Genisis Laser for Redness Left from Sculptra Inflammation

I had my first treatment of the laser Perfecta this morning in my PS’s office. I had this procedure done because I had a bad reaction to sculpture in my face which resulted in an allergic reaction of redness flaring in my cheeks. The Sculptra was administered last December and February. You can read about it in my other post about sculptra. Numbing cream was applied to my face first and she let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then she came in and wiped it off and then started with the two-step beam process. The first pulses were for skin tightening and collagen stimulation. This just felt hot on my face. I am sure the numbing cream made it bearable. Then she switched the laser settings for the second phase, which addressed redness and brown spots. This felt more like the rubber band snapping pulses that you read about. It was uncomfortable but I would not say extremely painful. She said I had a high threshold for pain. Around the nose hurt the worst where she hit some of my small broken blood vessels. I forgot to say she also applied eye goggles over my eyes. When she was finished she applied aloe vera clear gel to my face and gave me an ice roller to ice my face which I did for a good 10 minutes. She told me to expect swelling, especially under my eyes for a few days and that I should apply ice packs on and off for today. And that I should sleep with my head elevated to reduce swelling. I also have a small purple bruise on my right cheek which I think might of been a light brown spot. She said do not be surprised if I also get some crusting around my nose. She advised me to use a good heavy moisturizer, like Aquaphor, for the next few days and to use a good SPF sunscreen. I made an appointment to see her in another four weeks to evaluate whether not I will need another session or if this helped reduce the redness left from the sculptra irritation. As of right now my face has stopped burning as it is hours later, but is swollen and is raised in some areas where the laser beam was. It also feels very tight. Doing this after my experience with sculptra makes me nervous and I hope I have a good outcome!

Even though I iced all day yesterday and slept with my head elevated last night, I had massive swelling! I look like a cabbage patch doll! It's a Saturday but luckily my PS had an emergency line. I spoke with her and texted pictures. She said that some people just swell a lot and it's normal. She said she would call in a few days of a steroid o help bring the swelling down. Little. I guess I was not prepared for this extent of swelling! Thank God I don have plans this weekend! The photo don't really do the swelling justice, but trust me, I look nothing like myself, I resemble. Cabbage patch doll. The swelling is more extreme under my eyes.

So my swelling is down quite a bit, but still my face is still pretty swollen, especially under my eyes. Continuing on 10mg of prednisone per day from my PS. I think it has helped. I Lao slept with several pillows under my head last night o help with th swelling. Drinking tons of water to help flush out my system. I had to take Benadryl last night as my face was itchy but not as much today.I am seeing the little brown mends on my face that look like coffee grounds in addition to the red areas. The crusty areas around my nose are the worst where she made several passes to hit the dilated broken blood vessels. I can tell my face is still swollen because I have jowls ! Still would not want to be seen out in public! I think she used a higher strength beam on me because she commented I had a high threshold for pain! The only thing that concerns me a bit is the blister on my lower left cheek. I did text her picture and she said just to keep it moist and it will turn dark scab and fall off. I am hoping!