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I just walked in the door from my first Pixel. I...
I just walked in the door from my first Pixel. I wanted to tackle my ever-expanding nose pores, and the old acne scaring on my chin that is becoming more noticeable as I age.
I went to a med spa where I have gone many times for PhotoFacials, Restylane, Dermasweeps, and just plain facials in the past 5 years or so. I am very comfortable there and seem to go there for something about 3 or 4 times per year. Aestheticians do the facials and nurses do the more medical procedures.
Their Pixel process includes both a pre and post care same day treatment. The pre treatment was a Dermasweep procedure, and the application of a numbing cream. The Dermasweep was very aggressive, more aggressive than when I've had a facial with Dermasweep done by the same aesthetician. This makes sense to me: why waste time pixeling off skin that can be taken off by exfoliation? After the numbing cream was put on I had to read magazines for 30-40 minutes while it took affect.
The nurse who did my Pixel has done Photofacials for me in the past. She was friendly and nice, and showed me the laser gun. She also explained that since the laser is burning my skin that I would be smelling burnt skin--I'm glad she told me this else I would have been freaking out during the process.
The Pixel hurt much less that the Photofacials I have had. The flashes of light were much less intense and the prick was more focus and less of a hard "snap." Certain areas were more sensitive than others, and naturally those were my "problem" areas that received 2 or 3 passes with the laser. The nurse was very good about telling me what the healing process would look like, and what any danger signs would be. My time with the nurse was about 20 minutes, then off to post care.
Post care: the aesthetician used an oxygen infuser gizmo to blow cool moist air onto my face. This did sting for about 10 seconds then began to feel cooling and soothing. After about 10 minutes of this she put on another layer of numbing cream so I would be able to drive home. She was very good about warning me that this was the worst pain, but that it would be over in 30-40 seconds, when the numbing agents kicked in. She was right--it was the only time I had to take slow, deep breaths to handle the pain. She held a fan up to my face until the lidocaine or whatever kicked in. After that she slathered me with sunblock.
Home care: I was given a care package of LaRoche-Posay and Obagi samples to take home, along with a 2 pages of instructions. She went over the instructions in detail with me. The samples included: spring water spay, zinc-based sunblock, gentle cleanser, and a soothing cream mixed with hydro-cortisone. The office is supposed to call me tomorrow to make sure everything is going all right.
Right now I look like I fell asleep in the sun with a screen door over my face. The procedure was done on a Friday at noon, and I have the coming week off work, so hopefully I will be good to go come the Monday after next.
Updates to follow...
I went to a med spa where I have gone many times for PhotoFacials, Restylane, Dermasweeps, and just plain facials in the past 5 years or so. I am very comfortable there and seem to go there for something about 3 or 4 times per year. Aestheticians do the facials and nurses do the more medical procedures.
Their Pixel process includes both a pre and post care same day treatment. The pre treatment was a Dermasweep procedure, and the application of a numbing cream. The Dermasweep was very aggressive, more aggressive than when I've had a facial with Dermasweep done by the same aesthetician. This makes sense to me: why waste time pixeling off skin that can be taken off by exfoliation? After the numbing cream was put on I had to read magazines for 30-40 minutes while it took affect.
The nurse who did my Pixel has done Photofacials for me in the past. She was friendly and nice, and showed me the laser gun. She also explained that since the laser is burning my skin that I would be smelling burnt skin--I'm glad she told me this else I would have been freaking out during the process.
The Pixel hurt much less that the Photofacials I have had. The flashes of light were much less intense and the prick was more focus and less of a hard "snap." Certain areas were more sensitive than others, and naturally those were my "problem" areas that received 2 or 3 passes with the laser. The nurse was very good about telling me what the healing process would look like, and what any danger signs would be. My time with the nurse was about 20 minutes, then off to post care.
Post care: the aesthetician used an oxygen infuser gizmo to blow cool moist air onto my face. This did sting for about 10 seconds then began to feel cooling and soothing. After about 10 minutes of this she put on another layer of numbing cream so I would be able to drive home. She was very good about warning me that this was the worst pain, but that it would be over in 30-40 seconds, when the numbing agents kicked in. She was right--it was the only time I had to take slow, deep breaths to handle the pain. She held a fan up to my face until the lidocaine or whatever kicked in. After that she slathered me with sunblock.
Home care: I was given a care package of LaRoche-Posay and Obagi samples to take home, along with a 2 pages of instructions. She went over the instructions in detail with me. The samples included: spring water spay, zinc-based sunblock, gentle cleanser, and a soothing cream mixed with hydro-cortisone. The office is supposed to call me tomorrow to make sure everything is going all right.
