Sassy, keep the information coming. Very little is known about eMatrix.

Just wanted to give another quick update.

No real changes from Day 6 except that my skin is returning to normal. I had a rough texture to the treatment areas for a few days, which I'm assuming was the dead skin being sloughed off.

That is no longer an issue and all redness is gone. I will say, some PIH I had on a few old spots is gone or 80% gone in my troubled areas. So, hey, that's a plus

Still have micro swelling that allows my lil' ice picks to look less deep, so I'm cool with that too. Not sure how long that will last, but I'm enjoying it. The scars are still visible, just not a sharp looking.

I wanted to post especially to update that I had returned to my regular skin care regime with no problems. Yesterday I went back to using my reg. moisturizer (Mary Kay Timewise Oil Free w/ spf 15 mixed with Philosophy Power Booster Vit. C powder) and I used a lil' bit of liquid mineral concealer.

I washed my face last night with my regular glycerin bar soap from Carly's Clear and Smooth. I then followed that up with a swipe of Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2% salicylic acid pads, Philosophy's "When Hope is Not Enough" Vit C & E serum and my .025% tretinonin cream. I woke up this morning with nice skin that was a touch oiler than it's been in the past week which is common when I use the retin a cream.

So, I guess I'm back to the ol' skincare grind.

Hope this helps & God Bless

I am glad your treatment has gone well! I do have pictures of my scarring up there in the gallery...I checked and they are still there.

I just had my second treatment on Thursday and she went a little higher this time. I am more red and swollen and itchy already. I laughed when I read your brave attempt to Target. Since I can't be social I decided to paint my bathroom but ran out of paint. So I went to Lowes today with my red, gridded face covered in oily aquaphor type stuff and nobody seemed to stare or notice (and I know when people notice as I am used to people scanning my scars). I was surprised. Yeah, the grid marks last for a while which is annoying and powder only helps so much. I also had my neck and chest done and the marks stay longer there.

So, as far as improvement since my last treatment one month ago, I would say none, or just a little. We'll see but I do like this treatment!

Trying Hard! Glad to have ya back. What treatment level did she use? As you probably saw, we only did a treatment B at 48 mj. I went back to my retin a couple of days ago and I think my nightly application may be a bit too much for my skin. I had really bad irritation on my treatment areas and the skin there is dryer than normal. I skipped my retin a last night and may skip it again tonight.

So you really haven't noticed a difference in your scarring? That makes me sad for you. I've seen a micro-change. My scars are still very visible, to me at least, but one or two don't appear as sharp. I know this could be microswelling since it's only been just shy of 2 weeks since the procedure.

The cream I was given to use is great and not greasy like aquaphor, so I'm able to wear my mineral powder without too much problem. I only had two isolated areas done on my cheeks so I'm able to disguise my grid marks a bit better with my hair.

I'm having treatment 2 on July 19th and I have no idea whether or not she's going to go higher. I guess I'll find out when I get there!!

Thanks for updating and keep it up! I think we're the only 2 people on the planet having this done!!

Trying Hard,

You're gonna think I'm an idiot, but I tried looking for your pictures again and nothing is coming up in the gallery, even when I do a search using your name. Either I'm computer inept or I just can't find it. Are they listed under a different name?

Let me look again for the pics and I will tell you where they are like page number.

The first treatment I had was a low C. I asked her if she would up it this time and she said yes, but not to the highest C that she wanted to take the same steps she gives everyone. I can tell she upped it though because I am redder and still swollen today on day 3. She stuck with the B on my neck because the neck cannot take as much as the face. Last time my neck took a lot longer to heal.

Well, perhaps I can see a very teeny improvement but not a ton. I have found with lasers they really do take a little while with building up collagen and such, unless you are doing a full force profractional. I had the mixto profractional two years ago, then the coolglide laser 6 months after that. I have seen improvement since both of those but it took a little time.

I have a combo treatment pack of stuff for aftercare. I have a cleanser, the aquaphor stuff which is called "ointment" lol and then a cream. I have found I like using the ointment the first couple days and then moving to cream. The ointment does make me get one or two small whiteheads but those don't bother me much.

