POSTED UNDER IPL REVIEWS
IPL- the Worst Mistake of my Life - Omaha, NE
ORIGINAL POST
I am 6 weeks post. I ended up with orange peel...
Serenity99April 28, 2017
$125
I am 6 weeks post. I ended up with orange peel skin, fat loss, and sagging cheeks. I am 40. I have always looked younger than my age, and people were always telling me I looked 10 years younger. But I had some age spots on my cheeks that bothered me. I had been through a rough divorce, and decided to treat? myself. When I looked up IPL on here mostly good reviews cane up, and the bad ones were burns from using too high of a setting. So I thought if I told them to use a low setting, I would be fine.
In the room, she told me that they don't use gel or numbing cream, I just put an ice pack on the skin before she does it. She asked me if I had a history of cold sores. I did and? she told me to take medicine when I got home. I said I don't have any freckles or brown spots around my mouth. Just don't do the iPL there. I'm SO glad I said that because I saved my chin and the area between my nose and mouth. On the medical form, I answered that I did have a history of keloids. Now I found out that keloids are a contraindication for getting IPL. She said nothing about my answer on the questionnaire about keloids. I am so mad. That would have saved me from the damage to my face. Afterward, I found out she was an esthetician. I thought she was a nurse since it was in a medical office. This is why, at minimum, a nurse or doctor should look at your form first! (And should actually be the one to do it).
The machine was a Cutera. It didn't feel like a rubber band snapping like I read. It felt like she was burning my face with a curling iron. I had very small covers for my eyes. I could still see the light in my eyes even when she had the wand on my cheeks. She put the wand on the skin close to my eyes. Why would she would do that when you need to protect your eyes from damage? I didn't even have any freckles or brown spots there. That scared me. When she did it near my left eye, I shoved the eye cover into my eye. She did my age spots twice. Later when I found out the name of the? wand, I looked up the manual and it said, don't use it in the same spot more than once in the same session. I think she had good intentions, but just decided to do that on her own. That is one? reason why an esthetician should not do this. On the spots she did twice, I have dents in those areas. At the very end, on my left cheek, it hurt very bad when she did it. I jumped. I told her, and instead of looking at my skin to make sure it was ok, she told me I didn't hold the ice on there long enough. She actually burned me.
I thought it was strange that I didn't get an aftercare sheet. When I looked in my car mirror, my cheeks and forehead had this weird shaped swelling, like I had laid on a grate. Or swelling divided by wrinkles. I thought that's what she meant by the normal swelling you have on your face afterwards. Now I know my face was burned. She didn't say anything to me about the way my face looked when I left.
2 weeks later, I noticed my cheeks and forehead were wrinkled. My skin wasn't wrinkled before, except for under my eyes. A few days later the wrinkles were worse and it looked like my cheeks were starting to sag. Before I noticed that, I hadn't read anything about IPL causing that. When I looked it up and saw all the people it happened to, I panicked. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep couldn't think about anything else except worrying about how bad it was going to be. And I was right.....it got worse. At 2 1/2 weeks I called the med spa and told them my cheeks were still pink and wrinkled. They said I could come in and talk to the nurse practitioner. She was defensive from the beginning. I showed her my pink cheeks and forehead. She said skin only stays pink for 2 days after IPL. My skin being pink isn't from the IPL. Maybe I have rosacea. (It wasn't pink before the IPL.) I said my skin wasn't wrinkled before. She said "I didn't see you before" (What does that have to do with anything???) I said these wrinkles are in the shape of the swelling I had. For a second I saw a look of oh $#& on her face before it went stoic again. I think she realized I had been burned. She told me my skin looked dehydrated. I asked if IPL can cause that.... you guessed it....her answer was no. She told me that IPL only targets the brown spots and nothing else. (Then why are there people that get burned?) I could tell she was annoyed by me for being upset that my skin was damaged, so I left.
I noticed my close up vision of my right eye was worse after the IPL, even with my reading glasses. And that eye is sagging down and coming forward a little. I went to my eye doctor. She said my vision was worse in my right eye. I noticed the change in my vision after the IPL. That lower eyelid also twitches about 15 times per day now.
