Reviews you can trust, from real people like you.
How it works
- Our highly-trained Review Moderation team evaluates all reviews before they're published to ensure they're written by people like you and not a member of a doctor's office.
- This multi-step process takes up to 24 hours from review submission to publication.
- Doctors can't pay to have reviews removed or hidden.
- Reviews are only removed at the reviewer's request or if they violate our Terms of Service.
If you have questions or believe we should re-evaluate a published review, let us know.
Sort by:
*Treatment results may vary
My First Vivace Micro-needling Treatment
I'm sensitive to pain so it took me awhile to get up the nerve to make my Vivace appt. I am going to write out every step of my experience because I wish I had someone else's to read before I went in. For the record, it's almost winter where I live, temps in the 40's and 50's. I am 53 years old.
I went in on a Thursday which I am glad about now as I had the weekend to spend at home. First they had me put on a headband, and they applied numbing cream to my whole face and under my chin. (Nervous, I asked the gal to generously "slather" on the numbing cream lol.) I went to a waiting room in the back for an hour.
Once they called me in, they drew a vial of blood, and then thoroughly cleaned my entire face and under my chin. I relaxed in a standard reclined chair/table.
The round device they used is about the size of a paper towel roller, but half the length. The end of it has a square of micro-needles about the area of a postage stamp. She started by placing it against my skin on my right temple, and worked a pattern across the top of my forehead. Every time she touched me, I heard a clicking sound, ca-chunk. It felt like a slightly warm tickle. No pain. After she left the treated area, I could feel a little more warmth, and a tingle, but still no pain. As she moved into my crows feet, laugh lines, and upper lip, she made adjustments on needle depth and heat. The upper lip hurt, but it is such a small area, she moved across it quickly in four or five ca-chunks. She went twice across my upper lip after giving it a break in between. I pointed my toes a few times during the lip treatment! Drawing my blood also hurt, but the rest of the treatment was surprisingly comfortable even for a baby like me.
My whole face took about 30 minutes, and just as she was finishing up, the other nurse brought in my blood plasma. Since Vivace is nicknamed a "vampire facial", I was expecting red blood to be spread on my face next. I even wondered why I wasn't in a gown to protect my clothing? But it's not like that at all. They spin your blood, and the vial of plasma that they return with is clear with a yellow/orange tinge. She applied the plasma over my entire face and upper neck. It was similar to applying an egg white mask. It dried in a couple of minutes. My face felt very tight, and when I looked in the mirror it was like I had spent the day on the ski slopes. My skin was pinkish bronze, glowing, no pores, and wrinkles virtually vanished! I was excitedly ready to book subsequent appointments on my way out the door, but I waited to see how it looked after more time.
For the next few hours, I felt the zinging feeling of the numbness wearing off, and some warmth like after being in the sun. That was gone in about 2 or 3 hours. That night I washed my face as usual, but only put on Clinique yellow moisturizer (no Retinol or premium products).
Day two I woke up with very dry and tight skin. The texture of my skin felt rough, like the lightest sandpaper, or like a used emery board. I noticed my wrinkles were back, and my skin looked dull. I would say I looked older and more haggard than before the treatment. I gently moisturized and put make-up on as usual. I saw no red or black spots, and was not itchy or feeling anything out of the ordinary.
Day three I got out of the shower and looked in the lighted magnifying mirror. From the corners of my mouth down to under my chin, I was peeling like a snake. It was extremely scaly and dry. I decided not to go out, as my make up foundation seemed to accentuate the edges of the peeling skin. I put moisturizer on several times throughout the day.
Day four the rest of my face joined the peeling parade. It was Sunday so I decided to stay in again. There were a few small areas around my chin that appeared to have stopped peeling. That skin was slightly pinkish, smooth, and had more of a glow than the rest of my face. I was happy it was cold and cloudy outside as I would not have wanted this new skin to be exposed to our hot-summer California sun.
Day five and 85% of my face has finished the peeling party. Putting on makeup caused some skin to roll up into bits under the sponge. I would not want to go to a face-to-face social event today, but the grocery store and errands where nobody is going to be staring directly at my face for an extended period is fine. My skin was very shiny and pinkish this morning after putting on moisturizer, especially my cheeks, chin, and forehead. The light seemed to reflect off my face more than usual. The dull look is gone. Again I am glad it is not hot and sunny outside as risking sun exposure on what appears to be new-ish skin would be an additional hassle.
Day six my face is over the peeling stage. It still feels a bit more dry than usual, but my skin is looking more shiny and new than yesterday.