My practioner said not to use Retina A for about a week or two after the procedure but I have decided not to use it at all unless I am spot treating a random zit. I don't want to chance irritation.

Yes, I am having my whole face done, along with my neck and chest. She basically is doing my chest for free since I had "extra" shots left with the tip. She did that the first time and last time I asked her if she had extra could she do my chest again. I figure why not. I am 37, not wrinkled but considering it a preventative measure. I have some light crows feet and a little upper lip wrinkles that i figured I could zap while I am in there for my cheeks:)

I still like the laser though. I like that it is ablative, obviously getting in there, without the removal of upper layers of skin. I was surprised to read that you oozed. That mixto profractional kind of freaked me out and it took my skin a long time to heal. The grid marks were annoying me and the lady at that place told me to use a soft scrub on my face to remove it. Well it made my skin MUCH drier, and for 5 months my face didn't feel right. Constantly really dry and it hurt to do things like smile. So this time around I almost did another profractional, the sciton, but decided not to. My scars don't bother me as much as they used to and I figured I can live with them:) I think the truth is scars never go away, but I do think the texture can be improved.

I also noticed two things contributed to my scarring looking worse when I got into my mid 30s. I got on accutane in my early 30s, got steroid shots for back problems in my mid 30s and those two things along with just natural aging made my scarring look worse. The face tends to hollow which makes them much more apparent. I have also thought about autologous procedure which is taking fat from one part of the body and filling it in the cheeks. We'll see. I am optimistic more treatments will be available:)

I hope your skin is not too dry today and it's great you only have mild cheek scarring!

You know, they are gone! I don't know why. I did have an account problem where I couldn't perform any actions and had to have them fix it, so maybe in that process they were erased? Weird. I am 99% sure I didn't take them down. I am not sure if I have those pics saved anywhere! That sucks because I wanted to compare. I will look around and see if I can find what my scarring looked like two years ago.

Thanks for the reply! I'm 35, so it looks like we're in this whole "Let's fight acne scars and aging at the same time!" battle together! I agree that aging takes it's toll.

I was surprised about the oozing too! I guess I'm that unlucky 1% that might get this side effect. It really only happened the night of the procedure when I applied more cream. I wonder if I rubbed the cream in too hard? It wasn't all over and really only on the right cheek where I feel she did a tight grid coverage. It all came off in the shower though and had no lasting effect. It was funny, I didn't necessarily scab in ALL the areas. Weird, huh? But where I had the oozing, I had the most scabbing and peeling. Perhaps my skin is just goofy in these areas, and that's the reason I have scarring there to begin with.

Since I'm only paying $250, I guess she doesn't feel the need to cover more areas than we originally discussed. I know she has to throw the treatment tip away anyhow, but I really didn't want to look like pin face all over anyways so it was fine for me. I DO still have some faint redness in the areas that were treated. Once I have my makeup on you can't really tell, but I kinda thought the redness would have dissipated by now. Maybe the Retin A is irritating the skin too much.

I'm happy you did see some improvement after your other lasers. I had a micro laser peel done with the Sciton laser back in March and talked w/ the Dr. about going deeper. So that's always a possibility too.

Keep updating so we can follow each others progress and compare notes!

God Bless!

Yes, they wanted to do a sciton micro and profractional on me. What did you think of the micropeel?

I suggest not using retin a much while doing this:) Sounds like it is not letting your skin heal from the ematrix. And I don't think the oozing is a big deal, just surprised me:)

And for anyone else reading this, the ematrix is great for people with darker skin tones. This is a "color blind" treatment so those who could not get profractional treatments in fear of discoloration do not have to worry with this one.

The micro laser peel was okay. It really is just equivalent to 4-5 microdermabrasions. I ended up getting a couple pimples from the aquaphor and I also had an allergic reaction to it that caused unusual swelling. I ended up taking Benadryl to help with that. It was only 10 microns deep so doesn't do anything by itself for scarring. However, from what I've read on these boards and other boards, combining it with the profractional is a good idea.

I've skipped my Retin A for the past two nights and I think I'm gonna have to do that for a while. My skin is dry and crepe-y in the areas on my cheeks where I had the treatment done. I was told it was okay to use a week after treatment, but I guess everyone is different!

