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Review of Freckle Reduction with Candela...
Review of Freckle Reduction with Candela GentleLase Alexandrite Laser
I wanted to post here because I used this forum a lot before deciding to go ahead with a laser treatment to reduce my freckles. I am SO PLEASED with the results. I am not someone who have ever spent a lot of money on a beauty procedure before, so this was a brave new world for me.
First off, I want to clarify that I wasn’t trying to remove all my freckles – I have grown to like most of them. I have been freckly since I was little and wouldn’t look like me if I suddenly didn’t have them anymore. BUT my main aim was to get rid of the HORRIBLE really dark freckles around my chin and mouth (that made me look a bit like I had a moustache if I was ever out in the sun at all). Because of this, I opted for the alexandrite laser rather than IPL (IPL tends to blanket cover your whole face rather than being able to target specific areas, and can sometimes leave you with tiger stripes if you have a lot of freckles like me).
I chose a clinic carefully: with the type of laser I had researched, not TOO expensive, and with good online reviews. I booked the first appointment for a Wednesday evening (day 0). I am not overly vain so I decided I could hopefully make it through work looking crazy for a few days, and I’d rather do that than waste a weekend being a hermit. I WAS worried I was going to look CRAZY with dark spots after the procedure.
The therapist described what the procedure would be like and what the after-effects would be like (and I found it ended up being pretty much as she said). She said I was a good candidate as I have otherwise pale skin, and dark hair – and the freckles were clearly sun induced rather than hormonal. So we went straight into it. She did a test on my hand so I’d know what it would feel like on my face, and then put the eye protectors on me.
I did find it pretty painful, particularly on the areas where the freckles were darkest. And the slight burning smell did not help either. However, the sharp pain only lasts momentarily and then it turns into more of a stingy-sunburn feeling. It was all done with about 10 minutes. She could already see where a lot of the pigment had darkened and said I would have a great result. My face was all red, and she put this thick cream on it, but I definitely would not have gone anywhere in public the same day as the procedure. (See 1 hr after photo). It was hot and stingy for about two hours and then calmed down.
The next day (day 1), the redness was basically gone, but the pigment had come up VERY dark and raised. It was really difficult to cover with makeup. I gave it a good go, and had to keep going to the ladies during the day to retouch. Even with that, I still looked pretty bad. No-one actually commented, I guess they were too polite to ask what was going on with my face. The next day (day 2) was slightly better – spots were still dark but not as raised so easier to cover. By Saturday evening (day 3) some had started to flake off – they flake off in bits so just get smaller and smaller. You do have to be really careful not to pick or even touch them as it can bring them off too early (Mine were all fine tho). By day 4 the big ones had diminished enough that they were not noticeable when I had makeup on – my mum didn’t notice anything when I saw her on Sunday. The last remnants took about a week to totally disappear.
I religiously wore 50+ physical protection sunblock (Invisible zinc) as it was quite sunny the week after my treatment.
The results are that basically all freckles on my upper lip and around my mouth have gone. Plus all the really dark freckles on my forehead, cheeks and side of the face have gone, meaning my overall face looks more even - with and without makeup.
I’ll be going back for another “half-face” treatment to capture a few of the freckles that were missed in the last session (particularly around my eyes) and on a slightly stronger setting so should get some more raised freckles from the sides of my face and forehead. She warned me the next session may hurt more than the first session as it’s a higher setting – but I know now that it is definitely worth the pain and looking like a bit of a freak for a couple of days. J
Hope that’s helpful for other freckle folk out there.
I wanted to post here because I used this forum a lot before deciding to go ahead with a laser treatment to reduce my freckles. I am SO PLEASED with the results. I am not someone who have ever spent a lot of money on a beauty procedure before, so this was a brave new world for me.
First off, I want to clarify that I wasn’t trying to remove all my freckles – I have grown to like most of them. I have been freckly since I was little and wouldn’t look like me if I suddenly didn’t have them anymore. BUT my main aim was to get rid of the HORRIBLE really dark freckles around my chin and mouth (that made me look a bit like I had a moustache if I was ever out in the sun at all). Because of this, I opted for the alexandrite laser rather than IPL (IPL tends to blanket cover your whole face rather than being able to target specific areas, and can sometimes leave you with tiger stripes if you have a lot of freckles like me).
I chose a clinic carefully: with the type of laser I had researched, not TOO expensive, and with good online reviews. I booked the first appointment for a Wednesday evening (day 0). I am not overly vain so I decided I could hopefully make it through work looking crazy for a few days, and I’d rather do that than waste a weekend being a hermit. I WAS worried I was going to look CRAZY with dark spots after the procedure.
The therapist described what the procedure would be like and what the after-effects would be like (and I found it ended up being pretty much as she said). She said I was a good candidate as I have otherwise pale skin, and dark hair – and the freckles were clearly sun induced rather than hormonal. So we went straight into it. She did a test on my hand so I’d know what it would feel like on my face, and then put the eye protectors on me.
I did find it pretty painful, particularly on the areas where the freckles were darkest. And the slight burning smell did not help either. However, the sharp pain only lasts momentarily and then it turns into more of a stingy-sunburn feeling. It was all done with about 10 minutes. She could already see where a lot of the pigment had darkened and said I would have a great result. My face was all red, and she put this thick cream on it, but I definitely would not have gone anywhere in public the same day as the procedure. (See 1 hr after photo). It was hot and stingy for about two hours and then calmed down.
The next day (day 1), the redness was basically gone, but the pigment had come up VERY dark and raised. It was really difficult to cover with makeup. I gave it a good go, and had to keep going to the ladies during the day to retouch. Even with that, I still looked pretty bad. No-one actually commented, I guess they were too polite to ask what was going on with my face. The next day (day 2) was slightly better – spots were still dark but not as raised so easier to cover. By Saturday evening (day 3) some had started to flake off – they flake off in bits so just get smaller and smaller. You do have to be really careful not to pick or even touch them as it can bring them off too early (Mine were all fine tho). By day 4 the big ones had diminished enough that they were not noticeable when I had makeup on – my mum didn’t notice anything when I saw her on Sunday. The last remnants took about a week to totally disappear.
I religiously wore 50+ physical protection sunblock (Invisible zinc) as it was quite sunny the week after my treatment.
The results are that basically all freckles on my upper lip and around my mouth have gone. Plus all the really dark freckles on my forehead, cheeks and side of the face have gone, meaning my overall face looks more even - with and without makeup.
I’ll be going back for another “half-face” treatment to capture a few of the freckles that were missed in the last session (particularly around my eyes) and on a slightly stronger setting so should get some more raised freckles from the sides of my face and forehead. She warned me the next session may hurt more than the first session as it’s a higher setting – but I know now that it is definitely worth the pain and looking like a bit of a freak for a couple of days. J
Hope that’s helpful for other freckle folk out there.
Provider Review
Clinicalase