of my face, it healed slowly, and scabbed...it apparently took the procedure a bit differently than the rest and did suffer some burns. However, my healed skin was AMAZING! Smooth, tight, wrinkle-free, LIFTED! This procedure really does turn back the clock on your face, I no longer had to lift my eyebrows to see well, my eyelid skin tightened. My fine wrinkles and sun damage...gone! Even my moles lightened. I still had some expression lines, ya gotta have some, but Doc will be doing some fat transfer there later to fill in any places that need it.