Devastated with Result

I am 39 years old. I had plasma pen treatment over 2 weeks ago for acne scarring/crepe skin on my chin and on my neck to tighten a prematurely aging ‘turkey neck’. The lady I used was recommended by a couple of people who had seen her for plasma pen and were really happy with the results, and she also has very good credentials. She (and everyone else) told me it would be painful and she said the neck would be least painful so started with that but honestly, it was like someone was searing my skin! So painful I almost passed out and was crying on the couch! I let her do my chin afterwards, as this was my main area of concern, which by comparison to my neck was no where near as painful. I was booked in to have my undereye done as well but opted out at this point. Immediately afterwards it felt like my whole face and neck were on fire but I was advised not to cool it down. This eased after the first night and was more bearable after 24 hours. The first week was quite uncomfortable but more because of how it looked than how it felt. It was tight as the scabs had sort of joined together, but it wasn’t too sore. A few of the scabs started falling off around day 5 and 6 with most coming off day 8. After the scabs were gone I was left with bright pink dots in their place. Over the next few days the pink dots started to look less angry and the skin on my chin definitely looks a bit smoother/tighter, and is healing well. The skin on my neck however is looking dubious. At the bottom of my neck above my collarbone I have what looks like tiny white scars. They look tight and shiny. I keep getting told this is normal at two weeks but I am so worried that it’s permanently changed my skin. When the light shines on my skin you can tell it’s a completely different texture. I have been using bio oil, as it is supposed to be good at healing new scars so I’m hoping they won’t be too obvious once they’ve healed. I am feeling so full of regret for ever thinking about doing this. If anyone was to ask me I’d say unless the problem you have really bothers you and isn’t a normal part of the aging process then just leave it alone. I’m so fearful that I’ve ruined my neck and it’s going to look worse and more noticeable than it did before. It’s also extremely itchy and ‘prickly’ right now too, which is making me very aware of it all the time. I was feeling quite depressed after the first few days of having it done as what I was seeing in the mirror looked horrendous but I kept telling myself once the scabs had fallen off it would feel a lot better and I’d be able to cover the red skin with makeup. It’s now been just over a week with no scabs and I don’t care what everyone keeps telling me about the 12-week healing period I can tell my skin is permanently scarred and it’s not going to heal. On top of this my neck looks just as loose as it did before the procedure. I’m not really one for getting things like this done so I did try to research ‘plasma pen gone wrong’ on the internet but couldn’t really find much, maybe 1 or 2 (might have been the same person) so that, and the fact that people I know had had it done with good results made me feel confident about doing it. I wish I had known about realself.com 3 weeks ago! I am utterly devastated and suffering anxiety as a result, not sleeping properly and not being able to think of anything else. If you’re thinking of getting this done please reconsider. I’m sure it’s great if it works, but if it goes wrong it will destroy your confidence. xx

So I have waited the full 12 months since having the procedure, as this was how long I was told it takes for your skin to fully heal. I knew within a month that I had been scarred but was told the texture of my skin would improve over time. I have seen no improvement in the tightness of the skin on my neck, maybe a slight improvement on my chin, but I have replaced the loose skin with white dots. I completely regret having this done and have done since I was lying in the treatment room crying because the pain was almost intolerable. I really think the pen settings were too high and that the burn went too deep into my skin. I do not recommend this treatment!