Hi everyone!
I have found all of the comments to be very helpful and I appreciate everyone being so open with their experiences! I am scheduled to have the ematrix done on Friday. I have seen on the boards that the downtime might last as little as one day to as long as 6 days.
My plan is to go back to work on Monday. I am wondering if I should reschedule the ematrix treatment for when I have a 3 or 4-day weekend, or if the weekend should allow enough time to get over the redness, swelling, possible peeling, and "dots." I had a microlaser peel and mircolaser peel with profractional treatments in the past and the downtime for both of them was a full 3 days to recover from the peeling and swelling. Since the ematrix is "supposed" to have less downtime, would you expect that it should be fewer days?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!
Hello!
I had my first eMatrix yesterday. I came to this sight because I was worried about the red dots all over! I thought that I was burned. I feel so much better after reading all the posts here. I'm supposed to go to a meeting this afternoon and I'm really hesitant to go. I don't like being stared at. I went to the gym this morning and had a lot of akward looks. But I ignored them. No one looks good at the gym, I figured.
Anyhow, thanks to everyone. I don't really have horrible scars, but nothing else has worked in removing them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Thanks again! You have all made me feel so much better.
Dassus, glad to hear that everything went well for you! I'm a little bit surprised that you worked out at the gym this morning. I've always been instructed not to work out or go swimming for a week, post treatment. I guess these types of activities can aggravate your skin. Did you have any problems?
I always see it as a bit of a treat (and a blatant excuse 
) to not have to work out for the week. That, and I notice that perspiration can burn the matrix dots and aggravate things more than necessary. Hopefully that won't be the case for you.
Keep us posted on your progress. So tickled to see more and more people try this procedure. I really feel it has helped soften my scarring without all the negative side effects related to traditional laser-based treatments.
Best of luck to you and God Bless!
Hi all!
I actually wrote this in another post, but my girl said that being in the water after two days would be fine. I had my first eMatrix done on Wednesday (I'm pretty sure on B), and Wednesday night a couple hours after the procedure I was able to put on mineral makeup to cover up redness (and went to the bar 
). By tonight, Day 2/3, I am definatley getting little scabbies over my skin, but have been able to work all day today. I actually work in the water and had to do a short dive on scuba gear and was fine. Then again though, the response I got from the girl that did my procedure was "you should be fine." I really don't know how I feel about that though. 
Is the water going to inhibit my healing? The reason I have scars in the first place is because of scabs from acne...which is worrysome. But I go back for my 2nd treatment in a month, so we'll see!
sassy/tomster/all,
just wanted to thank you again for this thread -- it's full of extremely helpful information and led me to seek out an eMatrix consultation around my area. i had cystic acne in my teenage years that really did a number on my face -- icepick scars all around my cheeks and rolling scars along my entire chin/neck, likely worse than most of the people in this forum (cell phone picture attached, apologize for the poor quality in advance). being of asian descent, i've always been a bit wary of fraxel, so reading through this thread has been a godsend!
the aesthetician looked at my face and was very truthful in saying it would never be perfect [and don't i know it 
...] but that i'd likely get a decent improvement with eMatrix. she recommended 6-8 treatments (300 pulses each!), at the "B" level (32-36mj), saying that B was actually superior to C when it came to healing acne scarring -- any thoughts on this sassy?
i have a another fraxel consultation this week just to compare my options -- was quoted right around $450 for each eMatrix treatment. thoughts?
Hi,
I'm on my first treatment of Ematrix.
has anyone completed the process and shown good results with ice pick scars?
sassy/tomster/all,
just wanted to thank you again for this thread -- it's full of extremely helpful information and led me to seek out an eMatrix consultation around my area. i had cystic acne in my teenage years that really did a number on my face -- icepick scars all around my cheeks and rolling scars along my entire chin/neck, likely worse than most of the people in this forum (cell phone picture attached, apologize for the poor quality in advance). being of asian descent, i've always been a bit wary of fraxel, so reading through this thread has been a godsend!
the aesthetician looked at my face and was very truthful in saying it would never be perfect [and don't i know it
i have a another fraxel consultation this week just to compare my options -- was quoted right around $450 for each eMatrix treatment. thoughts?
Best of luck w/ your treatments. I don't think any of us will ever have that "perfect" skin we're all striving for. But that doesn't mean we have to stop trying!