The fat loss and sagging of my cheeks is devastating. It is uneven. My left side bulges out more on the bottom than the right. My eyes look more hollow and more wrinkled than before. I feel like I am in a nightmare I can't wake up from. I can't believe this actually happened. I had no idea something like this was even possible. There needs to be a law that fat loss and sagging skin should have to be on the consent! We have a right to know what we are risking. The only thing keeping me sane is looking up possible solutions and surgeries I can have in the future to fix this. Although those come with their own set of risks. I haven't told anyone yet about this except for my eye doctor.... and all of you. I guess I'm embarrassed. Or don't want people to start paying attention to it if they haven't noticed. I am able to focus on my job and when I am with my children or other people, but otherwise this dominates my thoughts. I was a completely normal person before this and having this happen has changed me. But I am fighting to not go too far downhill.
After deciding to focus on what to do to help the problem, now and in the future, I have been able to sleep better at night. Here is what I discovered. To improve the orange peel texture: lots of moisturizer. Over 3 days of applying it frequently, it improves. Nothing harsh in the moisturizer, though. A simple one. Then keep applying it at least a few times daily. To clean my face, I now use Purpose, a gentle cleanser. I use spackle 10 minutes before I put on foundation. It is supposed to help fill in the large pores/wrinkles. (I had never heard of it before this). I now use a thicker, better quality foundation. It really helps my appearance, honestly helps me to psychologically get through this because I don't look as bad. It's Tarte Amazonian clay full coverage foundation.
I will keep updating. If anyone discovers a way to turn back time, let me know.
In the room, she told me that they don't use gel or numbing cream, I just put an ice pack on the skin before she does it. She asked me if I had a history of cold sores. I did and? she told me to take medicine when I got home. I said I don't have any freckles or brown spots around my mouth. Just don't do the iPL there. I'm SO glad I said that because I saved my chin and the area between my nose and mouth. On the medical form, I answered that I did have a history of keloids. Now I found out that keloids are a contraindication for getting IPL. She said nothing about my answer on the questionnaire about keloids. I am so mad. That would have saved me from the damage to my face. Afterward, I found out she was an esthetician. I thought she was a nurse since it was in a medical office. This is why, at minimum, a nurse or doctor should look at your form first! (And should actually be the one to do it).
The machine was a Cutera. It didn't feel like a rubber band snapping like I read. It felt like she was burning my face with a curling iron. I had very small covers for my eyes. I could still see the light in my eyes even when she had the wand on my cheeks. She put the wand on the skin close to my eyes. Why would she would do that when you need to protect your eyes from damage? I didn't even have any freckles or brown spots there. That scared me. When she did it near my left eye, I shoved the eye cover into my eye. She did my age spots twice. Later when I found out the name of the? wand, I looked up the manual and it said, don't use it in the same spot more than once in the same session. I think she had good intentions, but just decided to do that on her own. That is one? reason why an esthetician should not do this. On the spots she did twice, I have dents in those areas. At the very end, on my left cheek, it hurt very bad when she did it. I jumped. I told her, and instead of looking at my skin to make sure it was ok, she told me I didn't hold the ice on there long enough. She actually burned me.
I thought it was strange that I didn't get an aftercare sheet. When I looked in my car mirror, my cheeks and forehead had this weird shaped swelling, like I had laid on a grate. Or swelling divided by wrinkles. I thought that's what she meant by the normal swelling you have on your face afterwards. Now I know my face was burned. She didn't say anything to me about the way my face looked when I left.
