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i feel like it was a great place to start and the good thing about it is that it will help with the really deep rooted scars... i try to keep in mind that over time, my skin will continue to look better and better because it take a long time for the collagen to regrow! Are your scars as deep as mine were/are?
It's hard to compare because mine is rather different. It's from a few cysts I had on the right side of my chin. They have merged into one rolling scar that looks bad in certain lights and creases when I smile. How deep it is really depends on the light - my husband claims he doesn't see it, but I think I'm just getting lucky with what lighting he's looking in because when I walk around the house with a mirror (which is like the worst thing to do ever!) I can find some pretty bad lights where it looks deep. Is your scarring like that too?
readytosmileagain congrats on being acne free! that's a huge accomplishment that you should pride yourself on! 
where abouts are you in PA, I live in the Philly area( about 45 min away) and work with a plastic surgeon as a medical esthetician.
scarring is permanent but there are things you can do to make them better so don't give up hope.
I have seen great results with various laser peels. I suggest something non invasive done in a series such as the Cutera Pearl or Alma Pixel. They will yield wonderful results without "downtime" and have a less chance of unwanted side effects. For some of the deeper marks there are always various types of facial fillers (though not permanent) there are other longer lasting options coming out on the market now.
It's too easy to feel like giving up, you've made it this far, keep going!
You can private message me if you have any questions, I'd love to help you!
i hope so - thats how the doctor described it also - i think im only going to do one and then let my skin really heal! Im just praying that if I were to get pregnant this year (like we are hoping for) my skin stays calm and i dont break out in any cystic acne so all this work will be for nothing! I cant think that way tho, so im trying my best to think that in 48 hours, im trusting my doctor to do this procedure well, I heal with in a month and move FORWARD and stop looking back! We have so many things going on this year - trip to south africa for my best friends wedding, a few other trips here and there for weddings, my sister is getting married in august, im coaching in the spring so the season starts Feb 1st. I just need this to happen, heal and we move on - HAPPY. iI cant wait to be able to put my hair back in a ponytail again and feel confident.... I really hope that happens.
beautyZontheinsIde -I am outside philly also - i currently go to doctor Ringpfeils office off lancaster ave - she did my two subcisions and ive been very happy with the little down time and the results from those. She does a lot of laser work so im hoping this DEEP FX will be just another step Forward!
Oh and I just want to say that if you do get pregnant and start breaking out, Keflex (Cephelexin) is a safe antibiotic to take. My scars resulted from cysts I got in the first trimester. They put me on Keflex for a four week course and during that time I didn't have any. Everyone is different though and hopefully it won't happen to you, especially because options are so limited while pregnant. But in case it does consider asking for the Keflex:)
okay great im going to keep my derm in the loop so she knows when we start trying, etc. She already has me starting a new gel so i cant gradually stop using the Differin so she knows im thinking about it soon. I will write this antibotic down and take it with me on the 2nd so I can ask her about it. Id like to think since I did take the accutane my cysts will never come back but thats wishful thinking.... ive had like possibly 3 since i stopped the accutane in august 2010!
Has anyone done a laser procedure post accutane and scarred on this site?? I am nervous about this as I did a microderm 6 months post accutane and you can still see the lines in my skin from that treatment. The subcision incisions I believe did not scar (as my doc has told me) but like ive said many time on here, i do not look too closely at my skin because all it does is make me cry.
I finished my accutane course in august 2010
Happy New Year to you all!
Tomorrow is the big day - please send any and all good thoughts my way! I plan to post photos of how my skin looks, how its healing and let you know how I feel so anyone curious or hoping to do an DEEP FX CO2 laser can benefit (hopefully) from learning about my experience.
hi friends
here is how it went.... got there, took photos, numbing cream on face, 45 mins later the laser started....
it hurt, but i wasnt about to stop her (just get it done)
she did three passes - looking at my face now im not seeing any real pattern but im assuming she was just focusing on the scars...each pass was at a different setting and she told me everything she was planning on doing.
it looks really bad right now.... and it is scaring me. I didnt expect it to look like this.
here are the photos about 45 mins after the procedure.
ill take more tomorrow
im sure it will look worse tomorrow - its already starting to look worse than earlier today....
please send good thoughts
ReadyToSmileAgain you have been so wonderful to give us an account of your experiences. I think you are absolutely lovely and beautiful!
Your skin DOES look better & I remember my skin looking similar to yours after having my CO2 laser treatment. Don't worry....it is going to be worth it! Just don't freak yourself out-your skin WILL improve.
I have a few rolling scars (i believe that is what they are) on my cheeks that get me depressed sometimes...after reading your updates along with Mr Matt's thread, I am going to have a consult on Monday to see if I am a candidate for subcision. I have been single needling and Dermastamping for about 1 year (and suctioning) but feel subcision will be best.
Thanks again for this wonderful community and sharing so much......
I honestly think the the subcision worked so well on mine - the only reason why i did the laser was because i am hoping for a more finished look if that makes sense. I really hope it was worth it. THANK YOU for confirming that the way im looking now is normal... I have been so scared that its completely off the map. You cant find a lot of photos the day after co2 laser anywhere online so I was so hoping someone would respond!
For those following along
Day two
Pain = None (just a little sting here and there if I laugh or have a big smile (havent had too many of those today haha soooo im good to go)
Appearance = hideous I looked in the mirror this morning after I took a shower and I have tiny little white heads all over on top of the burn marks all over my face. Each mark is raised so honestly i feel like i have horrible cystic acne all over again, everywhere (thank GOD it doesnt feel like that!) The white heads, Im assuming are because of the vaseline application so I called the doc and asked if I could switch to CeraVe to moisturize and luckily they said yes!
