I don't have a ton of scarring but it bothers me nonetheless- a few small boxcars on my left cheek, a rolling scar (from trauma) on my right and picking scars along my lower cheek/jawline. Oh, and HUGE pores.
I've had 5 Genuine Dermaroller treatments + 2 subcision and filler. I got minor improvements on most scars - some, a bit more; some, none. I'm still not pleased...of course!
So I had Profractional spot treatments yesterday morning. Settings were 350 microns (a bit deeper on the boxcars) @ 22% coverage. The plan is to do this 3-4 times. I paid $200.
I had trouble finding a complete story on the Profractional laser (even on acne.org). Oftentimes, people make one post here and there or they start a log but then disappear. I don't want to do that and plan to keep this post updated. Feel free to keep me honest if I don't!
So far, so good. I felt no pain during the treatment and outside of the annoyance of having to sleep on my back last night, things are pretty good. It's the morning after and I'm about to wash my face. Yay!
I've attached pics of my starting point. Not the greatest shots but all I have access to right now. I've also attached a pic (the bloodier looking one) taken this morning so you can see the level of swelling. You can really see it in the cheekbone area.
*UPDATE*
Did the treatment around 1pm on Friday and the latest pic is what I look like about 48 hours later (on Sunday). I wash my face every 3 hours with boiled water and vinegar (I let the water cool) and then put on Polysporin (which makes things look yuckier than they are, I think). I'm supposed to go back to work on Tuesday morning so I'm a bit worried that I won't be able to cover the redness. Otherwise, all is good. No pain. I know they'll return but man, it's nice not seeing most of my scars!
*UPDATE*
It's now Tuesday night. I'm still pretty red but was able to cover most of it up with CoverFX. I also have some blush on. (I'm sure someone more talented with makeup could have done a better job). I've attached some new pics (with and w/o makeup).
Also, I think I have cold sores in one area. I did take an anti-viral and have started up again so I think I've managed to prevent a full blown outbreak (thank goodness!!).
Most of my scars have returned...except for the trauma scar on my right cheek. I can't see it at all. Probably wishful thinking but it would be amazing if it stayed like this!
I will only update this post again if something significant happens. Otherwise, I'll be back once I have another treatment at the end of May. Thanks for reading!
Good luck with healing. That looks like more than a spot treatment. $200 is super cheap. Didn't know Profractional could cause that much bleeding. Interested to see how this turns out for you. Unfortunately Profractional doesn't have the best reviews when it comes to scar treatment but I was under the impression it was a pretty mild laser (fractional erbium). Your after photo says otherwise as your spot treatment appears to have been quite aggressive. I didn't experience that much bleeding from Total Fx and still needed more than a week to recover. By recover, I am only referring to the peeling phase. It took months for hyperpigmentation to fade. Best of luck.
Good luck with healing. That looks like more than a spot treatment. $200 is super cheap. Didn't know Profractional could cause that much bleeding. Interested to see how this turns out for you. Unfortunately Profractional doesn't have the best reviews when it comes to scar treatment but I was under the impression it was a pretty mild laser (fractional erbium). Your after photo says otherwise as your spot treatment appears to have been quite aggressive. I didn't experience that much bleeding from Total Fx and still needed more than a week to recover. By recover, I am only referring to the peeling phase. It took months for hyperpigmentation to fade. Best of luck.
Yes, I was a bit surprised by this version of 'spot' treatment! I feel like I got a lot of coverage for the price and I'm not really worried about it blending in. It seems to be fading quite nicely now.
Profractional is a fractional ablative erbium laser (vs. Fraxel Restore which is a non-ablative erbium) so blood is normal. I think you didn't experience as much bleeding with the Total FX because it's a Co2 laser. From my understanding, Co2 offers more coagulation so perhaps the blood clots better than with erbium. Also, the Co2 delivers more heat which might be why you were red for so long. By no means, am I an expert though.
I was concerned by the poor reviews on websites like realself.com and acne.org. Oftentimes though, when you dig through the reviews, you find that many of them are bucketed in the wrong place which lowers the approval rating. Sometimes, if you can believe it, people don't even know what laser was used! This astounds me...especially when you're dealing with your face and paying a lot of money. Of course, there are legitimate reviews made by people that aren't happy for whatever reason which I took into account. When I weighed the pros and cons, I decided to go for it...hope it was the right choice (gulp!).
Looks like you did your research. Yes this is true, ablative erbium lasers are actually quite bloody compared to c02 lasers because they impart very little heat. Erbium lasers are almost purely ablative with no heat component because it is 10x more selective to water than co2 lasers. There is supposedly less hyperpigmentation after Erbium because there is no heating of the skin. Also because there is no heat, there is not as much collagen contraction as with co2 lasers.
Good point about the general public's lack of awareness of the differences between lasers. It's 2014 and people still don't know the difference between Fraxel Restore or Repair.
Good luck with healing. That looks like more than a spot treatment. $200 is super cheap. Didn't know Profractional could cause that much bleeding. Interested to see how this turns out for you. Unfortunately Profractional doesn't have the best reviews when it comes to scar treatment but I was under the impression it was a pretty mild laser (fractional erbium). Your after photo says otherwise as your spot treatment appears to have been quite aggressive. I didn't experience that much bleeding from Total Fx and still needed more than a week to recover. By recover, I am only referring to the peeling phase. It took months for hyperpigmentation to fade. Best of luck.
