73 replies to this topic

[Minty Peas]

Hey, that's a really great metaphor! I never thought about scars like that before, but thinking about sanding a piece of wood really makes sense.

Next time I think I'm going to get just Deep FX and skip the Active FX (Deep FX + Active FX = Total FX), and also ask the doctor to go for a higher setting of 17.5mj. I don't know if the doctor will be comfortable with it, though. When we talked about settings for my first treatment, she said that 15mj was as high as she liked to go.

[Jannn]

hey minty peas do u mind taking another picture with restylane? i am really thinking about doing restylane and would like to see how it would look since we have similar scarring.

Cheers, would mean a lot.

[Minty Peas]

hey minty peas do u mind taking another picture with restylane? i am really thinking about doing restylane and would like to see how it would look since we have similar scarring.

Cheers, would mean a lot.

I don't mind taking another picture. The problem is that it's hard to duplicate the lighting since I used natural light from the window. I don't want to give anyone a false impression of my scars.

[Vanzzzz]

Japan has some of the most advance bio-technology for cosmetic purposes. Also, korean girls are famous for going under the knife. These imply that plastic surgery industry in those countries are mature and advance, hence they are better. This could be questionable though. Just my opinion

[sarasxm]

Its Friday nite..Had Total FX Wednesday....I am in a total burning uncomfortable place... i feel like I want to get out of my skin!! When will I turn a corner here.... I just took my anti- biotic..my cold sore med..my percoset..and benedryl for itching... i can't take any of this!
Of course its New Years holiday and I really don't think I need the doctor..I think its just me....

[DudleyDoRight]

Japan has some of the most advance bio-technology for cosmetic purposes. Also, korean girls are famous for going under the knife. These imply that plastic surgery industry in those countries are mature and advance, hence they are better. This could be questionable though. Just my opinion

You could be interested in the book "Patients Beyond Borders" by Josef Woodman, which delves into the growing Medical Tourism industry. America lost 8 vital years of stem cell research development because of the antics of George Bush.

[Ziko]

ICareToHelp, I repeat I only comment on Ablative Fractionalized CO2 lasers, introducing non-ablative lasers into the mix is comparing apples to oranges. Here is an upcoming article on DOT and Repair that should be introduced soon. This site is very informative.
http://www.fractionalc02.com/co2laserblog/...s-smartxide-dot

MintyPeas, if you have ever tried to sand down a piece of wood that has dents in it, that's about what I think when it comes to scars, and the skin is a living organ. You can get pretty intense with that piece of wood, but just think if you tried that on your skin. This is also why I believe it takes 3-4 treatments with an intense fractionized CO2 laser to give us the results we want. With Regular CO2 and Dermabrasion you are doing basically the same as sanding the wood, but you can't get to the depth of the scar.

Dudley, ICareToHelp was right on this subject. You are not well informed on this part. Co2 lasers are always ablative. The Mixo, the Smartxide, the Eco2, etc, etc, are all fractional ablative Co2 lasers. What ICareToHelp meant, was that these lasers are less aggressive; they don't go as deep as the Repair and the Deep FX. This allows for a shorter interval of say 6 weeks rather than 3-6 months.

Edited by Ziko, 13 February 2010 - 05:46 AM.

[DudleyDoRight]

Ziko, if you are going to use milder lasers, you probably don't need lasers in the first place, or you should be looking at conventional Co2. Everything I have read indicates depth of penetration as the key to the lasers success. If scarring is mild the conventional Co2 would seem to be the much better choice.

[Kimy_Patt]

hey minty peas do u mind taking another picture with restylane? i am really thinking about doing restylane and would like to see how it would look since we have similar scarring.

Cheers, would mean a lot.

Minty, i have very similar scars to yours and i went to a doctor who suggests me to do 4 Smartxide sessions. But i'm so depressed with my face and i really don't know if Smartxide is really worth it for acne scars.

The doctor told me that it took between 3-6 months to create the collagen.But i really don't know
sorry for the bad english, i'm french.

[Minty Peas]

Just thought I would update my thread here.
I'm going in for a third Total FX treatment in a few hours. Woohoo! <3

[waitingforacure]

gl!!!!!

[Timehealsall]

Just thought I would update my thread here.
I'm going in for a third Total FX treatment in a few hours. Woohoo! <3

minty, how much improvements in your scars have you had overall thus far?

[Minty Peas]

I have no idea, Time. It's been several years, and photographs are unreliable.

[Minty Peas]

Just to clarify what I said in my previous post, there's no real way for me to accurately judge how much improvement I've had over the years. I don't remember exactly what my scars and I looked like three years ago, and pictures don't help very much. I can only really go by my own personal scale of contentment with how my skin looks. If the scars are still bothering me, then obviously I still have work to do.

Anyway, here are the settings that were used for my third treatment.

Deep Fx:17.5mj, pulse 1, density 3 for a few of the deeper scars on both sides
15mj, pulse 1, density 1 for rest of the scars
Active Fx: 90mj, pulse 1, density 3 over the cheek area