2 weeks later, I noticed my cheeks and forehead were wrinkled. My skin wasn't wrinkled before, except for under my eyes. A few days later the wrinkles were worse and it looked like my cheeks were starting to sag. Before I noticed that, I hadn't read anything about IPL causing that. When I looked it up and saw all the people it happened to, I panicked. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep couldn't think about anything else except worrying about how bad it was going to be. And I was right.....it got worse. At 2 1/2 weeks I called the med spa and told them my cheeks were still pink and wrinkled. They said I could come in and talk to the nurse practitioner. She was defensive from the beginning. I showed her my pink cheeks and forehead. She said skin only stays pink for 2 days after IPL. My skin being pink isn't from the IPL. Maybe I have rosacea. (It wasn't pink before the IPL.) I said my skin wasn't wrinkled before. She said "I didn't see you before" (What does that have to do with anything???) I said these wrinkles are in the shape of the swelling I had. For a second I saw a look of oh $#& on her face before it went stoic again. I think she realized I had been burned. She told me my skin looked dehydrated. I asked if IPL can cause that.... you guessed it....her answer was no. She told me that IPL only targets the brown spots and nothing else. (Then why are there people that get burned?) I could tell she was annoyed by me for being upset that my skin was damaged, so I left.
I noticed my close up vision of my right eye was worse after the IPL, even with my reading glasses. And that eye is sagging down and coming forward a little. I went to my eye doctor. She said my vision was worse in my right eye. I noticed the change in my vision after the IPL. That lower eyelid also twitches about 15 times per day now.
The fat loss and sagging of my cheeks is devastating. It is uneven. My left side bulges out more on the bottom than the right. My eyes look more hollow and more wrinkled than before. I feel like I am in a nightmare I can't wake up from. I can't believe this actually happened. I had no idea something like this was even possible. There needs to be a law that fat loss and sagging skin should have to be on the consent! We have a right to know what we are risking. The only thing keeping me sane is looking up possible solutions and surgeries I can have in the future to fix this. Although those come with their own set of risks. I haven't told anyone yet about this except for my eye doctor.... and all of you. I guess I'm embarrassed. Or don't want people to start paying attention to it if they haven't noticed. I am able to focus on my job and when I am with my children or other people, but otherwise this dominates my thoughts. I was a completely normal person before this and having this happen has changed me. But I am fighting to not go too far downhill.
After deciding to focus on what to do to help the problem, now and in the future, I have been able to sleep better at night. Here is what I discovered. To improve the orange peel texture: lots of moisturizer. Over 3 days of applying it frequently, it improves. Nothing harsh in the moisturizer, though. A simple one. Then keep applying it at least a few times daily. To clean my face, I now use Purpose, a gentle cleanser. I use spackle 10 minutes before I put on foundation. It is supposed to help fill in the large pores/wrinkles. (I had never heard of it before this). I now use a thicker, better quality foundation. It really helps my appearance, honestly helps me to psychologically get through this because I don't look as bad. It's Tarte Amazonian clay full coverage foundation.
I will keep updating. If anyone discovers a way to turn back time, let me know.
UPDATED FROM Serenity99
6 months post
6 months post
Serenity99September 22, 2017
The fat loss continued to get worse. I still told no one but my eye doctor, and tried to be in denial that no one was noticing. At 4 1/2 months post, someone in a high up position at my work looked at me like he just found out I had cancer and said "Have you a lot of weight? Are you okay?" He hadn't seen me in awhile, and couldn't see my body, only my face. That same week, my friend asked me if I lost weight, she said she could tell in my face. I could no longer think that no one was noticing. I had a very hard time for awhile after that.
Under my eyes have completely hollowed out. There is no fat there, just skin to bone, and skin to eyeball. Looking at my face at an angle, my cheeks are flat. My forehead has no fat, so my eyebrows lowered. Now the skin and eyebrow is sitting on my right eye and it makes it look smaller than my left eye. I now need a brow lift. The only fat on my forehead is under my eyebrows, where the ipl didn't go. My temples have completely hollowed out also.
The aesthetician should have had me look in the mirror and blow my face a kiss goodbye because it would never look like that again. I never wear my hair in a ponytail anymore because it shows how narrow my face is now. Every morning I put on makeup and it sinks into the wrinkles I am reminded of what my face looks like. Before I had this done, I was thinking about starting to date again. Now, I am so self conscious about the way my face looks, there's no way. This has affected my life tremendously.
I will be going to a consultation for a brow lift and fat transfer soon. I will post about how that goes.
