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*Treatment results may vary
I don't have photos of before and after but will...
I don't have photos of before and after but will take some the next time I get it done.
The issue I have very light skin and have...
The issue
I have very light skin and have grown up in QLD, Australia - the skin cancer capital of the world. As a result of my extensive exposure to the sun, I have had issues with melasma since I was 21 - particularly on my forehead, cheeks and upper lip. I have tried many whitening creams, scrubs, peels, dermabrasian etc and moving from the pill to a non hormonal IUD to reduce the effect of hormones but nothing has ever worked. I am now 28 and had a fraxel treatment done 6 months ago.
The procedure
The face is numbed before hand and the procedure itself just feels like little tiny ant bites all over the face. However, afterwards, the burning pain is very discomforting!!! I recommend investing in a face ice pack if those exist - I used wet hand towels that I put in the freezer and then put on my face. Painkillers also help. Within around 3 hours though, I was not in so much pain and could sleep.
The recovery
I had my treatment on the Friday afternoon and managed to get away with only taking the following Mon + Tue off work and covered my face in moisturiser on the Wed, Thur and Fri and ensured I had no meetings..
I highly recommend bio-oil as a moisturiser; I applied it regularly - initially 30 minute intervals, then an hour then every 2 hours and so on. I also managed to avoid picking at the scabs and just let them fall off. As a habitual 'black head and scab picker' this was perhaps the most challenging part of the whole process.
The result
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! The comments I had after were "you look like a different person" "you look younger than you did when you were 20, what have you done?" etc etc. People were honestly gobsmacked.
I only had one treatment done so the pigmentation on my forehead which was very very dark initially only lightened slightly but the troublesome upper lip pigment vanished completely. And the dark clouds on my cheeks lightened up considerably.
Although reducing wrinkles was not my reason for getting it done, I was also pleasantly surprised to see that my 'crows feet' around the eyes disappeared.
It's been six months now and I've just gone through another australian summer and the pigmentation on my forehead and cheeks have darkened a bit so I'm off to get another treatment soon.
The only negative is the cost. A few days pain shouldn't deter you. I've been investigating IPL as it is a much cheaper option but I from what I've read it looks like fraxel does the job of reducing melasma better. I think I might try an IPL treatment anyhow and compare myself.
I have very light skin and have grown up in QLD, Australia - the skin cancer capital of the world. As a result of my extensive exposure to the sun, I have had issues with melasma since I was 21 - particularly on my forehead, cheeks and upper lip. I have tried many whitening creams, scrubs, peels, dermabrasian etc and moving from the pill to a non hormonal IUD to reduce the effect of hormones but nothing has ever worked. I am now 28 and had a fraxel treatment done 6 months ago.
The procedure
The face is numbed before hand and the procedure itself just feels like little tiny ant bites all over the face. However, afterwards, the burning pain is very discomforting!!! I recommend investing in a face ice pack if those exist - I used wet hand towels that I put in the freezer and then put on my face. Painkillers also help. Within around 3 hours though, I was not in so much pain and could sleep.
The recovery
I had my treatment on the Friday afternoon and managed to get away with only taking the following Mon + Tue off work and covered my face in moisturiser on the Wed, Thur and Fri and ensured I had no meetings..
I highly recommend bio-oil as a moisturiser; I applied it regularly - initially 30 minute intervals, then an hour then every 2 hours and so on. I also managed to avoid picking at the scabs and just let them fall off. As a habitual 'black head and scab picker' this was perhaps the most challenging part of the whole process.
The result
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! The comments I had after were "you look like a different person" "you look younger than you did when you were 20, what have you done?" etc etc. People were honestly gobsmacked.
I only had one treatment done so the pigmentation on my forehead which was very very dark initially only lightened slightly but the troublesome upper lip pigment vanished completely. And the dark clouds on my cheeks lightened up considerably.
Although reducing wrinkles was not my reason for getting it done, I was also pleasantly surprised to see that my 'crows feet' around the eyes disappeared.
It's been six months now and I've just gone through another australian summer and the pigmentation on my forehead and cheeks have darkened a bit so I'm off to get another treatment soon.
The only negative is the cost. A few days pain shouldn't deter you. I've been investigating IPL as it is a much cheaper option but I from what I've read it looks like fraxel does the job of reducing melasma better. I think I might try an IPL treatment anyhow and compare myself.
Provider Review
Name not provided
Although the doctor I went to has a a terrible bedside manner and severely lacks social skills, the actual treatment was perfect and I'd prefer someone who completely lacked charisma and patient understanding but was good at what they did to the opposite alternative.