Sciton Laser Resurfacing to the Perioral and Glabella Areas - Middleton, WI

I can say that I am a lot further along in healing then when I had this done last year. I am still using the TNS after washing my face, then apply Vit C for moisture for daytime wear. There is a small amount of discoloration around my eyes, in a few spots on my forehead, and slightly on my entire upper lip, but, I can cover it with makeup and look normal, haha. I am using the Jane Iredale corrective color palette and it really does a great job of covering and staying put all day. After it sets for a few minutes, I apply Skin Medica 35 spf full coverage makeup for color tone to blend to the rest of my untreated skin. After applying all the layers, I looked a little shiny, so I pat on Laura Geller blotting powder. At 62, I cannot use any kind of powder as it settles in every line! The blotting powder does NOT do this! It is wonderful and the shine is gone all day. You can use an extra sunscreen product before the makeup if you feel you need some extra protection. I am indoors all day at work, but for my drive home I apply a face powder that has a physical block in it for that ride home. I don't care if it settles into my lines by that time of day. Remember, it is very important that you keep the sun off the skin that was lasered for at least a couple of months or you may have some permanent discoloration. But, we should be using sunscreen each and every day so we don't get the damage that has led to the reason we are having laser done. My evening proceedure is again wash and this time I either use my Clarsonic, or a small facial Loofah disk to really clean and exfoliate my skin. Both are used very gently, remember the fat grafting is still taking hold so no rubbing, which isn't real good for our skin anyway. I don't do it in the morning so the discoloration is not stimulated making it brighter. I again use the TNS, then a real good moisterizer. I have not gone back to my full use of Obagi NuDerm yet except for the cleanser, Vit C, and Hydrate. No hydroquinone, or retin A yet. Every morning I can see the discoloration fading little by little. I will check back in after my next visit with Dr Marcus which will be my last, until next time. The fat grafting has helped but again, it is something that takes time to see the full results. If you want instant results you need to use fillers. If you want long term results, do fat grafting. You can use fillers after fat grafting as it is short term and when gone you can then add more fat from grafting. Hope this has helped someone along the way.

I should say that this was the Sciton Contour laser so it is quite invasive. After the first day of treatment it was just a matter of taking benadryl for the itching, tylenol for the discomfort, washing gently at least 2 times a day, and always keeping the treated skin covered with a nice layer of Aquaphor. Because of the fat transfer I didn't want to use ice packs as the cold might jeopordize the taking of the fat by slowing down the blood circulation. I actually slept fairly flat so there would be good circulation to my face. If I had some extra swelling it would go away after being up a few hours. By the 5th day you could see a very small amount of bruising on one side but the redness was disappearing a lot faster than my previous laser proceedure. When you go to wash your face, gently wipe off the excess Aquaphor with a tissue. I tried a couple of cleansers I thought were mild but burned so switched to a clear facial bar, sooo much better. After sudsing hands gently apply suds to face and gently massage to all areas. Add water if it dries out. After several minutes of sudsing, turn faucet to tepid temp and gentle water flow. Get your face right down near the faucet so the water can actually run over the skin. It might sting a bit as the PH is different than your skin but, you really need to rinse and rehydrate your skin. Gently massage the soap off the skin while the water is flowing over the skin. Do this to your skin for about 5 minutes total at least. When you stop have a towel close by to catch the big drips but do not blot you face dry. While it is still wet(damp) apply the Aquaphor. By doing this you will seal in the water to your skin as the laser has removed the protective layer of skin and you are losing moisture faster than you skin can deliver it. I did this for the first 3 days following the proceedure before adding a product I hadn't used last time. Starting on the third day I would first apply Skin Medica TNS Recovery Complex after washing to the lasered areas. It did sting for a minute. Use a patting (stippling) finger motion to apply, no real rubbing. After air dry, pat on a bit of water to the area and then apply the Aquaphor. The TNS came highly reccomended from Tranformations in Middleton to help with the redness after laser. It is expensive but, figure it as part of the treatment. I used it 2 times a day. By the second day of using it, which was then day 5 after treatment, you could see the redness fading. I had a follow up appt with Dr Marcus on day 7 and he and his associate were amazed at how good my skin looked for so soon after laser. So was I! I feel it was a combination of the way I was cleaning the skin and using the Skin Medica TNS that has made such a difference from last time. I will say as it healed more and didn't sting anymore when cleaning I would use my finger tips a bit more vigorously to loosen the dead skin while rinsing. It is like a bad sun burn, when the skin starts to come loose it gets itchy, once you are able to get it loosened and off your skin feels better. But only do this while the water is running over it. By day 8 I didn't need the Aquaphor anymore, I used a real good moisterizer in it's place and by day 9 I wore cover makeup and it felt fine. I still use the TNS 2 times a day and will until it is gone or the redness is gone, or might keep using it. This is a lot faster recovery than the first time, last year, when I had the same laser, just as deep. I feel that this combination has really been beneficial to a much faster recovery. Hopefully, this will help someone else.

The week previous I stopped taking all vitamins and supplements to hold down on bruising. I also stopped using the retin A and hydoquionone during that week.Day one, got to the clinic 45 minutes early to get numbed up. Then went to the room where the magic happens, haha. Dr Marcus got busy numbing up all the areas for collecting the fat and then the face. The collection wasn't a big deal, just an odd feelling. Stubborn upper belly fat that has been there way too long, I can only hope it stays in my face as long, haha Then came the injecting of the fat. For the most part it was fine, a couple of times there was a bit of pressure that surprised me more than anything. All the time Dr Marcus mad sure all was fine with me and that I was comfortable. After that was done came the laser to the forehead, glabella, periocular, and upper lip. That didn't take long at all. A couple of times it got a bit hot but otherwise was fine. And that was that. Of course my face felt like it vas on fire for several hours, but I didn't want to use ice as that isn't good for the survival of the fat. By night it felt ok, or the pain pills helped, haha On day 2. Because of the added surgeries last time the laser and fat transfer was minor. So now I just sit here with a red puffy face for several days, wash it several times a day and apply the moisture barrier. Took pain pills for sleeping only last night, tylenol during the day, All of a sudden late this morning, I was so tired. I took a 3 hour nap! And I slept well last night. Guess it took more out of me than I thought. I was a bit more swollen today of course, the third day will probably be the worse, it was last time. I haven't had much itching today. Hubby is a good sport about all this, just doesn't get it really but is good about it. After last time and how I looked right after surgery, this is a walk in the park for him. So I'll check in tomorrow or in a couple of days with an update.