No Down Time or Annoyance of Peeling.....results..? - Scottsdale, AZ
1064 Yag laser used-I have had a hormonally...
1064 Yag laser used-I have had a hormonally tumultuous year and my skin has suffered like never before. I have never had acne issues until almost literally when I turned 30:( I have tried everything and the only thing that gets rid of my existing acne is Clearasil spot treatment (10% benzoyl peroxide) which causes lots of peeling and unfortunately, lots of scars. My scars are red and dark and I have them for months.
So after many failed attempts at finding a topical product (retinol, tretinoin, niacinimide...) that doesn't make my skin break out more, I decided to try this laser facial. It was really easy, took about 20 minutes. It was a lot of short hot pulses on my skin and it smelled like burnt hair (ick). I was pink in a few spots but other than that, I did not look like I had anything done to my face afterwards.
One of my inflamed spots turned into a fluid filled pimple that was slightly painful and remains red 24 hours later. I am told this is not uncommon and that I should see results in a few days with no peeling. Also, a series of treatments would produce more results. Here is info from the website about my treatment: "The laserfacial works by focusing a beam of light to a target in the skin such as enlarged blood vessels and irregular chromophores. The enlarged vessels and irregularities are removed without scarring or damage to the treated or surrounding area." Now is the hard part...waiting... ...to be continued...
Scottsdale1247's provider
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Today is 5 days after the facial and I am...
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Oh my gosh :( I'm so sorry to hear. I can't remember if we've talked about this, but have you tried Retin-A? I'm using it & clindamycin lotion & it has totally cleared my skin. You will have to go to a doctor to get prescriptions for them, and it definitely got worse before it got better, but I feel totally comfortable going to the gym without make-up now, which I never did before. (Ok, ok, I still do a quick swipe of mascara - girly girl to the core.) Oh, and one other thing I found that works to clear up my pimples, and I'm sure a dermatologist would hang me for this, but I would dip a q-tip in rubbing alcohol & touch it to the blemish...occasionally I would even swipe my back with an alcohol soaked cotton pad. Like I said, probably not the advice a derm would give, but it works & I know the desperate, I just need this stuff gone feeling.
It sounds like what you had done was a comparison to what we do in our Med Spa here in Boise called Laser Genesis. The LG treatment is a very effective treatment over time and over numerous treatments. It is very helpful for Rosacea, pore size and helping you to rebuild collagen by penetrating to the second layer of the dermis. However your instant results are very subtle and again become better with numerous results ie 6 or so. If you are wanting to remove scaring, or brown spots or sun damage you may have been a better candidate for an IPL or Intense/Intelligent Pulsed Light treatment. It is a very effective treatment however there is some pain as it is much more intense and there is also some down time of a day or two. All that said for scaring I would have actually recommended a chemical peel more than likely. If you aren't able to get your acne to clear with the topical's your best bet is a trip to the dermatologist as you said acne is so hormonal that if you don't get that balanced out nothing topical you do will keep them gone... hope that was helpful!
It has been about 3 weeks and my skin looks better...
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Thanks for the update! You mentioned you were trying a mild acne system, do you mind me asking which one?
I know what you mean about being hesitant to try new products - doesn't it always feel like a risk? It's like, "Am I going to break out huge from this, or will this be the magic product I've been waiting for?" ;)
I just recently started using Olay Complete Moisturizer & love it, so you might give it a try if you don't end up liking the Cetaphil one. I was using the Laura Mercier moisturizer before that, but at $100 a bottle that seemed a bit ridiculous to me!
I've been using the Cetaphil wash for years. Every time I try something new, I always revert back to the Cetaphil sooner or later.
Let me know how you are liking the Olay Acne Protocol - would love to hear how it works for you!!
What about using a natural skin astringent such as witch hazel and following it up with Scar ZoneA Acne cream? I think that should do the job for you, if you have not tried it yet.
I have tried witch hazel and it doesn't hurt my skin but doesnt improve it either. I need to get my vitalize peels again regularly but I hate peeling and sloughing for a week and a half! it drives me insane to have dry patches and flakes and makes me want to pick it off obsessively lol!
Something that has helped me in the past was the Master Cleanse. I went very light on the cayenne pepper (nearly none, because it is an irritant) and doubled the lemon juice, while reducing the amount of sugar (in the form of maple syrup). I don't know if it was the massive dose of Vitamin C, or the fact that I didn't ingest any more crap, while allowing my system to clear out, but it totally cleared my skin.
Caveat: drink it through a straw, all that lemon juice is not good for your tooth enamel if swished around every day.
Good luck!
PS. Oh, and you might want to give your skin a complete break while doing the cleanse- no products, no touching it with your fingers (or letting others touch it), making sure that your sheets/pillowcase are always clean and washed with a natural/hypoallergenic detergent, same for your towels.
Sorry to hear you are having to deal with acne issues. I've dealt with them my whole life so I certainly have sympathy for you!
I'm so interested to see what happens in the next few days following your treatment - can't wait to hear!!