2 replies to this topic

[NicholeKim]

It has been over a week since I had my first Fraxel Laser Treatment. I thought I would make a list of all the observation.

Pros:


7/26/2011 �€“ 8/3/2011
Facial swelling went down
One noticeable scar that filled in
No more pain
No more open wounds
The dusky skin peeled off, skin is a bit raw, but that�€™s fine

Cons:
7/22/2011 - 7/25/2011
Face looked burnt
Severe hyperpigmentation
Swelling and pain

7/29/2011
Face has red/pink spots from the most intense laser settings

8/1/2011
Broke out in painful cystic acne and white heads due to clogged pores two days ago
The culprit? Acquaphor! This stuff has great healing properties but it�€™s soooo thick that it does not allow your skin to breathe
Acquaphor clogged the skin pores
Haven�€™t noticed any significant signs of acne scars improving

Solutions:
8/2/2011
Dermatologist gave me the peroxide test to make sure the skin healed. If the skin did not heal from all the peeling, then the skin would fizzle from the peroxide. That would mean that I would have to keep using Aquaphor. But fortunately there was no fizzling from peroxide�€� Yeaaaa!
I was told not to use the Aquaphor anymore. Another yeaaaaaaa!
Oral antiobiotics (minocycline HCI 65mg a day for 1 week) for the cystic acne was given to me.
I went back to my gentle Shiseido face lotion and sunscreen.

8/3/2011
Woke up this morning and lo and behold!.... 3/4th of the cystic acne was gone!
Hyperpigmentation is slowly decreasing

Things that I learned:
Always wear sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside. The 30 minutes allows the sunscreen to be absorbed by the skin �€“ which makes it more effective. Wearing sunscreen 5 minutes before you are out the door defeats the purpose.

Most sunscreen lasts only 2 hours. If I am outside, I usually reapply every two hours. One thing I hate is wearing greasy sunscreen that makes my face look shiny. I started using Shiseido facial sunscreen (35 spf) and it feels very light. But it is really expensive! I don�€™t think anyone will pay $40-$60 for sunscreen. But I just did and I am stuck eating ramen for lunch for a month.

I don�€™t usually wear make-up, just a bit of powder for the shine. I was told that people who stop wearing make-up during the entire laser treatment (6 months) will heal much better than those who wear make-up.


Okay so that�€™s my update.

Edited by NicholeKim, 04 August 2011 - 11:00 AM.

[wicky]

im going thru smoothbeam right now for enlarged oil glands in my chin and large pores on my cheeks and nose. My derm suggested fraxel as a more advanced procedure but its tough to get thru..I dont have any active acne. What exactly will fraxel change about ones skin and are there different strenths to get depending on how bad your skin is?

[IMakeThemKitKatFries!]

Im so sorry but the sad truth is your scars are slowly going to come back to what they used to be. Your swelled up right now so you think its gone but itll come back .Lasers are a rip off. Maybe your very very light acne scars might improve but cystic scars are always bad.