On my first treatment, I was also told that Level B was best for acne scarring, however, we did Level C at the maximum power settings for all my subsequent treatments. I'm going to revisit this theory when I go back in 2 weeks for one of my follow up treatments.
I also blog on RealSelf and one of the members there that is having eMatrix said that s/he was having the treatment tip changed from the 64 point tip to the 122 point tip mid way through the procedure. The 122 tip is meant for more surface ablation and won't really do much for collagen remodeling (to my best understanding). I brought this up on a phone call w/ Jessica (my esthetician) and she had never heard of it. She was going to consult w/ the Dr (he's a PS and an ENT w/ extensive surgical experience and he really knows his stuff!) I told her that I was willing to be her guinea pig if they were interested in trying it out. I'll be sure to let all of you know what I find out.
Best of luck to all of you and let's keep all of our experiences out here for all to benefit from. I truly appreciate everyone who has continued to keep this thread alive. It's great getting others thoughts/experiences on this.
Noone ackknowledged my post that I got Hypopigmentation scars from ematrix. I also got a small scar on my forehead and a small indent nick scar under my eye whree she was trying to get my fine under eye wrinkles. So much for no side effects. This could be do to the fact I was on Tane 3 years ago ad it is still effecting the way I heal.
I a now using olay regenerist night refurfacing serum because it has glycotic acid (vey low% around 3.9) in it. I heard that glycotic acid is good for skin texture, enlarged/scarred pores. I want to do a peel but too afraid figured I would ease into i this way. I will keep you posted
Anyone else that was on Tae doing ematrix with bad effects?
sassy/tomster/all,
just wanted to thank you again for this thread -- it's full of extremely helpful information and led me to seek out an eMatrix consultation around my area. i had cystic acne in my teenage years that really did a number on my face -- icepick scars all around my cheeks and rolling scars along my entire chin/neck, likely worse than most of the people in this forum (cell phone picture attached, apologize for the poor quality in advance). being of asian descent, i've always been a bit wary of fraxel, so reading through this thread has been a godsend!
the aesthetician looked at my face and was very truthful in saying it would never be perfect [and don't i know it
i have a another fraxel consultation this week just to compare my options -- was quoted right around $450 for each eMatrix treatment. thoughts?
Best of luck w/ your treatments. I don't think any of us will ever have that "perfect" skin we're all striving for. But that doesn't mean we have to stop trying!
On my first treatment, I was also told that Level B was best for acne scarring, however, we did Level C at the maximum power settings for all my subsequent treatments. I'm going to revisit this theory when I go back in 2 weeks for one of my follow up treatments.
I also blog on RealSelf and one of the members there that is having eMatrix said that s/he was having the treatment tip changed from the 64 point tip to the 122 point tip mid way through the procedure. The 122 tip is meant for more surface ablation and won't really do much for collagen remodeling (to my best understanding). I brought this up on a phone call w/ Jessica (my esthetician) and she had never heard of it. She was going to consult w/ the Dr (he's a PS and an ENT w/ extensive surgical experience and he really knows his stuff!) I told her that I was willing to be her guinea pig if they were interested in trying it out. I'll be sure to let all of you know what I find out.
Best of luck to all of you and let's keep all of our experiences out here for all to benefit from. I truly appreciate everyone who has continued to keep this thread alive. It's great getting others thoughts/experiences on this.
Computer girl,
I'm sorry to hear about additional scarring that you received. I'm by no means an authority on the procedure, and I'm pretty sure no one else on this forum is either. Just like w/ any new treatment out there, there are going to be side effects that one person experiences that others don't. This is so new and there is still "slim to none" information out there. That's why it's so important that we share our experiences here so maybe we can help someone else that has a similar bad experience.
Has your Dr.'s office (or whomever treats you) seen your scarring and offered any advice? Did they treat you at a C level at your most recent visit?
I'm not sure, but no one has ever mentioned if they took Accutane and then had these treatments. I've personally not taken it so I can't really speak to how it may affect your overall healing from eMatrix. I would definitely speak w/ my practice to make sure they can help you heal from these new scars.
Keep us posted on what happens and I hope it all works out for the best.
God Bless,
Hi all,
First off thanks to everyone updating their experience (especially Sassy74!). I just had my 1st treatment (level B) today. Goal is to reduce acne scarring and hopefully prevent future acne outbreaks.
