I'm considering having dermabrasion done, but I'm paranoid of picking a plastic surgeon that's a hack. Who is DR. Y. I've read about a Dr. Yarborough on other acne dermabrasion sites, is this who your referring too?

If so where is he/she, where is he/she and how can I contact him/her?

 

 

 

 

It had been exactly one year since my dermabrasion. I'm amazed by the happy messages I posted early on in this thread, not knowing the kind of disaster I got myself into, for life. I must have been on drug.

Maybe its just me, losing most of my dark pigment, having a distinctly red face and demarcation near the hairline and jaw line is, 1000 times more emotionally painful to see, than just having acne scars. I don't wish this on my worse enemy.

3 other darker skin patients had dermabrasion with the same doctor last year, all sufferred the same consequences. I am sorry to say, but the doctor's risks assessment for me was gravely misleading: 4% - 5% ends up with 1 or 2 shade lighter skin, 3 month average to lose the redness and it always goes away, darker skin patients don't have higher risks, only 2 patients had problem ever because of patient ignorance, etc. If something sounds too good to be true, it is.

I hope fellow posters / lurkers of this forum, especially if you have darker skin tone, stay alert and be extremely cautous when considering deep resurfacing procedures such as dermabrasion and lasers. The doctor's reputation or empathy won't do dick for you, when your face is fucked up by the procedure. Think really hard if you need to take the risk, and if you must, always do a (realistic) test patch first and see how it heals and looks in relation to surrounding skin. Good luck everyone.

Hi sword,

I'm sorry you've been through hell the past year. I do hope you can at some point get on with your life and put it behind you. I appreciate you warning darker-skinned folks about the real risks of dermabrasion. Because of you, I decided against having another dermabrasion. Well, that and hurricane katrina put a kink in my plans but that's besides the point. I don't plan on having another one period. Also, I think any type of resurfacing procedure now poses a greater risk for me to lose pigment, probably because of what the dermabrasion started. I hope some of my posts and PMs didn't mislead you to believing that things would eventually be okay. That is obviously NOT the case for you. I really did feel okay about my skin tone and color until recently after my fraxel treatments (whole 'nother story) but part of it may be that I'm generally a "the beer glass is half full" type of person. Have you found anything out there that could help with the redness and hypo? Good luck man and take care,

Dan

Hey sword,

Just a suggestion but you might want to go back and edit your very first post in this thread to update your position now on the dermabrasion as some people reading this thread won't get to the end and see your actual current feelings on the procedure. It is great that you are steering alot of people clear. I wish you the best.

Hi sword,

sorry to hear that. But I want to know if you would say now that dermabrasion is generally a bad option or just bad for darker skin types.

Thx

Hi sword,

 

sorry to hear that. But I want to know if you would say now that dermabrasion is generally a bad option or just bad for darker skin types.

 

Thx

 

First hit on google with the search term "dermabrasion"

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/procedures/Dermabrasion.cf m" data-cite="url= http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/procedures/Dermabrasion.cf m">

Men and women of all ages, from young people to older adults, can benefit from dermabrasion and dermaplaning. Although older people heal more slowly, more important factors are your skin type, coloring, and medical history. For example, black skin, Asian skin, and other dark complexions may become permanently discolored or blotchy after a skin-refinishing treatment. People who develop allergic rashes or other skin reactions, or who get frequent fever blisters or cold sores, may experience a flare-up. If you have freckles, they may disappear in the treated area.

Skin types:

http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/sid44562

Here's the second hit on dermabrasion from e-medicine. It's on microdermabrasion though.

http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic739.htm

Dr. Y Coauthored it.

Superficial wounding extends to the stratum granulosum or papillary dermis. Medium-depth wounding results from extension into the upper reticular dermis. Finally, deep wounding extends into the midreticular dermis. Care is taken to avoid extending the depth of injury beyond this level because scarring is likely.