How are you healing today?

True everyone is different. My skins seems to take longer than others to heal which is why I am not doing retin a at all. I am healing just fine! Just a few grid dots left!!!!

Wow! You seem to be healing fast. Did your grid marks stay on shorter or longer this time? Did you have the same type of reaction to this treatment that you did to your last?

I still have grid marks and am very itchy. My neck is healing faster this time, but I think she might have gone lower. I am on day 5 and it seems about the same amount of time:) My skin still feels like sandpaper though.

Hello all!

I'm going to do my best to inform y'all of my 2nd treatment and at the same time answer some of the questions that were posted. (I'm posting this information here and in the Light/Laser Forum) I apologize in advance if I'm unable to answer the questions to your satisfaction, but I check this thread regularly during my post-treatment healing and I'll be posting every day for the 1st week. PLEASE feel free to ask questions or offer advice and it seems we all need accurate, first hand accounts of the eMatrix treatment.

I'm back from my 2nd eMatrix Sublative Rejuvenation treatment. My last treatment was over 4 weeks ago, which was actually one week longer than recommended, but necessary due to a business trip I had to take. Jessica, my aesthetician, greeted me and then gave me the once over. She asked if I had seen any difference and I told her I felt there had been some nominal improvement, but I didn't know if that was just because I WANTED there to be improvement. She started checking my closely and got a big smile on her face. She said, "I do see improvement!" I laughed and asked if she was just trying to con me out of more money for additional treatments! Any hoo, I really like her and she has proven to be caring and take the time to answer all my questions and give me honest answers.

We went up to a more aggressive treatment level this time. My 1st was done at Level B, Treatment 2 (48 mj) and today's was Level C, Treatment 2 (not sure of the exact microjoule setting, but I'm going to try and look for it). If you've read my prior posts, you'll understand why we started more conservatively.

Protocol was the same, she removed my makeup, cleaned my face w/ the Clairsonic, applied topical numbing cream, brought me a water (did I mention how awesome I think the clinic and staff are ) and chatted w/ me while the cream took effect.

We looked at my photos from my 1st procedure and compared those w/ the ones I emailed to her on day 3 post treatment. She removed the cream after 30 minutes, snapped new photos and we were on our way.

The treatment lasted approx 10 minutes. She again only did my cheeks where I have some mild scarring (cost: $250 total). She stacked the tx. in a couple of spots on each cheek (Not directly on top of an already treated spot, but slightly off center of the original "stamp" to provide a tighter grid work and perhaps fill in a couple places where there wasn't skin contact) It's important to make sure the grid stamps and kept uniform and tightly spaced together. This is precisely what she does.

She applied sunscreen and snapped a couple more post-treatment photos. She warned I would be a little redder this time due to a more aggressive treatment level. I'm to email more photos on Thursday and I know she'll call me tomorrow to check on me.

As far as questions about the grid marks/oozing/recovery time, I covered that in my prior posts. I only had oozing in a few tiny areas the 1st night of my treatment and since you can't wash your face the 1st night, it didn't come off until my morning shower. The tiny (and I do mean tiny) grid mark scabs were barely noticeable under the pressed powder makeup I was able to wear the day after my treatment. I chose not to wear makeup if I was home, but did apply pressed mineral powder to my face when I took my children to the movies 3 days after and no one gave me any wacky looks. I had a friend stop by my house the 2nd day after treatment and she commented that I didn't look bad at all. I only had on some eye makeup at the time, but I still had slight swelling and redness. Not much different than a sunburned appearance.

As far as other makeup goes, I was told not to use any liquid makeup (foundation or concealers) until all the scabs had flaked off. I was diligent with that as I was told it could cause additional break outs. I only used pressed powder until the weekend because most of my flakes were off by Friday night (treatment was Monday morning). I use Physician's Formula pressed mineral powder in Natural and it works like a dream covering up redness. I'm considered a Fitz 2-3. I tan easily, but have been avoiding the sun like the devil himself and I'm now rather fair.