Day seven and wow does my skin look radiant! There is this hydrated and glowing appearance, even though I still feel a bit dry. I would say my smile lines are slightly diminished, as are my crow's feet. My pores are definitely smaller. The biggest difference is the texture of my skin which is soft and more shiny. I guess the collagen stimulated by Vivace causes additional improves with time, so I am hoping for even more results around my mouth and upper lip. I just made another appointment. I see enough of an improvement to do it again in six weeks. My doctor prescribed 3-4 treatments every six weeks.
I went in on a Thursday which I am glad about now as I had the weekend to spend at home. First they had me put on a headband, and they applied numbing cream to my whole face and under my chin. (Nervous, I asked the gal to generously "slather" on the numbing cream lol.) I went to a waiting room in the back for an hour.
Once they called me in, they drew a vial of blood, and then thoroughly cleaned my entire face and under my chin. I relaxed in a standard reclined chair/table.
The round device they used is about the size of a paper towel roller, but half the length. The end of it has a square of micro-needles about the area of a postage stamp. She started by placing it against my skin on my right temple, and worked a pattern across the top of my forehead. Every time she touched me, I heard a clicking sound, ca-chunk. It felt like a slightly warm tickle. No pain. After she left the treated area, I could feel a little more warmth, and a tingle, but still no pain. As she moved into my crows feet, laugh lines, and upper lip, she made adjustments on needle depth and heat. The upper lip hurt, but it is such a small area, she moved across it quickly in four or five ca-chunks. She went twice across my upper lip after giving it a break in between. I pointed my toes a few times during the lip treatment! Drawing my blood also hurt, but the rest of the treatment was surprisingly comfortable even for a baby like me.
My whole face took about 30 minutes, and just as she was finishing up, the other nurse brought in my blood plasma. Since Vivace is nicknamed a "vampire facial", I was expecting red blood to be spread on my face next. I even wondered why I wasn't in a gown to protect my clothing? But it's not like that at all. They spin your blood, and the vial of plasma that they return with is clear with a yellow/orange tinge. She applied the plasma over my entire face and upper neck. It was similar to applying an egg white mask. It dried in a couple of minutes. My face felt very tight, and when I looked in the mirror it was like I had spent the day on the ski slopes. My skin was pinkish bronze, glowing, no pores, and wrinkles virtually vanished! I was excitedly ready to book subsequent appointments on my way out the door, but I waited to see how it looked after more time.
For the next few hours, I felt the zinging feeling of the numbness wearing off, and some warmth like after being in the sun. That was gone in about 2 or 3 hours. That night I washed my face as usual, but only put on Clinique yellow moisturizer (no Retinol or premium products).
Day two I woke up with very dry and tight skin. The texture of my skin felt rough, like the lightest sandpaper, or like a used emery board. I noticed my wrinkles were back, and my skin looked dull. I would say I looked older and more haggard than before the treatment. I gently moisturized and put make-up on as usual. I saw no red or black spots, and was not itchy or feeling anything out of the ordinary.
Day three I got out of the shower and looked in the lighted magnifying mirror. From the corners of my mouth down to under my chin, I was peeling like a snake. It was extremely scaly and dry. I decided not to go out, as my make up foundation seemed to accentuate the edges of the peeling skin. I put moisturizer on several times throughout the day.
Day four the rest of my face joined the peeling parade. It was Sunday so I decided to stay in again. There were a few small areas around my chin that appeared to have stopped peeling. That skin was slightly pinkish, smooth, and had more of a glow than the rest of my face. I was happy it was cold and cloudy outside as I would not have wanted this new skin to be exposed to our hot-summer California sun.
Day five and 85% of my face has finished the peeling party. Putting on makeup caused some skin to roll up into bits under the sponge. I would not want to go to a face-to-face social event today, but the grocery store and errands where nobody is going to be staring directly at my face for an extended period is fine. My skin was very shiny and pinkish this morning after putting on moisturizer, especially my cheeks, chin, and forehead. The light seemed to reflect off my face more than usual. The dull look is gone. Again I am glad it is not hot and sunny outside as risking sun exposure on what appears to be new-ish skin would be an additional hassle.
Day six my face is over the peeling stage. It still feels a bit more dry than usual, but my skin is looking more shiny and new than yesterday.
Day seven and wow does my skin look radiant! There is this hydrated and glowing appearance, even though I still feel a bit dry. I would say my smile lines are slightly diminished, as are my crow's feet. My pores are definitely smaller. The biggest difference is the texture of my skin which is soft and more shiny. I guess the collagen stimulated by Vivace causes additional improves with time, so I am hoping for even more results around my mouth and upper lip. I just made another appointment. I see enough of an improvement to do it again in six weeks. My doctor prescribed 3-4 treatments every six weeks.