Sciton Halo for Fine Wrinkles, Elasticity, and Sun Damage

I saw a half price offer for Sciton Halo, and I decided to do my face (so it was $450). I have shallow wrinkles from my mouth up to the crows' feet when I smile, some light brown spots, and some general aging. I've had ematrix in the past (several years), but wanted the mild ablative effect to remove sun damage, hopefully help prevent future skin cancers since those run in the family. I want to preserve the health of my skin as best I can.

Day 0: I went in about 45 minute early for numbing cream, and my face felt really numb when they started. The nurse had a specific pattern she followed rolling the device across my face, one section at a time. There were some painful spots around my lips and nose, and on the temples, either less numbing cream there or just sensitive spots. By the end, I was feeling pretty hot. The nurse gave me a cold air blower and a couple of cold packs to take with me, and after a few minutes I headed home. (Pay in advance! You don't want to hang around with a hot face!)

When I got home, I looked red and freckled, though some of the freckles were pinpricks of blood. I blotted with a cool, moist cloth and used cold packs for about 2 1/2 hours, then I felt less hot. That night I put on a little makeup and went out to the movies. My sweetheart said I looked freckled, but otherwise normal.

Day 1 (24 hours after): I woke up looking like I had a bad skier's sunburn: very red with a smattering of brown, and pale around the eyes as if I'd been wearing sunglasses. It made me think that ematrix around the eyes might complement this procedure. My face was slightly swollen and gritty with dry skin. I moisturized, put on a little makeup, and went to visit my father (he noticed nothing, but he's not likely to).

Day 2: My face is still puffy and slightly red, but not terrible. It feels like coarse sandpaper, and I have been warned not to exfoliate or scrub to let it heal normally. The desire to scrub is pretty intense. I can use cold water compresses to help the dry skin come off. After slathering on a thick layer of cicalfate, my face is white and textured looking. My cheeks are swollen, to my surprise; I guess I won't go for a run or heavy exercise today with my face still red, but I can put on makeup and go to the store. Close friends might ask what's going on, but I probably won't run into any. I wouldn't want to go to work like this.

I still have some swelling and redness across my cheekbones, and my skin feels very gritty. I am slathering on the moisturizer which kind of highlights the rough texture, but it feels good.

I should add that before we did the procedure, the nurse spoke to me about whether I wanted to be aggressive or not. I was intimidated about recovery. The nurse felt the aggressive treatment gave better results. I didn't want to do it twice, so I asked for the aggressive treatment. I tried to remember the numbers she punched into the machine. I think they were 500/40 and 100/20 for the two different frequencies.