Jessica told me that since my skin responded well to the initial treatment I can use an exfoliating scrub she gave me for use on Friday to help slough off any stubborn scabbies. However, that is only because she is familiar with my skin and my treatment plan. I wouldn't recommend anyone else do this without prior consultation with their provider. This is just based on hers and my experience w/ my treatment and my skin's response.

I've had NO pain, itchiness, tightness or any other adverse reactions thus far. My face has swelled as the day has progressed (treatment at 11 am, currently 9 pm) and the redness is a touch more pronounced, but nothing that would scare small children and pets.

Well, that's pretty much day 1 of treatment 2 in a nutshell. I'll be back to post updates tomorrow for the curious folks out there. Hope this helps, and as always God Bless!

Treatment 2, Day 2 update:

Sorry for the delay. I just purchased a children's boutique and I've been up there working all night.

I have to say I'm not having as much swelling or redness as I did with my 1st treatment. I had a bit of clear scabbing that rinsed off with my morning shower. I washed w/ Cetaphil, applied my sunscreen and balm and went ahead and wore a little bit of mineral pressed powder today as I had to be out and about all day.

I love the swelling, in that it makes almost all my scars disappear. It's a glimpse of what a scar free face might look look (sigh)

I expect to begin forming the little scabbies tomorrow, as it was about day 3 that they formed last time. Since there really isn't much else to report, I'll keep it brief (which for me is like bench pressing a house!!)

Best of luck to all and I'll report back tomorrow.

God Bless!!

Treatment 2, Day 3

Didn't get the chance to update last night.

Healing is actually going better than it did the first time around. I don't have as much redness and the grid dots (scabs) that have appeared are fewer in number and not nearly as dark.

I still have some mild swelling, but nothing anyone else but me would notice.

I had a couple of friends have to get within inches of my face last night to see the grid marks under my pressed powder makeup.

It's starting to itch a little bit today, but I'm aware that it's because my skin is starting to heal and shed the dead skin off.

Technically, it's the morning of day 4, so I'm supposed to snap some pics and email them to Jessica for her review. I'm interested to hear her take on my healing this go around.

That's pretty much Day 3/4

Treatment 2, Day 4

Not a whole lot to report. Most of the visible swelling is gone and my skin is beginning to flake. I emailed pics to my esthetician and she thought things looked great. She reaffirmed that I was healing well. I questioned her about the difference in last times healing and this times. It just seems like I'm responding better this go around. She said that it is normal and that perhaps my skin has "memory". I just wanted to be sure that she really did go deeper and this wasn't all a fluke!

I can lightly exfoliate tomorrow and begin using my Clarisonic brush this weekend. Still won't resume my regular skin care routine until next Monday (a week post treatment).

Hope everyone is well and I'll report back tomorrow evening

God Bless!

Good luck on your journey! I'll be reading your posts! Thank you for explaining in such detail!

 

God Bless

Thanks Sub State! I'm beginning to wonder if anyone else is reading these posts! I'm out to a dinner party tonight so I'm going to go ahead and update my progress now, as I may not be home until late tonight and may have a sip or two of wine

Treatment 2, Day 5

Exfoliated this morning and it was a nice change to be able to get some of the flakies off. I switched to a regular moisterizer last night instead of the heavier balm that I used in previous days. My esthetician was the one that recommended that I do that in case the heavier balm causes a breakout. It didn't last time, but with all the time and effort I'm investing in this, I don't want to take any chances!

I'm using a sample of PCAskin "ReBalance" phase 17 that she gave me. I like it:)

I still have an itty bitty bit of swelling, but nothing anyone could notice. My scars appear more filled out than normal. I'm sure this is still microswelling, but wanted to post this information for others who may seek this treatment. I'm not trying to give false hopes, but realistic expectations. My deepest icepick seems more like a mild/moderate boxscar now. I could totally dig it if it decided to stay that way and continue to improve! Hey, can't hurt to be positive!!

I'll be back to update again tomorrow after a wild night with friends!!

As always, God Bless

Sassy more people are reading than you realize. Most people don't know how to catagorize eMatrix and where it falls in laser treatments. The information has not been widespread like Fraxel Re:pair or DeepFX. I also found my second Re:pair to be easier than the first, and I am not exactly sure of why unless it is just the familiarity with the treatment.

