Active FX for Acne Scars, 28 Year Old Male

I read this website up and down while preparing to do my Active FX so I do feel the need to write about my experience. If you want the quick summary, check out the end.

For starters, it is important to note I am a 28 year old male and did this for acne scars.

Month before procedure: Doc has me do a bleaching cream every night for 4 weeks until 1 week before the procedure. Said this was important.

Procedure Night: Took two hydrocodone, a xanax and put a numbing cream on my face before the procedure. Didn't feel a thing. Stung a little in a few spots but really I have more pain going to the dentist. Afterwards did feel a little burning but nothing too bad. Face does get a little puss and pin point bleeding on the chin. Aquaform is applied immediately after. I didn't get the area around my eyes done and I looked like a racoon(really, red skin, except the whiteness around the eyes).

Day 1: Face is tingling all the time, doing aquaform every 4 hours as well as washing my face with a special face wash. Face is red as can be and, while, washing, noticeably rough to the touch. You are a controlled burn victim at this point and it shows.

Day 2: Day 1, only worse. Now your face itches a lot, the readness gets spots of brown and you look hideous. Ended up blowing on my face to attempt to quell the itching.Itched the area around my eyes that I didn't get the procedure done on. Still doing the aquaform and face wash every 4 hours. Broke out with some acne around the mouth(and yes, took the prescribed cold sore medicine and this still happened).

Day 3: I will admit, Day 3 was the hardest. Somehow, my face looked even worse than it did Day 2 and I started to freak out. You start to wonder why the hell you ever did this. Your life was going on just fine and you decided to pay someone to burn your face with a laser...so your acne scars could look less profound. If you had told me that in a week at this point I could walk around in public without people staring, I would have paid you $1,000 for the privilege. This was easily the most mentally draining time of the healing process. I had budgeted to be off until Day 6 and assumed I would never be out at work until at least Day 10.

I knew I was suppose to peel but wasn't. I read everywhere you weren't suppose to pick so I didn't. My facial har was growing a thick beard and I really looked like a leper. Second face wash / aquaform of the day did nothing. The next 4 hours I got really worried. But then the next face wash...

...and all my dead skin started coming off. Noticeably. Now I just looked liked someone whose skin was coming off with a very pink underbelly showing. This is what I had read was to happen on the internet and I got more optimistic.

Next face wash more came off...

Day 4: Face was tight as all hell(and would be through day 7). Woke up in the morning and didn't look like a leper..just looked very pink. Some dead skin still there, but every face wash was whacking it out. Was told to drop the aquaform at this point and switch to a hydrator. The pink skin is noticeably newer and somewhat rougher than the non treated skin(which was around my eyes), I still wasn't ready for public consumption, but everything was turning optimistic. Every 4 hours, looking in the mirror I thought I saw improvement and I started to become more optimistic I would be seen in public without stares again.

Day 5: Woke up and looked even better. Did the same stuff as Day 4, even made the bold move to walk down the street to grab some coffee.(of course, per instructions, I wore oil-free sunscreen and still do when going out in public to this day).
Got some stares because I had a 'raccoon look'(eye area wasn't operated on so you could see the white skin next to the pink skin) but no one was scared to see me(I picked up food for 2 minutes on day 2 and, yes, people were frightened). I was optimistic I would be going to work on Day 6...

Day 6: Went to work. People assumed I was sunburnt. Skin still 'felt' different and I was applying hydrator every 4 hours. The sunscreen 'caked' on and would through Day 7, which makes me think if I were a girl and wore makeup it wouldn't happen until after Day 7.

Day 7: Day 6 but better. Face tightness barely noticeable.

Days 7-10: Face went from sunburnt pink down to a less aggressive pink. Was at a big party on day 9 and no one said a word.

Days 8-19(today): The pinkness noticeably going down. Past Day 10 you really could not tell anything was going on(only I could cause it was my face...haha).

Results: Around Day 8 I would have told you the results were great. The negative was I was getting new acne and had no way to fight it(was told to wait until Day 14 to resume regular face cleaning products...and nothing harsh)...the positive was my old acne scars looked much less profound. However, as time has passed and my skin is returning to its normal color, the acne scars seem a little more noticeable than Day 8 but much improved( would guess 25-35%?) than when this all started.

I am told the collagen regeneration will make the face look better and, if so, this is probably worth it. I want to point out midway through Day 3 I thought I made the biggest mistake of my life but now am considering going through with the 2nd(and final) recommended treatment in a few months.

However, I want to stress a few things about my situation. First, I did not do this for one or two wrinkle lines or whatever...I had significant acne scars on my cheeks and forehead. So my skin looking somewhat still rough on Day 7 was just perceived as me having a bad skin day with some sunburn...if you already have very good skin and really dont like the wrinkles around your mouth and think this might fix that...you might end up being disappointed and freaked out when you face is still not presentable to the public on Day 5.

Also, I didn't go into detail, but please note I followed doctor's orders to a tee during the pre-operation process and through recovery. That meant I seriously did not scratch my face, seriously did not pick at peeling skin, seriously washed my face with the special wash and applied aquaform every 4 hours on the dot. I did nothing but sit in my house entertaining myself. Did not let stressful things enter into account.

Also, remember I am a 28 year old male, my skin heals faster than someone 15 years older than me. Active FX websites claim the procedure is a 3-5 recovery time. For me, it was more like 5-7 days(day 6 in public was ok).

I guess what I'm saying is don't get into this without gathering all information. Educate yourself, be realistic about your results and know what you are getting yourself in for with the recovery process.