I did find a product that helped the appearance of the wrinkles on my cheeks. (It didn't help the skin on my forehead. I think that's a lost cause.) The words "Volume filler" caught my eye. It's L'Oréal Revitalift Volume filler. It has hyaluronic acid in it. Good advice to see if any product helps: put it on one side of your face. If I had put it all over, I might not have been able to tell if it was helping, because of course the orange peel skin was still there. But I could definitely tell a difference! The wrinkles were more noticeable on the side I wasn't putting it on. Anything I find that helps, I will post for the people in this club that we never knew existed and wish we were not in.
Under my eyes have completely hollowed out. There is no fat there, just skin to bone, and skin to eyeball. Looking at my face at an angle, my cheeks are flat. My forehead has no fat, so my eyebrows lowered. Now the skin and eyebrow is sitting on my right eye and it makes it look smaller than my left eye. I now need a brow lift. The only fat on my forehead is under my eyebrows, where the ipl didn't go. My temples have completely hollowed out also.
The aesthetician should have had me look in the mirror and blow my face a kiss goodbye because it would never look like that again. I never wear my hair in a ponytail anymore because it shows how narrow my face is now. Every morning I put on makeup and it sinks into the wrinkles I am reminded of what my face looks like. Before I had this done, I was thinking about starting to date again. Now, I am so self conscious about the way my face looks, there's no way. This has affected my life tremendously.
I will be going to a consultation for a brow lift and fat transfer soon. I will post about how that goes.
I did find a product that helped the appearance of the wrinkles on my cheeks. (It didn't help the skin on my forehead. I think that's a lost cause.) The words "Volume filler" caught my eye. It's L'Oréal Revitalift Volume filler. It has hyaluronic acid in it. Good advice to see if any product helps: put it on one side of your face. If I had put it all over, I might not have been able to tell if it was helping, because of course the orange peel skin was still there. But I could definitely tell a difference! The wrinkles were more noticeable on the side I wasn't putting it on. Anything I find that helps, I will post for the people in this club that we never knew existed and wish we were not in.
Replies (2)
September 30, 2017
Hi serenity99,
I am so sorry you are going through this. I understand how hard it can be, I struggle with the same issues after ipl. I just want you to know you are not alone. I hope things start to get better, have you tried Psoria gold?
I am so sorry you are going through this. I understand how hard it can be, I struggle with the same issues after ipl. I just want you to know you are not alone. I hope things start to get better, have you tried Psoria gold?
October 6, 2017
Hi. l It's so hard to see my face change like this. I have good days and bad days. I'm sure you know what I mean. Right now I'm looking into getting a brow lift because the IPL caused my eyebrows to fall. I'm hoping it will also help the wrinkled, orange peel skin on my forehead look better, because nothing has been helping the skin there. I haven't tried Psoria gold, have you? Revitalift volume filler has been helping me.
UPDATED FROM Serenity99
9 months post
8 1/2 months post IPL.... Plastic surgery consultations
Serenity99December 4, 2017
Before I had the ugly wand stamped on my face, I was 40 and didn't feel like I needed any plastic surgery at all on my face. I had never even done Botox. People were constantly telling me how young I looked. Two men at my work in their upper 20s would flirt with me because I'm pretty sure they thought I was their age. Not anymore. I just get an awkward "hi" in the elevator and that's it.
The first consult I went to, they put me in a room with a laser machine. My heart started beating faster. I told myself to look away, ignore it, but I could see it out of the corner of my eye. I started feeling hot. I answered the nurse's questions and tried to act normal, but I finally told her it was bothering me to be in the same room as the laser machine. She asked me if I wanted to go to another room, so we did. Then I was able to calm down. So apparently I must have some kind of laser machine specific PTSD...
When I explained to that doctor what happened to my skin after the IPL, he said "Oh, you got burned!" Thank you for at least acknowledging it. He says he overfills for fat grafting because half of it is going to die, and didn't have any before and after pictures to show me because he's newer, so I won't be going to him, but I'm glad I did the consult.
The second doctor didn't sound comfortable doing fat grafting to my face, he said fillers would be better, and gave me the reasons I have read about on here about what can go wrong with fat grafting. His idea for a brow lift is really raising the lateral part, just like the first doctor, and I think that would look odd on me.