 

In contrast, the Fitzpatrick classification categorizes according to sun-reactive skin type rather than degree of photodamage. This classification helps identify patients who have a propensity for photodamage. For facial resurfacing, this classification can also be used to define the risk of pigmentary changes (eg, dyschromia, postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, permanent hypopigmentation) with resurfacing procedures.

 

The Fitzpatrick classification of skin types is as follows:

 

* Skin type I - Very white or freckled, always burns

 

* Skin type II - White, usually burns

 

* Skin type III - White to olive, sometimes burns

 

* Skin type IV - Brown, rarely burns

 

* Skin type V - Dark brown, very rarely burns

 

* Skin type VI - Black, never burns

 

In general, patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I-III tolerate resurfacing procedures with minimal risk of pigmentary complications. While resurfacing may be undertaken in patients with Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI, the risk of pigmentary change is higher with the deeper wounding that can be achieved with dermabrasion, chemical peeling, and laser resurfacing.

I too had a dermabrasion around 13-14 years ago. I mainly had one deep icepick which concerned me. The plastic surgeon suggestion two cheek areas for sun damage and a few shallow scars. Close to being the entire cheek but not to the jaw line. I had one rather large but extremely shallow scar which it totally erased as well as nearly everything on my left cheek. The deep icepick became a larger (in diameter) boxcar which I am still dealing with. While it worked for me, I many times have questioned this drastic measure. I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I want to stress, this is a very invasive procedure and so many things could affect healing, pigment ect. I would never recommend this to someone with even slighly darker skin tones. My face is still (14 years) later a shade or so lighter than the rest of my skin. I am a light to medium toned caucasion female. They were very upfront and said from there on I would have to wear makeup and they weren't kidding. I did get a few pigment lines from the machine going vertical on my left cheek. He was standing on the right side while dermabrading both cheek areas. I still feel he did an extremely excellent job. This PS was in Louisville, KY and may be since retired. I think most would experience pigment changes from this procedure since the skin has been abraded off and the new skin is just that. So please if you are asian or hispanic, or another slightly darker toned person, please don't do this unless you are prepared to wear makeup indefinetly. I hate to be redundant but this procedure was good for me. I remember being a sunbather untill I wised up in my mid twenties. It took around 10 years off my face as well as either completely erased some shallow scars. It may not be the complete answer for deep, icepick type scars since they tend to become larger but shallower when abraded. Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Today while doing some errands I was standing in line. The guy behind me was attractive, nicely dressed with good features and had rather moderate acne scars. I must say he seemed quite timid probably because of his scarring. I still thought he was quite attractive. I am happily married but wanted to make a point that if someone judges you on your skin or seems to make you feel bad, then why do you need them? It is not like it is something totally within our control. It is very shallow to say the least. I must admit I read nearly this entire thread and PLEASE chin up sword, your earlier posts revealed a very insightful person who surely can thrive even with some hypopigmentation. I do believe it will get better. Peace.

I am white, and I had CO2 laser resurfacing at the end of 2003. Even though I stayed out of the sun for about half a year after, the skin on my face is slightly more red than the skin around my eyes (where the laser didn't go). It's a very very slight difference that I can only see if I look closely, but it's been over 2 years, so I it must be permanent. So even if you're not dark-skinned and you stay out of the sun, there's still a risk of pigmentation issues.

Its done. Thank you Pocket Ace.

Hey sword,

 

Just a suggestion but you might want to go back and edit your very first post in this thread to update your position now on the dermabrasion as some people reading this thread won't get to the end and see your actual current feelings on the procedure. It is great that you are steering alot of people clear. I wish you the best.

 

I shall never recommend it for darker skin types.

General risks that apply to all skin types includes but not limited to permanent pigmentary change, permanent redness and flushing, enlarged pores, different (shiny) texture, new scars. If you spend some time to search this forum, you will find most of these effects have been reported by a number of people not limited to darker skin tone. This applies to deep resurfacing in general, including dermabrasion, exoderm and ablative laser.

Hi sword,

 

sorry to hear that. But I want to know if you would say now that dermabrasion is generally a bad option or just bad for darker skin types.

