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I was dermabraded by Dr Y almost 6 weeks ago. The only painful part of the procedure was when they gave my forehead the cold spray Aaaoe that was pretty bad. Had it done on Tuesday; flew back on Thursday. Got lots of odd stares and questions of concern from people at the airport. Not fun. I recommend having Cassandra make the holes around your mouth and eyes as small as possible so you donAaat have patches of bloody skin showing.
Four weeks later I was back in school in Chicago, still very pink with obvious lines around my eyes and below my jawline. The pink turns into a very deep red very easily. Taking a shower does it. Exposure to the below-freezing temps outside does it, and will leave my face red for the rest of the day. Excessive heat (enough to make me sweat) gets me red. Physical exertion, even bending down to get something, does it. Eating a full meal, talking animatedly, becoming nervous/embarrassed, brushing my teeth, and drinking alcohol do it too. And it seems that by evening my face is always darker than in the morning. In yellowish lightbulb light my face looks pretty good; in daylight like itAaas deeply flushed; but under fluorescent lights its hue isnAaat far from fire engine red if the room is too warm or IAaave just hiked up a bunch of stairs. This is still the case, though IAaam approaching the 6-week mark, I completely cover my face with a scarf and hood whenever I go outside, and wear sunblock religiously. (I recommend Coppertone oil-free Faces SPF 30. Non-irritating, no white residue, doesnAaat cause breakouts.) I'm white with a complexion that easily tans and flushes, so maybe IAaam getting much worse short-term hyperpigmentation than most? Anyway, I didnAaat expect it to be this bad. Definite no-noAaas for me include going outside with an uncovered face, exercising in public, wearing a sweater, keeping my coat on when I go inside, touching alcohol, going to the bars, and dating.
The bad: this is a serious procedure which I found to be quite draining, and it will affect your lifestyle significantly for 1-2 months afterward if being very red makes you self-conscious. While an AaEoeI was skiing/sunburnedAaa excuse might work with some people, almost anyone you see regularly will likely infer that you had some procedure done to your skin Aaaoe most people are familiar with lasers and chemical peels these days. It sounds like these drawbacks can be alleviated by the use of makeup. I just decided to live with the redness.
The good: IAaave had 50-60% improvement with my scars. I would post pictures but my scars werenAaat/arenAaat visible on my digicam. They were pretty mild to begin with: Dr Y. thought IAaad only need 1 procedure. IAaam still a bit self-conscious about showing my left profile to people in certain lighting conditions; I may look for someone locally to excise the 6-8 pits on that side that bother me. (I didnAaat have any punch floats before my dermabrasion; I didnAaat ask Dr Y if that would help.) Overall, IAaam very pleased with the results, but IAaall think long and hard before having another dermabrasion! This is serious stuff!
Another minus: dermabrasion does nothing for enlarged/scarred pores. Having lots of these isnAaat very sightly, but thankfully these are only noticeable from up-close, under bright light.
Happy Chinese New Year, all!
Chrissy
I'd also recommend staying away from retin-a, Tazorac, tea tree oil, and anything else irritating if you don't want to worsen the redness. With or without these, it seems, at any given time I have 1-2 small pimples at some developmental stage somewhere on my face. I started taking tetracycline when I went off my usual topicals, just in case.
Hi,
My derm with Dr. Y is on Feb 15. I planned for this a few months ago, now that it is happening, I am at the same time excited and terrified (not of the procedure, but of the down time).
Leafsfan, can you tell me where you bought the green concealer in TO? Thanks.
Sword
Would this be a good soap to use after dermabrasion?
I currently always use l'oreal purezone salycilic acid wash and it keeps acne at bay..i think, anyways i'd like to try and control it compeltely and this looks good.
Has anyone used this? What do you think about it?
hey folks, i am cracking up, my face has started breaking out like crazy, and my dermabrasion is in less than 5 weeks!!! argh! i dont understand why i'm breaking out tho because i havent been using anything different on my face, is it possible to do dermabrasion over acne??? or would this lead to an infection? i pray to god that i am clear on my day of surgery.
I heard doc Y will do dermabrasion over acne?...anyways, i know they say diet has nothing to do with breaking out, but i myself believe certain foods can aggravate acne....it's possible we are allergic to something we are eating....also, stress can cause breakouts...perhaps your worrying over your appointment!......get lots of rest, drink lots of lemon water and i pray your dermabrasion is a success!
EH
i just found a link that talks about milk causing acne....something i had to cut back from when i found out on my own that this is what created acne for me.
http://www.cosmeticsurgery-news.com/
scroll down where it is highlighted, " milk causes acne...."
Hello Miss Shady,
I suggest you call and ask Cassandra if it is necessary to control active acne before the dermabrasion.
Best of luck, and looking forward to read your dermabrasion thread.
Regards,
Sword
hey folks, i am cracking up, my face has started breaking out like crazy, and my dermabrasion is in less than 5 weeks!!! argh! i dont understand why i'm breaking out tho because i havent been using anything different on my face, is it possible to do dermabrasion over acne??? or would this lead to an infection? i pray to god that i am clear on my day of surgery.