Hopefully this will prevent any more white heads from popping up.
Mood = still very excited to see what is to come... I know I have a while until I will see any sort of result but im hoping I heal over the weekend and life and go on as normal come tues or weds
I had my CO2 laser procedure in 1997. Reading this thread brings back so many memories....
It was a big ordeal because I had never been anesthetized and "put under". I remember the terror afterwards of looking into the mirror and thinking "what have I done?!" I had my whole face treated-even though my problem areas were just my cheeks. I have an olive/tan complexion so my Dr explained that we would have to do my whole face in order to save me from any possible lines of demarcation. He also said that I had to make sure that the little white spots that surfaced on the red burned skin were constantly sloughed off my face! (I'm not sure if those are the same little white heads you are describing ReadyToSmileAgain. I was using Aquaphor) Not only was this part painful-I remember it vividly-but it meant that I had to see my reflection in the mirror.
I can't stress enough that the redness WILL fade and you will be happy you did this.
take care
Oh and keep in mind that this was over 15 years ago!! So I'm sure your results are going to be awesome.....
Hey, thanks for posting this; it's very helpful and you're results look great; you had great improvement even after the 1st pic from what I can tell.
I would recommend taking another pic EXACTLY like the one you 1st posted; same angle, same makeup, same lighting, same time of day, etc because that will really tell you how you've improved.
When the redness is gone from this you should take that and compare to your 1st one side by side to show how far you've come.
Congrats.
I know ive been rather scared - nervous - etc but I want you all to watch a video and take a deep breath, know that we all will be okay and we will get through whatever troubles us today and the days to come because we all deserve to be truly HAPPY!
Day 3:
So far nothing looks too different so i do not feel there is much to report other than I think its a little more red?
Good thing or bad, im getting through the day and just moving forward.
I must say your skin has improved A LOT! I am happy for you! Don't forget wearing a lot of sun blocks everywhere you go. You are a beautiful girl inside and out. Hope the treatment will be very successful and you will be able to smile again and be happy about your skin. Good luck healing
Hi readytosmileagain,
Your skin type is different from mine, so I don't know if this is normal. I will say that my skin looked very different on day 4 of Deep FX. However, only my scars and a few areas with enlarged pores were treated with Deep FX and the redness was consistent where the laser hit. My skin did get redder before it faded to tan, but it appeared in the shape of blocks. In other words, I did not have red spots on my face. You said your doctor did multiple passes of Deep FX. I've now done Deep FX twice and both times, my doctors would only do one pass of Deep FX. Do you know what settings your doctor used?
Have you contacted your doctor? Perhaps, you should email your pictures to her.
I wouldn't be too worried at this point, but it's worth a call or email to your doctor. You are going to look worse before you look better. It is unlikely you will experience much peeling from Deep FX.
I can't tell by your photos, but are you able to see small dots on your face or where the head of the laser hit? Did you experience much bleeding or oozing after treatment? If so, has that stopped?
I did some reading today and I think since she did three passes I got a total fx procedure.... Which does say that it will be 7-10 days before my skin will look ok with make up on.
I didn't have any oozing from the procedure and I can't see any laser exact points in all these spots - honestly the spots just look like burn marks. My skin is starting to dry out and peel but I'm putting aquaphor on it now religiously
She did say it will get worse before better... If in 48 hours things are still at this stage I'll send her photos via email.
Thank u so much for replying!!
I did some reading today and I think since she did three passes I got a total fx procedure.... Which does say that it will be 7-10 days before my skin will look ok with make up on.
I didn't have any oozing from the procedure and I can't see any laser exact points in all these spots - honestly the spots just look like burn marks. My skin is starting to dry out and peel but I'm putting aquaphor on it now religiously
She did say it will get worse before better... If in 48 hours things are still at this stage I'll send her photos via email.
Thank u so much for replying!!
I have done Total FX too, and did have spots on my face after Total FX. I also could not see the tiny Deep FX dots after Total FX. I considered that when looking at your pictures but you only mentioned Deep FX. My spots eventually turned into scabs/crusts. I do have a thread with photos of my Total FX procedure. I had the procedure just over a month ago. My healing phase was a bit more severe, so I really wouldn't worry too much if you had Total FX.
Good luck with healing!
Oh thank goodness
She described it as - I'm going to work on all your scarring with the co2 laser... So she turned it up for the big scars and kept it low for the all over texturing while doing three total passes - I assumed it was just deep fx but after reading more I really think it's considered total!
So I talked to my doctor.
I sent her a photo and she said that this will slowly fade over the next 3 months. I dont think I prepared myself for this in the correct way and therefore, I dont think I prepared you all and for that im sorry. I was under the impression this was a 7-10 day downtime and then id be back to normal. This is why I felt it important that I put a daily update on this post. I thought things would be rapidly changing, like most of you have experienced on this website, and that id be telling you something new each day. Well, that is just not the case with whatever procedure I happened to have done (im unsure what exaclty it was that i had done because I honestly can not find any similar story online - i think it was a combination of active and deep fx co2 laser).
Today has been a tough one for me and I did break down a little bit ago, regretting my decision to do the procedure... BUT, I gotta keep moving forward... hopefully by day 10 some of the redness will fade and ill be to a point where I feel like i can leave this house...right now, that is completely not an option for me. I mentally just cant do it. My skin looked pretty great over the last few months that the collagen was regrowing from the subcisions and on xmas i really felt amazing about my appearance, something I hadnt felt in a long time. I debated, heavily, about doing this procedure because of how I was feeling up until the moments before she started applying the laser.....cant do anything now!