Right now I look like I fell asleep in the sun with a screen door over my face. The procedure was done on a Friday at noon, and I have the coming week off work, so hopefully I will be good to go come the Monday after next.
Updates to follow...
Hi, it is Tuesday morning now. I am shedding like...
Hi, it is Tuesday morning now. I am shedding like mad. Let me see if I can remember my timeline...
My treatment was at noon on Friday. My face felt raw and hot for the rest of the day. It hurt, but not horribly. I was worried I would be unable to sleep, but I took a benadryl and was fine.
Saturday morning: most of the pain was gone. My face kind of shiny and hard, like I had coated it in Elmers glue and let it dry, but with the checkerboard pixel pattern. It was no longer sensitive to the touch when I applied cream, but it was tight. I put a lot of cream on every few hours to help ease the tightness.
Sunday: I started to see the beginning of peeling, right at the 48 hour mark. Not much, but the Elmer's glue was beginning to crack...no pain, no itching.
Monday: lots and lots of peeling, starting in my "problem areas" where I had had several passes. A little itchy, but I drank lots of water and took a benadryl at night. The peeling skin is coming off in small bits, not big sheets.
Tuesday: still peeling. The skin underneath is very pink. I think I scratched in my sleep and have a few tiny spots that look a bit raw, so I put some Neosporin on those areas to ward off infection. Kinda getting sick of all the skin flaking off on everything I do!
My treatment was at noon on Friday. My face felt raw and hot for the rest of the day. It hurt, but not horribly. I was worried I would be unable to sleep, but I took a benadryl and was fine.
Saturday morning: most of the pain was gone. My face kind of shiny and hard, like I had coated it in Elmers glue and let it dry, but with the checkerboard pixel pattern. It was no longer sensitive to the touch when I applied cream, but it was tight. I put a lot of cream on every few hours to help ease the tightness.
Sunday: I started to see the beginning of peeling, right at the 48 hour mark. Not much, but the Elmer's glue was beginning to crack...no pain, no itching.
Monday: lots and lots of peeling, starting in my "problem areas" where I had had several passes. A little itchy, but I drank lots of water and took a benadryl at night. The peeling skin is coming off in small bits, not big sheets.
Tuesday: still peeling. The skin underneath is very pink. I think I scratched in my sleep and have a few tiny spots that look a bit raw, so I put some Neosporin on those areas to ward off infection. Kinda getting sick of all the skin flaking off on everything I do!
Hello again. It is now Thursday morning. I...
Hello again.
It is now Thursday morning. I have finished peeling: I was almost completely done peeling by Wednesday morning, I'd say. Most of the loose skin came off in the show.
My skin is still a bit pink, but I've always struggled with redness so I'm probably the only person who notices that I am a bit pinker than usual. My skin is very soft and smooth, and has a "glow" to it. My mother, who has naturally great skin and has always fussed over my acne and redness, saw me this morning and noticed a difference.
My acne scars, pore size, and fine lines are all slightly improved. It is my understanding that these should continue to improve a bit over the next few weeks as my collagen rebuilds. I hope this is true, as with the cost of the Pixel I feel like my current results could have been gotten with a much less expensive chemical peel.
The aesthetician told me that while a 2nd pixel treatment is recommended, she has seen great results on my skin type with one pixel treatment and a followup medium-depth chemical peel 6-8 weeks later. I may do that, just depending.
I'll update my "worth it" in a while, after I see what the next few weeks bring.
It is now Thursday morning. I have finished peeling: I was almost completely done peeling by Wednesday morning, I'd say. Most of the loose skin came off in the show.
My skin is still a bit pink, but I've always struggled with redness so I'm probably the only person who notices that I am a bit pinker than usual. My skin is very soft and smooth, and has a "glow" to it. My mother, who has naturally great skin and has always fussed over my acne and redness, saw me this morning and noticed a difference.
My acne scars, pore size, and fine lines are all slightly improved. It is my understanding that these should continue to improve a bit over the next few weeks as my collagen rebuilds. I hope this is true, as with the cost of the Pixel I feel like my current results could have been gotten with a much less expensive chemical peel.
The aesthetician told me that while a 2nd pixel treatment is recommended, she has seen great results on my skin type with one pixel treatment and a followup medium-depth chemical peel 6-8 weeks later. I may do that, just depending.
I'll update my "worth it" in a while, after I see what the next few weeks bring.
Provider Review
Competent and caring staff, lots of experience.