I don't think anyone really mentioned that ematrix could be helpful as a preventative measure to acne outbreaks. Hopefully the nurses at my clinic weren't blowing smoke up my rear. If anyone can comment on it, I'd appreciate it. Even in my 30's I'm still breaking out!
Computergirl - did you find out any more information regarding the pigmentation and scarring problem you had after your treatment and a correlation to your cycle of accutane? I was on accutane 4 years ago. It has me a little worried after reading your posts. In my 3 visits (consultation, initial spot testing and 1st treatment), no one has mentioned accutane being a problem. The only mention of any meds were ibuprofen or any type of blood thinners.
Well anyways, it's 3 am and my face feels exactly like the worse sun burn I've ever had. I couldn't imagine having a level C treatment. I'll try to update when there is something of note in my experience.
Howdy all
Just back from my touch up treatment of eMatrix. It had been over 3 months since my last touch up. I was able to ask a couple of questions that I promised I would go over. I asked if using Treatment B level was in fact superior for acne scarring versus Treatment C level. Jessica (my esthetician) said that she has noticed improvements by switching between the 2 levels. So guess what? I got a Level B today! I also asked if she had had an opportunity to speak w/ the Dr. about doing what is called e2. This is a treatment protocol that utilizes both the deep sublative rejuvenation w/ the 64 grid tip to stimulate collagen remodeling and then going back over the skin w/ the 144 epidermal tip which is ideal for texture and pigmentation issues. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten the opportunity to speak w/ the Dr. about it. Actually, he suffered a heart attack this weekend! He's going to recover, PRAISE GOD, but will be out of the practice for a couple of weeks. Obviously, with that situation at hand, I didn't press the issue of having an e2 treatment done, as things seemed more pressing w/ the Dr.'s recovery.
We did an IPL to address sun damage before going into the eMatrix. I again didn't have numbing cream. Jessica said, "You're seriously tough to put up with this". I don't know, maybe that's why my stinkn' skin has scars, because the acne I get/got was beastly and my skin is tough (so tough I can't erase the scarring!!!!) Oh well. She's had eMatrix done on herself and commented that even she wouldn't do it without numbing. I share that to encourage all of you to take the numbing cream if offered. I guess I'm just a wild freak of nature w/ a pain tolerance that borders on S & M, so I wouldn't suggest or recommend that anyone else try it without numbing treatment before hand.
I swelled immediately. Not like puffer-fish swelled, but more like contact dermatitis swelling. My skin actually got a bit red, but the redness started to dissapate rather quickly. It really looks like I'm flushed from a workout, nothing more than that. I went and did LOTS of shopping after my treatment and absolutely NO ONE stared at me strange or ran away screaming. I take that as a sign that my skin doesn't look too ghastly. I have visible grid dots already, but my skin was only tender for about 15 minutes and now (7 hours later) only feels slightly tight. Nothing uncomfortable.
I discussed w/ Jessica at length the idea of excision on 2 or 3 of my most bothersome scars. She went on to say that it would be a possibility w/ Dr. Toland doing the excision. She said that we wouldn't be able to do any kind of laser or eMatrix treatment for a minimum of 6 months-1 year post excision, to allow the area time to sufficiently heal.
I also was able to look at my portfolio of pictures from my 1st pre-op visit to my December visit. You can see the improvements She planned on emailing me a comparison of my 1st visit w/ today's pics. That should be interesting to see. However, these pictures are taken pretty close up w/ no shadowing, so the pictures aren't going to look as horrible as we all see our scars when we look in the dreaded bathroom or rearview car mirror. At least the lighting is always consistent and the results can't be exaggerated.
Just wanted to give y'all an update and say "happy healing" to all my acne.org homies out there.
God Bless!
Sassy (or anyone else),
What did your physicians tell you guys regarding exercise post procedure? At my consult, they told me to wait a few days. The nurse that actually did the procedure told me to wait a week.
I had my procedure last friday (3 days ago), just wondering when I could start doing some cardio. I have a wrestling tournament on Saturday (in 5 days) and need to get cut a little bit of weight. I would like at least a few days to train before my tournament.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Okaly doakly, here is a picture that was taken yesterday before my 8th treatment. I understand that this is taken super close up w/ full flash and doesn't accurately show the depth of my scars. What do y'all think? I can tell there is improvement. Forgive the minor breakout I'm having here. It's a couple little non inflamed papules that decided to make their debut a couple of days before treatment.