My third consult was with a plastic surgeon with 25 years experience. His idea of what to do for a brow lift is what I want. He doesn't do fat grafting. He listened to my story of how the IPL killed the fat in my face, and didn't deny that it could, or I wouldn't have anything done by him. But he didn't say much about it either, he just asked where I had it done. I booked my brow lift with him for next month. Something I need after losing fat in my forehead and temples.
Trusting someone with your face is scary, but especially after a traumatic experience for a treatment that was supposed to be minor and ended up being life-altering. I am scared to have this done, but my right eye looks smaller than my left because my skin of my forehead started sagging after the IPL and I can't just keep looking in the mirror every day at how uneven it looks.
I thought about what the second doctor said about fat grafting and decided to hold off on it. I have been looking into sculptra, and I think I will do it when the swelling from my brow lift goes down. I want to do voluma but I would have a hard time spending the money on it and having it be so temporary.
Right now what is bothering me the most isn't my flat cheeks, it my hollowed out under eyes. It's like literally a C from one end of my eye to the other. I look at women older than me and my age and NO ONE has hollowed out under their eyes all the across like I do. It isn't a natural way to lose fat, even with normal aging.
I'm still using L'oreal revivalist volume filler. It did improve the look of my cheeks somewhat. Still fighting to not be depressed about this.
The first consult I went to, they put me in a room with a laser machine. My heart started beating faster. I told myself to look away, ignore it, but I could see it out of the corner of my eye. I started feeling hot. I answered the nurse's questions and tried to act normal, but I finally told her it was bothering me to be in the same room as the laser machine. She asked me if I wanted to go to another room, so we did. Then I was able to calm down. So apparently I must have some kind of laser machine specific PTSD...
When I explained to that doctor what happened to my skin after the IPL, he said "Oh, you got burned!" Thank you for at least acknowledging it. He says he overfills for fat grafting because half of it is going to die, and didn't have any before and after pictures to show me because he's newer, so I won't be going to him, but I'm glad I did the consult.
The second doctor didn't sound comfortable doing fat grafting to my face, he said fillers would be better, and gave me the reasons I have read about on here about what can go wrong with fat grafting. His idea for a brow lift is really raising the lateral part, just like the first doctor, and I think that would look odd on me.
My third consult was with a plastic surgeon with 25 years experience. His idea of what to do for a brow lift is what I want. He doesn't do fat grafting. He listened to my story of how the IPL killed the fat in my face, and didn't deny that it could, or I wouldn't have anything done by him. But he didn't say much about it either, he just asked where I had it done. I booked my brow lift with him for next month. Something I need after losing fat in my forehead and temples.
Trusting someone with your face is scary, but especially after a traumatic experience for a treatment that was supposed to be minor and ended up being life-altering. I am scared to have this done, but my right eye looks smaller than my left because my skin of my forehead started sagging after the IPL and I can't just keep looking in the mirror every day at how uneven it looks.
I thought about what the second doctor said about fat grafting and decided to hold off on it. I have been looking into sculptra, and I think I will do it when the swelling from my brow lift goes down. I want to do voluma but I would have a hard time spending the money on it and having it be so temporary.
Right now what is bothering me the most isn't my flat cheeks, it my hollowed out under eyes. It's like literally a C from one end of my eye to the other. I look at women older than me and my age and NO ONE has hollowed out under their eyes all the across like I do. It isn't a natural way to lose fat, even with normal aging.
I'm still using L'oreal revivalist volume filler. It did improve the look of my cheeks somewhat. Still fighting to not be depressed about this.
Replies (5)
No one can understand how hard this is to deal with unless it actually happens to them. That's one thing that makes it so hard for us.....we don't know anyone else that understands what it's like to have this happen to their face. I have some good days and then I have days I just want to scream. I can tell you some of the things that help me:
Remembering my children love me no matter what I look like (and they haven't noticed I look different).
Doing my hair and makeup every day, even when I don't go anywhere, for the times when I will see myself in a mirror. (This part isn't about being vein, it's the opposite. I can't stand what I look like without makeup now).
I try to look in the mirror less often. (This one was hard for me at first).
I understand what you're going through, hang in there