Yeah Dudlely, you're right. eMatrix is not really a laser/light treatment, but it's not really a peel either. It's rather a hybrid of the two. Since it's a relatively new treatment, the lack of firsthand accounts are few and far between. I've had a hard time trying to explain it to my family & friends whom I've told I'm having "resurfacing work" done.

I was comforted by the fact that my esthetician told me that I was healing normally. I was just really surprised that my rendness & swelling would be minimal compared to the initial treatment, and the speed by which I'm healing is quicker, especially since we treated at a deeper level.

I'm living it up with the microswelling though! I had a friend, albeit a tipsy one, get right up into my face last night and say, "Your skin looks amazing! I'm totally going to go get a laser done." It really wasn't worth the trouble of explaining that I wasn't doing a laser since she won't remember what I told her the next morning! LOL

It's good to know that your skin also healed quicker the 2nd go around w/ your repair, as I know you continued to see results with your scars. I know you're not a fan of supplementation, but I do take Vit C, E, flaxseed oil, zinc, & some other supplements for overall health & to speed skin healing. Perhaps that has helped the skin respond and heal more quickly.

Sassy, I really hope this works for you. We have gone through different eras like the Vitamin C Era and the Vitamin D Era, not to mention all the weight loss quackery that the supplement industry has foisted on the people. The industry is not regulated in what they say or even what they put in their products. They have as much credibility as Jenny McCarthy and Oprah Winfrey when it comes to medical advice. Jenny Mcarthy has her own program now even though every one of the studies about autism has been totally discredited, people are risking their babies lives based on her promotion of the Quack doctor from England who has lost his license in England but is making the lecture circuit in America.

Treatment 2, Day 6/7

Hello all

I didn't update yesterday because quite honestly, I was too stinkn' tired to get on the ol' computer after working all day!

Most of my scabs have flaked off and I was able to use my Clarisonic brush last night. That pretty much got 90% of them off. There are a few tiny ones left, but nothing noticeable to anyone.

I'm still using Cetaphil to cleanse with and only using a mild exfoliant scrub (PCAskin) in the morning.

I have even less redness today and was able to apply a little bit of concealer before going to church. This helped disguise all redness.

I've still got microswelling, so my scars are significantly more filled in. I'm sure that will dissipate over the next week or so, but I'm still tickled for now. Many of my ice pick scars (I have approx. 8-10 total, but many of those are clustered in one spot on my right cheek, thus making it look icky) that seem less deep. My deepest icepick has a more noticeable "bottom" that had even raised up from my initial treatment and even more so after this 2nd one. It gives me an idea what potential healing I have.

I'm scheduled for my 3rd treatment on August 9th. I'll be sure to update after that treatment.

For those interested in PIH from older/some newer blemishes, this treatment isn't really meant to address redness, as it's primary focus is stimulating the dermis to increase collagen production. The ablation points are significantly smaller than with traditional fractional lasers, thus you don't have as much epidermal tissue ablation. On the flip side of that though is quicker healing time as a result. I will note, however, that I have seen a reduction in some of the redness in my scars, which in turn makes them look better.

I've spoken with Jessica, my esthetician, about red/brown marks and the best treatment for those. I was foolish in my teens & twenties and used a tanning bed and laid in the sun. I used the excuse that it would dry out my blemishes and even out my skin tone. If I'd known that I'd now have collagen destruction (I'm 35, but still rockn') and sun spot freckles across my nose, forehead and upper cheeks, I would have been more diligent about sunscreen and over exposure. I'm probably going to schedule an IPL treatment in late fall after my 4th eMatrix in September. The IPL treatment will be done w/ the Syneron laser Triniti series. This is the same company that markets the eMatrix sublative rejuvenation system. I've seen her patients photos (that she's actually worked on and not marketing literature from the company) and I'm amazed at some of the results of some patients with SEVERE melasma.

I'm supposed to be able to return to my regular skin care regime tomorrow evening. I'm going to go every other day w/ my retin a cream this go around though. I started using it every night, 1 week post initial treatment last time and my skin got really dry and irritated. I'm hoping to avoid that this time around.

Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to try and help.

God Bless Y'all!!