 

Thx

 

tryingstill,

Thank you so much for your kindness, you really make my day.

I locked myself away and plunged into deep depression for 8 months. I hope my insurance company won't see this but for 2 months it was so bad I was researching for fail-safe ways to do kill myself.

That would have been the most selfish thing to do. Somehow, I did not kill myself. I swore I will thrive again no matter what. Today I am fully functional and competitive, maybe a little too much, to make up for what I have lost, both physically and emotionally.

"we can ony be as happy as we allow ourselves to be"

Happiness is my only weak department. I'm not afraid to be judged by little minded people, at least not anymore. Sometimes they remind me of of the dermabrasion, and the discoloration that I hate so much. I would feel beaten for an hour or two, then I pick myself up.

Anyhow tryingstill, I wish you the best.

I must admit I read nearly this entire thread and PLEASE chin up sword, your earlier posts revealed a very insightful person who surely can thrive even with some hypopigmentation. I do believe it will get better. Peace.

 

kooky brother how are you?

I never healed the way you did, but I really appreciate your continous encouragement and support when I was at the bottom of the universe. To a degree I have accepted that my skin tone will never recover again, I just hope I will be a stronger and better person despite the cosmetic disadvantage.

I think you were the only one here who has type IV skin and managed to recover dermabrasion without persistent redness, substancial pigment loss or obvious demarc line. Leafsfan said the demarcation were blending also, but he has lighter skin tone. I wonder how he's doing. Sunblock was happy about the outcome but even she said she had demarc line, and so did a few other lighter skin asians (about demarc line). And shade from NO, he complained about having darker and redder skin than before. I never heard from him after Katrina, I was really worried about him. I hope he's ok.

I just had my 3rd monthly VBeam treatment a week ago. I shall report progress in the IPL thread, but basically it worked somewhat not enough to remove the red mask from my now weak pigmented face. As for hypo, there are so called treatments out there, but most are snake oils or misses as reported on virtigo discussion forums.

I don't know much about fraxel, is it less risky than dermabrasion? How did it affect your skin tone? If you can survive something as brutal as dermabrasion you will recover from a much less invasive procedure. I wish you the best, keep in touch.

Hi sword,

I'm sorry you've been through hell the past year. I do hope you can at some point get on with your life and put it behind you. I appreciate you warning darker-skinned folks about the real risks of dermabrasion. Because of you, I decided against having another dermabrasion. Well, that and hurricane katrina put a kink in my plans but that's besides the point. I don't plan on having another one period. Also, I think any type of resurfacing procedure now poses a greater risk for me to lose pigment, probably because of what the dermabrasion started. I hope some of my posts and PMs didn't mislead you to believing that things would eventually be okay. That is obviously NOT the case for you. I really did feel okay about my skin tone and color until recently after my fraxel treatments (whole 'nother story) but part of it may be that I'm generally a "the beer glass is half full" type of person. Have you found anything out there that could help with the redness and hypo? Good luck man and take care,

Dan

 

Hi sword, I been reading your posts for a long time because demarcation lines are what I have been struggling with as well, alhtough mine are not from dermabrasion. I suffer from facial redness as well ever since a 2 year period of moderate acne.

I'm making lifestyle changes, mostly by avoiding rosacea triggers,

and it's improving, though it will never be "normal" again.

Also, I hate it when people ask me "why is your face so red?"

Of course I'd like to say "why is yours so baggy and wrinkly or is that really

your ass talking" but of course, this is at work so all I can do is shrug it off. Any suggestions

would be soooo appreciated.

As for Doctor Y, I'd say he deliberately lied to you since a google search

with "dermabrasion demarcation lines" turns up on the first page a website

of a PS who says demarcation lines are one of the high risks of dermabrasion. So

I should say he fully anticipated what is happening to you and HopefulSkin!

Also, since asians are economically better off on average, Dr Y has a real

motivation in presenting dermabrasion as a safe procedure for asians.

On the upside sword, your skin looks pretty good. Whether that's because of or in spite

of the dermabrasion, I don't know. Of course, ppl are much more likely to comment on

redness than scars. Yeech.

