Bellair Laser Clinic, FRAXEL DUAL - Acne Scars, Redness (Roscea) Poor Texture/Tone - Toronto, ON

Hi All,

Writing/Documenting my experience with Fraxel Dual in hopes of helping those who are looking to find an open/honest experience that can hopefully help you in making your own decision.

Context
I am someone who's suffered with mild acne, all my life. As a result I have scarring, uneven skin tone and on top of that a lot of redness (which since visiting Bellair Laser Clinic) I've discpvered may possibly be Rosacea (Yay, Me!)
I've tried anything and everything in HOPES that I would not need to go to the extreme route of Fraxel.
I've had Micro/Peels and even IPL and Genesys laser which is nice.......for a maintenance package, not to correct Scarring, Sun Damage, Tone and Texture

Why Bellair Laser Clinic (BLC) ?
They specialize in lasers
NURSES perform any laser procedure (not technicians)
I searched and found no negative experiences from customers of BLC
BLC has received Consumer Choice Award 3 years in a row now
Staff has exquisite bedside manner



Pre Procedure
Went to BLC for Skin Analysis.
For some reason I didn't have photos taken the first time, but when I went through with Fraxel and my 2nd consultation I had pics taken.
2 sets of photos are taken, and they highlight what is actually 'scarring vs. sun damage vs. inflammation' which I liked.
I discovered I have minimal sun damage (one positive), however have a lot of scarring, bad tone (due to enlarged pores) and possibly Rosacea! Which makes sense due to how I always have a bit of redness :(
From there I bought a 3 session package of Fraxel = $2400.00 and received a complimentary 3 session package of IPL (valued @ $700) to treat all left over redness on my face post the Fraxel

Day 1
Arrived at Bellair, helped myself to some water and was offered a warm moist hand towel.
From there I had 2 sets of pics taken (see above)
**If a clinic isn't willing to take before and after pics as part of their best practice, to document your progress, you probably shouldn't go there**
I was extremely nervous when I arrived, as I went online the night before and freaked myself out reading all the horror stories on here re: Fraxel
(As a result I was expecting this procedure to be extremely painful)
I was brought into a room, and a 'Nurse in Training; came in, gently washed my face, wrapped my hair back and applied the numbing cream (lidocaine) to my face
**SEE PIC #1**
From there I was left in a room for 15 minutes where my nervousness turned into HIGH ANXIETY (should I be doing this? Is it worth it? Maybe my skins fine the way it is? What if it doesn't work? Or worst, what if this damages my face?)
My thoughts were interrupted by a 2nd Nurse in Training coming in and asking how I was feeling, I told her I was "good" (LIE! I was freaking out!)

15 minutes after that I had my nurse who was going to perform the procedure come in and she again asked me how I was, I decided to tell her the truth: " I'm really nervous actually"
"OK" she says: "Do you mind if we walk through the process and after care together then?"
"Yes Please" I tell her
From there she reviews the After Care Sheet with me
Then she showed me the laser and gave me a demonstration on my hand of how she would be performing the procedure on my face.
Each section needs '4 passes' vertically across the face (That's Round 1)
Each section needs '4 passes' horizontally cross the face (That's Round 2)
While this is being done you'll feel a constant breeze of A/C being blown on your face to help keep you comfortable and cool.
Ice packs will be applied to your face right away for about 15 minutes after THEN YOU'RE DONE!

I must say, I was still nervous but she made me feel 50% better. She understood I was nervous and she didn't by pass that. She also asked if she could have a Nurse in Training in the room while she performed. I agreed. (For some reason more ppl in the room made me feel more comfortable)

As she was about to begin, I was so scared. I was EXPECTING A VERY SHARP PAINFUL PRICKING EXPERIENCE. Why you ask? Because for some reason that's how it was described to me (by Bellair) and of course I read and watched all the horrible reviews online.

Let me reassure you this, I'm a baby for pain and it was definitely tolerable.
Round 1 is actually a breeze. You're face is numb so it's only a feeling of heat that you feel building up.
The 2nd round is where it's more sensitive because you're now adding heat on top of heat. However it's still TOLERABLE.
Forget the horrible reviews online where ppl are "jumping out of their chairs" because of the pain. I can only assume that those experiences are a result of not being numbed properly, and/or going to an inexperienced place (SPA's etc.)

Post procedure I expected my face to be RED as a result of the example pics BLC showed me. But I wasn't, I was more pink and able to quickly get to my car and back to my place without anyone noticing (maybe I'm lucky) **See PIC #3**
I didn't wash my face before bed, and slept elevated on my back as directed.

Day 2
Less Red, however I do have a lot of white heads that popped up.
Washed my face gently (which felt, but doesn't look swollen) with a recommended Hexam Gentle Cleanser + Phyto Corrective Gel I will apply 3 times today (no moisturizer until tmrw)
Both these products are affordable and offered at BLC.
Don't spend a ton of money on your face and then cheap out on the healing /after care of your face!

Will keep updating you on my experience with Fraxel.
I'm going to go back in 6 weeks for another session (never do fraxel any earlier than 6 week gaps) but I'm also going back in 2 weeks for either micro or a face peel to help clean and decongest my face in-between sessions.

I will keep updating. Stay tuned.

White Heads reduced, Less Redness, but still full sandpaper texture, and bumpy skin (breakout)
I called my sister on FaceTime and showed her my face......her reaction was something a long the lines of "whoa"
I told her the redness had already severely gone down, but she mentioned it's not so much the redness but your skin looks bumpy (which it did)
I started to get worried after I spoke with her about whether or not the bumpiness was normal, bc all I had read about was the white heads.
However that night I decided to wash my face carefully with a cloth in the morning and at night, as opposed to using my hands to help slough away dead skin.
***Important to note I'm washing my face with a Hexam Gentle Cleanser (antibacterial/anti-redness) + a Phyto Corrective Gel (soothes and calms sensitive and irritation prone skin)

I was planning to go to work the next day, but couldn't.
The only thing I would stress is they SAY you can return to work/apply make up 2-3 days post treatment. This is a lie, unless you're someone who doesn't care, or you don't mind wearing makeup that looks horribly caked on and dry. You're best to stay home.

Woke up and HAPPY.
Bumpiness reduced 80% and I would redness has been significantly reducing by 20% each day.
The sand paper feeling (which is the most important for applying make up, also only significantly reduced today
There is no way I could have went to work yesterday (today, maybe I could have if I had layed low) but I decided to stay home one more day and return on Day 5