And Yikes! I just noticed that it looks like I'm sproutn' a massive mustache hair!! I'm pretty sure that's an eyelash because I ALWAYS take care of any peachy fuzz on my upper lip before I go in and I pluck the fool out of my eyebrows too. In fact, Jessica and I always have a good laugh about such things!!
Sassy, if by improvement you mean it is less noticeable, then yes! However, like all laser results, it works by melting away surrounding skin, i.e. it is thinning out the surrounding skin/edges to make the edges of the scar less noticeable. The scar is still there no matter what. In this sense it works, but you sacrifice good skin to do so, and you make the scar larger, and most importantly it is still there, just shallower, but now bigger too. Remember, it is shallower because the edges of the scars are melted/lowered, not because you've somehow raised the middle where the depression is. In other words, the depression is the same level as before, you just made the surrounding skin/edges thinner, so it gives the indentation the "illusion" that it is raised, when in reality, it really is just an illusion. You're not addressing the hole, you're just hiding it better. Some people may be happy with this type of illusion, but I still think you could've excised those icepicks and completely removed the scar with less downtime, less cost, etc. If you really think about it, it took you 8 sessions to only fade it a bit. Excision will take a few minutes with only one session at the surgeon's office, cost you much less, a few days of downtime and you'd be completely scar-free in a few more weeks once it heals. If the second photo was the after photo after excision, I wouldn't even be able to tell where the scars were at all, but with the laser you can't ever get rid of it, it's still there. Also with excision, you would have completely removed the hole, normal skin all around. With laser, you're making things worst by thinning out even more skin! Which in the future might sag and stretch more, not to mention whatever health issues that might arise from laser use.
So, this begs the question, why do people continue to choose laser? What's the rational? How is the 8 sessions of laser to get a faded scar that's still there superior to excision? Please remove your emotions for one second, think rationally and please give me just one good reason, just one. Anyone. I keep seeing people invest their hopes in these technical sounding procedures, thinking if it sounds really technical and new, it must be better than something as simple as cutting it out right? No, not really, not by a long mile, but you don't have to believe me, be honest, and just ask yourself the question that I posed, if you can't come up with a good reason, then you know I'm right. I'm only here to help, and sometimes this means not beating around the bush.
I completely see your point of view. This procedure isn't laser, I must stress that again. In fact, it only ablates less than 5% of the surface (epidermis). It's main focus is to stimulate the dermis to produce collagen. It has worked to soften some fine lines and has created tightening by stimulating more collagen to grow. I knew going in to this that it wouldn't eradicate my scars. I was hoping to have them become more shallow over time and thought that I would be content with the results. I realize that excision would be a "one and done" procedure, but at the time that I began to pursue this treatment, I was seriously too chicken to do excision and read nothing but horror stories, both here and on other plastic surgery forums. It's things like that that will scare people off from excisions.
However, like with anything, we learn about new techniques, healing methods, ect. over time and come to different conclusions regarding our treatments. I understand that even with a shallower set of scars, I'm still not pleased and think I'm going to take the plunge and have excision done. As mentioned previously, I spoke w/ my esthetician about excisions and got more information regarding the procedure.
I don't want to disregard this procedure though. It has been helpful and I'm still happy that I've had it done. It has helped resolve other issues besides just acne scarring. I've also had excellent customer service and have been treated wonderfully. Even if I go forward with excision, I'll still continue to have eMatrix treatments to help w/ the natural aging process (I'm creeping up there in years at 36!!) and keep my skin looking fresh and beautiful. Though I'm caucasian and don't suffer from problems w/ hypo/hyper pigmentation, this is a revolutionary treatment that is available for those that have skin of color. It's also a useful procedure for rolling scars that don't necessarily respond to traditional light-based lasers and aren't suitable for excisions.
Thanks for the input though. I truly do appreciate it.
God Bless
You know I have your and everyone's best interest at heart! I just don't want people pursuing things that might cause them more harm, when there's a simple solution right there. Your body can fix itself, just let it. I never said the the eMatrix procedure is not helpful, afterall, from the photos, it does look like it is making things more shallow, but people have to understand what is happening to make it more shallow, I think way too many people think they are raising the indent when it is really the opposite, and that's what concerns me.
