I, too, became a sucker.
I had read the negative reviews and was worried about this procedure but I trusted the dermatologist when she said "how can you believe people on the internet more than me, a board certified doctor?"
Well, what I should've realized was that, wherever there is money involved, you have to be suspicious. The people writing the bad reviews online are brave enough to share their stories and caring enough to want to warn others of the risks that doctors will not tell you.
After this, I can never trust any doctor again because the truth is, their clinics and practices have become money-making machines and they don't really care about their patients anymore.
Anyways, I had one treatment of CO2 fractional laser over 21 months ago and the damage is still surfacing more and more. My skin looked ok for the first 2-3 months but that's when the redness and hyperpigmentation showed up and never went away.
Then the fat loss (this may not seem like a big deal but it is, trust me, I took the fat in my face for granted. Losing it has altered the structure of my face so that I don't even recognize the person I see in the mirror anymore). It is severely depressing to lose your face. I know this sounds outrageous, but others out there who had this procedure can attest to what I'm talking about.
The skin texture has become dry, leathery and has so many shallow pits in it, it resembles the skin of an orange. To get a good idea of what your skin will look like, long term, go find an orange and consider whether you'd like that as your skin.
Also, my skin's become so sensitive, I can't go outside without a hat, staying in the shade and SPF 70 sunscreen. Also, being only 25, but with the laser induced wrinkles and lines, I look like I'm at least 40. My 60 year old mother and father have better skin than I do.
The bottom line is, don't put any kind of lasers to your face. No matter the condition of