Thanks for the thoroughness of your posts. I just had my third and final one done. I still think it's a good laser choice but I don't see any improvement at all. It may take a few months though, but really I can't say it had done much except make me feel better for trying to improve my skin. I have had no bad experiences with it and overall seems ok. If I feel it improved my skin any I will be sure to update everyone:)

Oh I hope you're able to see some improvements. I've noticed a couple of my icepick scars aren't as deep. Do I look flawless? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. I still think I'm gonna need a deep peel or some other resurfacing done in the future. I'm having my 3rd done next Monday. Keep me posted on your progress. I'm trying to stay positive that it takes several weeks to months for collagen to plump up the scars. Hopefullly I'm not clinging to empty promises. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Treatment 3 (performed on August 9th)

Well, instead of reposting the same old, same old (Day 1, 2, 3 ect.) Thought I'd just give a quick (albeit NOT BRIEF) summary about my 3rd treatment.

Today is Day 4 from my 3rd eMatrix RF. I had it performed at 8:30 am, Monday morning. We went through the same prep routine, with one exception. Jessica, my aesthetician, did NOT use a Clarisonic brush to cleanse my skin. I asked her why and was told that since we're going into a deeper level she didn't want to further agitate my skin.

We both gave my complexion the once over before proceeding. We both have noticed improvements, in ice-pick and depressed (rolling?) scarring.

I asked why my oldest (and deepest) ice pick seems to be responding the best, while my newest depressed (which is not even a year old yet) seems to be responding the slowest. She said that she is having the same experience with her scars! She had her 2nd treatment done the week prior to my visit and said that she's noticed more improvement in her oldest chicken pox scar then in her newest acne scar. Craziness!!

She started back w/ a Program C (not sure of the power setting) and when I commented that I couldn't feel a thing, she said, "Well, let's bump it up higher then". Again, no pain whatsoever.

I didn't even swell or turn red immediately afterwards. In fact, I rolled over to Target for about an hour and did some shopping before heading home! I became slightly redder that evening. Contrary to my 2 previous treatments, I had NO oozing this time. Could be because we didn't use the Clarisonic?

The next morning I was still MILDLY red and had some minor swelling, nothing compared to my first treatment. I slapped on some mineral face powder and sauntered over to work.

I began a good bit of flaking skin today and can exfoliate tomorrow. Also switched from the heavier silkcoat balm to the rebalance moisturizer this morning.

My next appt. is Sept. 7th, which is a week longer between treatments than this last time. I figured it's because we went deeper this time.

Can I just say again how much I love my aesthetician, Jessica, and my Dr.'s office. Dr. Toland with ENT Surgical Associates in Warner Robbins, GA. I drive a couple hours to get there, but it is well worth my time and effort.

My next treatment will be free (can I hear an AMEN from the congregation!) and I'll also be going back up there in October for a checkup and perhaps an additional treatment. I'm totally sold on this procedure.

Realistically, I have my up and down days concerning my complexion, which I think is common for all of us that have scars. Last Wednesday I felt like a wildabeast (sp?) and didn't want to look anyone in the eye. However, and I kid you not, the next morning I swear some of my scars had begun to "fill up" overnight. It's like I'd been to the Collagen Filling Station and got a full tank.

One side effect of the scars filling in is that I think is important to note is that my oldest and deepest ice pick, though shallower, seems wider. I'm assuming from all I've read on other posts, most noteably the TCA Cross threads, that this is common. Kinda reminds me of the children's Christian hymn "Deep & Wide"

Also, wanted to clear up a bit of misinformation I had read a while back concerning blood pressure medication and it's inhibiting of collagen formation. I asked Jessica if she could check with Dr. Toland about that. She called me a few hours after I'd returned home and said that he'd never heard of that particular effect and even went into his journals and databases to see if there was any evidence to support that claim. There is not. I have to take 10mg of Linsinopril daily to maintain my blood pressure. Though I'm thin & fit (not trying to sound vain) it's wackadoodle that I have high bp, but is genetic, as both my folks are also fit & trim but suffer the same.

Anyhow. That's MORE than enough for now. Hope this information helps and I'll try and do my best to update and answer any questions someone may have.

God Bless Y'all!!