SPOT TREAT FOREHEAD AND FULL FACE

I had three full face Viva treatments in early 2016, and afterwards, I didn't notice a single iota of improvement in the scarring (manual and erbium laser caused), hyper-pigmentation, texture, wrinkles, or firmness. Since the erbium laser treatments I had in 1999 horribly messed up my skin texture and appearance, I was desperate to give Venus Viva--which seems to be the safest and most desirable option out there--a chance to fix my face, so I persevered with multiple test spots starting in October, 2016. Ultimately, my goal was to economically challenge this technology and find out how many treatments it would take to get real results before investing in full face again, or if it would never give results.
I chose the area between my brows, which I not so affectionately call my Bermuda Triangle. It's an area that looks horribly lined, due to being both badly etched by the erbium laser, and from dynamic creases. The cost for that test area was $75, and I initially started treatment with my previous Viva setting of 57. That setting is considered quite low for the results I wanted to achieve, but I can't use the numbing cream, so this was always grit (my teeth) and bear it, and that's all I could bear at the time. After four treatments and zero change, my tech convinced me to up the power to 71. It was tolerable for a small area, so by the sixth treatment, I permitted my trusted tech to do two passes on that test zone. It was after I started the higher setting and double passes that I started to finally see something change, but I can't say it was anything significant... just 'something.'
By test #8, I decided to treat the entire forehead for $150 + tax, because I do have a few dynamic forehead wrinkles. Actually, I'm not even sure if they're wrinkles, or if they're laser etched trauma, but for an extra $75 it was worth doing for this test.
The verdict? To date, I've had a total of nine Viva treatments between my brows, which includes two full forehead in that count, and I still can't say if I see any real improvement. I also can't say it hasn't helped between my brows at all, because I can see a subtle difference from when I started, but it's not the type of improvement that leaves me feeling confident in this technology's claims. Right now, I really can't recommend this technology to anyone in good conscience, because I'm just not seeing a distinct change in my test zones. At least not yet.
Basically, it comes down to this: I'm doing Venus Viva, and will continue with it, because I have no other choice. I will NEVER again go near an ablating laser device, and no amount of money in the world would tempt me! The good thing about the Venus Viva is it hasn't caused any problems whatsoever on my laser thinned and ultra sensitive skin, which is paramount to continuing the treatment. I also really like that it acts as an epidermal needling treatment, as well as a deep dermal treatment, so there's at least something authentic happening on the surface of the skin, for sure. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I figure doing the treatment has to produce a result that's better than doing nothing, so I'm going to continue the spot treatments until the fall and then go full face.
I can confidently say this: it's ESSENTIAL to have a conservative tech who will do a few test spots to see how your skin will tolerate different settings. Some people can handle it at 100% without issue, while others with more sensitive skin, like myself, get deeply red and quite swollen at 57%. This isn't a treatment that takes a long time to do full face, but it shouldn't be rushed. I'm fortunate that my tech is amazing and always does a very thorough application to ensure there are no bare spots left untreated, so I recommend using someone careful and detail oriented. And heads up: the claim that you'll be red for only a day is pure bullsugar. You'll be red for a good four or five days, swollen for at least a couple, and then the micro needled crusts will invisibly slough off. Is there pain during the treatment? You betcha! But that depends on (a) the strength of the treatment, and (b) whether or not you use numbing cream.
I didn't add photos, because various lighting drastically affects how my skin looks, so I can't get an authentic before and after comparison. If something miraculous happens and the change is vividly noticeable, I'll be sure to add pics at that time.

To date, since 2016, I've had a total of six full face treatments and about 12 forehead treatments of the Venus Viva. I started my full face Viva treatments in Oct./17 and have three more treatments to go. I've looked at my before and after photos and can confidently say that this technology is pure bullsh*t. At least it is for me and for the setting I and my skin can tolerate. It claims it can improve scarring, but not one single shallow, deep, or in between scar was improved. It claims it can improve wrinkles, but not one tiny line was eliminated. It claims it can improve hyper-pigmentation and skin tone, but not one single dark spot normalized. I really did believe (with a huge dose of wishful thinking) that having some sort of collagen stimulating/activating procedure would initiate some sort of improved change, but it just hasn't happened. I already bought my two packages when they went on promo price, so I'll be finishing the remaining three treatments; however, that is where it ends for me. I would've been thrilled if it had at least improved the wrinkles and CO2 etched trauma in my face, but it did N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

I don't recommend this technology. I think I gave it a pretty fair shot and the lack of results speaks for itself.