BBL Without Brown Filter (For Now) - Miami, FL

Been a while since I've updated this review. The results of the BBL sessions I had with Dr. Maercks are outstanding! It worked so well that I had additional areas treated including my back and shoulders. There are quite a few stripes or areas of skin on my shoulders and back that were missed, and will require additional, detailed sessions to complete. However, considering the size of the area treated and how much sun damage I have, additional sessions are obvious! I will find a local BBL resource to finish out the necessary sessions as long distance travel is not sustainable.

I unfortunately did not take before pics, nor immediatly following the procedure, so the details in my initial 24/48 hour post can't be fully appreciated visually. However, I took these pics this morning, which show significant healing of the areas on my chest that concerned me after the procedure. You can still see dark red and brown marks where it was most irritating. (I know it's not pretty, but believe me when I say this is a major improvement since the procedure 3 days ago, which is promising).

My face on the other hand looks AMAZING! (Sorry no facial pics to share, not willing to make those public for sake of privacy.)

I look forward to continued improvement!

I’m 48 years young ;-) and have suffered with sun-damaged skin on my face, neck and chest for many years. I’ve been told by several estheticians that I have rosacea—though not confirmed by a dermatologist, I tend to agree due to the redness and small capillaries I experience. I once had a pre-cancerous lesion removed from my nose, and luckily none since! But as the years fly by, I also notice old acne scars and pores enlarging, which drives my husband and I crazy in search of safe, effective and long lasting remedies.
(I am a vocalist and speaker in public and on camera, so these issues are quite obstructive to my level of confidence when performing with a big HD screen - enhancing the “not so pretty side effects” of aging, which hijacks precious space in my brain needed to focus on performing!)
So along my journey to turn back the clock I’ve undergone several laser procedures on my face, including Laser Genesis and CO2 Dot. I also had the CO2 Dot treatment on my neck and chest. I received “very good” resurfacing results such as reduced pore size and healthier/smoother appearance with each of these procedures, (mostly on my face as opposed to my chest which has significantly more sun damage then my face), but none of them addressed the brown spots, redness and small capillaries.
On January 2nd my husband and I had a consultation with Dr. Maercks to discuss solutions including facial balancing and resurfacing treatments for my face, neck and chest. There are so many out there to choose from, but since I don’t want to go through something as harsh as the CO2 Dot I experienced in the past, Dr. Maercks suggested Photofacial treatment with BBL to accompany other procedures we discussed. He explained that the BBL would remove the redness and capillaries from my face right away, with no downtime. He also explained that it would address my brown spots, but that my particular acne scars would need something more aggressive, such as the Erbium treatment. He also mentioned that the procedure would only take about 10 minutes, wouldn’t need topical anesthetic, and I wouldn’t have to wait for other procedures if I didn’t want to, further suggesting that he could do it on the same day of my consultation. However, he explained that if I wanted to do it the same day, it wouldn’t address my brown spots due to the fact that his BBL machine was waiting to receive a new brown filter currently on order. This meant I would get the benefit of removing my redness and capillaries now, and as an extension in good faith, would provide the procedure at no additional cost again when the filter arrived. SWEEEEEET!!!!
My husband and I thought this was a great opportunity to check out the potential of the product “and the doctor operating it” ;-) so we paid the full price for face, neck and chest, with credit to receive the BBL procedure again when we book the next procedure. The following is an account of my experience with the treatment (without brown filter) thus far:
The procedure took only 10 minutes, just like the Doc said it would! Sweet!
It is said to be a painless procedure, however for me it was uncomfortable (not totally painless) due to my sensitive skin, especially on my chest and near my jawline. I was able to tolerate the discomfort easily without topical anesthetic, as it is a very quick pulse of hot light. Though I did not expect the significant after burning sensation on my chest when the procedure completed. This was not a feeling like moderate or light sunburn, it was severe and I was a bit worried. I experienced this for about two hours before it subsided. It reminded me of the after burn sensation from the CO2 Dot!
24/48 hour post BBL without brown filter procedure results:
The doc was right about removing the redness and capillaries on my face. Holy cow they are completely gone! My face has a radiant glow and I am able to wear makeup and amazing! My complexion seems to appear a bit more-firm too! However, my chest looks like a mess! Much more brown and red than before, similar to what it looked like after the CO2 Dot, but not as severe.
With concern over the weekend after my Friday procedure, I began researching the internet for after affects of BBL and found this comforting and perfect explanation for what I am experiencing on my chest, shared below:
“After your Broad Band Light treatment, you can expect small spots resembling coffee grounds to appear where sun damage was treated. Red pigmentation may disappear immediately or turn a light purple hue. Brown discoloration will flake off the face within two weeks whereas brown on the body may take up to four weeks. Red discoloration and vessels may take up to four months to completely reabsorb.”
Now I’m looking so forward to the “flake-off” and my next procedure with Dr. Maercks!
I’ll keep updating as I progress!