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It's been a month since my 6th and last Smoothbeam...
It's been a month since my 6th and last Smoothbeam treatment. I haven't had a cyst in months. The crescent-shaped burns due to the machine malfunctioning (confirmed) are healing, and now I will insist on test spots an hour or so before each treatment. I'm concerned they will scar, but it's too early to tell. Smoothbeam works at the settings I specified in my earlier post. The machine can malfunction fairly easily and it's important that it is tested frequently, especially after it is moved from room to room. The tech must pay close attention to skin response, and keep the handpiece perpendicular. I do not work for Candela, and honestly, I'm not a fan of what I know of their business practices. Regardless, Smoothbeam is a miracle cure for cystic acne. I believe machine malfunctions, tech errors, the cost of the unit and service contract, price of treatments, and excessive need for maintainence have stopped it from gaining the recognition it deserves. I found out a few weeks ago they stopped making it. I called Candela and they no longer make a laser that uses the same wavelength (1450nm), and I can't find one that does. Please let me know if you find one.
I've now had 6 Smoothbeam treatments. This...
I've now had 6 Smoothbeam treatments. This machine works. I haven't had a cyst since the second treatment. Now I'm going to go back every 2-3 months. The same settings were used (14/40), and the last two times have resulted in crescent shaped burns. The last treatment caused more than the prior. No scars so far...There has been no change in my skin care regiment, and I'm confident the tech is not to blame. The office did a test, and found the DCD was inconsistent. The machine was last serviced in December. I'm convinced it needs to be serviced more frequently, and more extensively. For starters, a problem with the calibration, handpiece/connector, DCD spray and/or metering device (or whatever controls the output) will obviously result in unnecessary side effects, such as the one I experienced. Based on the large number of side effects reported by patients on various websites, I have to assume there are still a lot of bugs that need to be worked out in this machine. Unfortunately, unless there is an obvious malfunction, or someone has a negative reaction, there is no way to tell there is a problem with it.
I've had 3 Smoothbeam treatments now. The last 2...
I've had 3 Smoothbeam treatments now. The last 2 have been with the higher settings of 14 joules/40 DCD spray. I've had absolutely no side effects. No redness, no pain, and I didn't use any ice post-treatment, or numbing cream. I've seen an improvement in my acne and didn't have any cysts during my last period. I've also noticed a reduction in sebum and the little zits I got (2) took longer to heal. This makes sense because of the reduction in oil output. After the next treatment and menstrual cycle, I'll better be able to assess my progress. I may need to move up another joule and spray to 15/45. I'm of the opinion that higher settings are better to a point, and I don't know what that is yet...So far so good.