Interestingly, because of the horror stories of excision it is also what stopped me from pursing it for so long also. But you have to remember, people who have failed mostly are clueless, went to a derm instead of a plastic surgeon and are too lazy to followup with proper aftercare. Don't let these people scare you like it did for me delaying my scar-free life. I'd only wish I did it earlier, so many lost years! If you do it right, it is glorious, the answer is already inside your own body. It knows how to heal itself in a scar-free way, you just have to give it the opportunity to do so. =)
Okaly doakly, here is a picture that was taken yesterday before my 8th treatment. I understand that this is taken super close up w/ full flash and doesn't accurately show the depth of my scars. What do y'all think? I can tell there is improvement. Forgive the minor breakout I'm having here. It's a couple little non inflamed papules that decided to make their debut a couple of days before treatment.
And Yikes! I just noticed that it looks like I'm sproutn' a massive mustache hair!! I'm pretty sure that's an eyelash because I ALWAYS take care of any peachy fuzz on my upper lip before I go in and I pluck the fool out of my eyebrows too. In fact, Jessica and I always have a good laugh about such things!!
Sassy, your skin really does look improved - the tiny scars appear more shallow, the pores look smaller and overall your complexion looks smooth and soft. It seems like this procedure is working very well for you. I have similar skin issues and have been researching eMatrix, but there isn't a lot of information available yet, so I really appreciate you posting this and I hope you will keep us updated. Good luck with your treatments!
You know I have your and everyone's best interest at heart! I just don't want people pursuing things that might cause them more harm, when there's a simple solution right there. Your body can fix itself, just let it. I never said the the eMatrix procedure is not helpful, afterall, from the photos, it does look like it is making things more shallow, but people have to understand what is happening to make it more shallow, I think way too many people think they are raising the indent when it is really the opposite, and that's what concerns me.
Interestingly, because of the horror stories of excision it is also what stopped me from pursing it for so long also. But you have to remember, people who have failed mostly are clueless, went to a derm instead of a plastic surgeon and are too lazy to followup with proper aftercare. Don't let these people scare you like it did for me delaying my scar-free life. I'd only wish I did it earlier, so many lost years! If you do it right, it is glorious, the answer is already inside your own body. It knows how to heal itself in a scar-free way, you just have to give it the opportunity to do so. =)
Glad to hear that your excision procedures were so successful. Perhaps you could start an excision thread and post your results there? I have tiny scars, so it's not really an appropriate procedure for me - I'm more interested in eMatrix - but I'm sure there are others who would find it helpful.
Hi Sassy! Thanks for posting your pics...this helps so many of us! So when I first viewed your pics I couldn't believe how little scarring you have. I had to zoom in to see what you were referring to as the 'cluster from hell'. Lol. But after really really looking closely at your before pic I noticed the few "scars" you had (they are minor)and I have to say that you barely notice them in your after pic! I can only pray that I have improvement in my scars with ematrix...I have deeper scars and they are scattered all over my cheeks . I am starting my first procedure soon and will update everyone.
I read u are thinking about other procedures...I really think your skin is beautiful and there is no need to do anymore! I'm pretty sure nobody notices what you do b/c to me your skin looked great even in the before pic
So I have a few questions. My doctor keeps suggesting to space the treatments three weeks apart to optimize results. Was wondering what your thoughts are on that cuz I read 4 to 6 weeks everywhere else. Also, what vitamins are you taking? Thanks again for posting the pics! This gives me hope for at least some improvement.
Hey !!! Im writing from sweden and reading all your messages thanks everybody for chearing this with us!! Im am going to try ematrix and i Swear i will update every singel thing.
AND sassy you look so fine, i realy mean it.. and dont think you need more ematrix your skin realy looks beutiful.
sorry my english 
Thanks for the comments all. It's encouraging to hear everyone's positive feedback. Not all my scars show up in the pictures. This is taken w/ full on flash up close, so of course some don't appear, but believe me,they are there.
Asian32, when I first started my initial series of treatments, I would have an eMatrix every 4 weeks. The longest I ever went was 5 weeks, and that was due to scheduling conflicts. Now that my treatment phase is for the most part complete, I get a treatment once every 3 months.
As far as supplements that I take; multivitamin, MSM, Flax Seed Oil tablet, and a Liver Detox pill that has Vitamin A & Milk Thistle extract in it, and some calcium when I remember to take it!! I also take spiro and Yaz BC pill.
I use Retin A cream, 0.05% every 3rd night. I spot treat w/ either BP or Mario Badesecu (or however it's spelled) w/ his buffering lotion and/or drying cream.
Hope this all helps and I look forward to hearing about every one else's experiences!
God Bless!