Yes, I was a bit surprised by this version of 'spot' treatment! I feel like I got a lot of coverage for the price and I'm not really worried about it blending in. It seems to be fading quite nicely now.
Profractional is a fractional ablative erbium laser (vs. Fraxel Restore which is a non-ablative erbium) so blood is normal. I think you didn't experience as much bleeding with the Total FX because it's a Co2 laser. From my understanding, Co2 offers more coagulation so perhaps the blood clots better than with erbium. Also, the Co2 delivers more heat which might be why you were red for so long. By no means, am I an expert though.
I was concerned by the poor reviews on websites like realself.com and acne.org. Oftentimes though, when you dig through the reviews, you find that many of them are bucketed in the wrong place which lowers the approval rating. Sometimes, if you can believe it, people don't even know what laser was used! This astounds me...especially when you're dealing with your face and paying a lot of money. Of course, there are legitimate reviews made by people that aren't happy for whatever reason which I took into account. When I weighed the pros and cons, I decided to go for it...hope it was the right choice (gulp!).
Interesting. I honestly never did much research on Erbium lasers. I knew Profractional was ablative, and less likely to cause hyperpigmentation but I never researched it beyond a few reviews I've read online. At one point, there were a few people on this forum who had tried Profractional, but I can't recall the outcome of their procedures. I don't think it was very positive though. It's been a few years since I researched lasers, so my memory is a bit blurry. For some reason, I have always believed coagulation from Co2 laser is a good thing that can actually help plump up indented scars. That was one reason I wanted to try Deep FX over other lasers. My goal was to improve deep indents, and Total FX has helped me reach most of that goal.
I agree that you can't fully trust online reviews. I frequently see reviews for Fraxel posted under Total FX with the person referring to it as Total Fraxel. I've even read reviews about someone's past experience with a laser that couldn't possibly be correct because the laser didn't exist in early 2000. It's amazing how some people can spend $1000s and never question the technology they're paying for. It happens on this forum too.
Again, good luck with healing. Hope this works out for you.
Hi Everyone!
OP here. Just got home from my second treatment.
Settings this time were 500 microns (800 microns on the deepest scars on my left cheek), 2 passes @ 11%. It hurt a lot more than the last time. I seriously can't imagine doing my whole face.
I won't post new pics because it's really more of the same. I asked the laser tech to focus on just the scars this time so the treatment area isn't as large. That's mostly for my kids - the blood was a lot for them to handle last time. Also, I'm still a bit red (not tons) from the first treatment so I'd like the non-scarred areas to fade.
As for results, can't say I see anything. But I'm just a month out so I think it's much too early to make any judgement yet.
*UPDATE*
I'm 48 hrs post tx. I am healing A LOT faster this time. I guess the smaller tx area has something to do with it. Also, I'm wondering if the 2 passes at a lower density are a factor too. I know the tech decreased the actual spot size as she a larger spot size would be too intense at this depth.
*UPDATE*
About 3 1/2 days post and I've broken out in cold sores. Argh! I took anti-viral meds so I think it could be worse than it is bit still, it sucks. Otherwise, the redness is fading nicely and the peeling is nearly done.
prettygirl from RealSelf here.... Been a while since I've posted on these forums. I like RealSelf because if offers doctors' expertise, actual feedback about specific treatments (the community at acne.org is very supportive, but not everyone has had lasering done), and photos categorized by treatment. I would encourage those who have had laser treatments to also make use of RealSelf.
FreshStart, you're right. You don't have much scarring - I can see maybe two indents - but nothing more than that is visible from your Before pictures. I do see your large pores. I have those as well. Around the areas where I have scarring. Large pores are a sign of skin damage. If my memory is accurate, a doctor said that somewhere online. My Micro Laser Peel has so far helped with some of my more minor pores.
Again, be patient with the gradual, but guaranteed, improvement you'll see from your laser treatment. Now that you've had two a month apart I'd really wait to see how things progress this summer. Are you planning more treatments in the near term? I would hold off because you might be having more than you really need. You need time to see the effect of a treatment. Really.
I see Inspired is still here and offering her input. Good for her.
Regarding your comment on RealSelf about not wanting to scare your children with more blood... I don't doubt they were scared. It frightens adults, too. After my first laser procedure, which I had in California, I was sitting in an airport lounge (layover at DFW airport on my flight back across the country) in dark sunglasses, feeling very self-conscious. A woman sat down two seats down from me. Several minutes later I realized she had quickly relocated and was staring at me with a horrified expression. By contrast, no one had looked at me twice when I was at the airport in California - I think they're all very used to laser treatments over there in Cali. Even an airport security guard, an elderly woman, was carrying on the longest conversation with me and my bloody face without batting an eyelash. How I love Californians!
Hey Meg, thanks for checking out this post.
I'm updating both RealSelf and this thread in the hopes that someone will benefit. At the very least, it's a good way for me to document my progress.
I think I'm going to take a break now; give the tx I've had so far some time. Laser lockdown for summer weekends wouldn't be fair to the kids either.