Hi BA,

Thanks for sharing your story. It is true, redness attracts so much more attention even at long range, whereas acne scars can only be seen within 5 -6 feet.

I had my 3rd vBeam laser treatment for the redness about a week ago. There were the settings used:

1st treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.0 jules for full face

2nd treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.5 jules for jawline, 7.0 for rest of face

3rd treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.5 jules for full face

By comparing pictures taken before my first treatment, and before my 3rd treatment, I am marginally less red but it is nothing to call home about. Maybe the setting is too low??

I think I will spot test IPL (Intense Pulse Light) / photo facial treatment in April and see if it can help kill the redness. I will post my results here and in the IPL thread started by Dan T.

Here is a rosacea support group with user reports on different treatments:

http://www.rosacea.co.uk/

Here is one for pigmentary disorder

http://www.pearlgrimesmd.com/pigmentationdisorders.htm

Thanks again and good luck!!

Hey Sword,

I'd really be interested to hear about your progress with VBeam, IPL, and other treatments...

I just saw a renowned doctor here in New York City - Dr. Rohksar. He looked at my face and pretty much said that my demarcation line will not go away. I asked if it could be lessened through time, sun exposure, etc. He didn't seem too optimistic. I hate this - I wanted to hear from an expert what to expect, but now I'm even more depressed than when I atleast had hope. It's like even that's gone now. But why live with delusions, right? better to know and move forward, like you're doing.

Anyhow, the toughest part is knowing that I developed permanent scarring (the parts that were really red are now textured and hypertropic, almost an inch and a half long area - pretty big considering I didn't have major scarring to begin with). He acknowledged that these parts will be scars for good! Of course, I kinda' figured that would happen, but for it to be a fact hurt me alot to hear.

So, he's suggesting VBeam to atleast get rid of the bloody redness from it - that way atleast not so much attention would be attracted to those parts. It's true that red does draw more attention than scars, because think about anything in life... the STOP sign, the CONES put up in an emergency, the siren light, they are all blaring red because it freakin' attracts the most attention immediately.

I'm not sure when I want to attempt this. I just have such fears of doing anything new now because of the let down I had these past 7 months of post dermabrasion.

It is TRULY THE WORST THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED and DONE TO MYSELF.

I'll report when and if I do decide on VBeam.

-Hopeful ... should change my screen name, ha!

Hi BA,

 

Thanks for sharing your story. It is true, redness attracts so much more attention even at long range, whereas acne scars can only be seen within 5 -6 feet.

 

I had my 3rd vBeam laser treatment for the redness about a week ago. There were the settings used:

 

1st treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.0 jules for full face

2nd treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.5 jules for jawline, 7.0 for rest of face

3rd treatment: 10 mm / 10 ms / 7.5 jules for full face

 

By comparing pictures taken before my first treatment, and before my 3rd treatment, I am marginally less red but it is nothing to call home about. Maybe the setting is too low??

 

I think I will spot test IPL (Intense Pulse Light) / photo facial treatment in April and see if it can help kill the redness. I will post my results here and in the IPL thread started by Dan T.

 

Here is a rosacea support group with user reports on different treatments:

 

http://www.rosacea.co.uk/

 

Here is one for pigmentary disorder

 

http://www.pearlgrimesmd.com/pigmentationdisorders.htm

 

Thanks again and good luck!!

 

Hopefulskin, so in other words did Dr Yarborough scar you?

It is TRULY THE WORST THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED and DONE TO MYSELF.

 

I'll report when and if I do decide on VBeam.

 

-Hopeful ... should change my screen name, ha!

 

Hopeful,

No no no you didn't do it to yourself, you were misled. I am sick of how we were all handled.

From talking to you I know you are young and brilliant and have potentials to do great things for your future. No doubt we were robbed of our normal skin tone, something most people take for granted. Which is why it is so much more important for you to be brave and work harder now to make your dreams come true, and not let this disaster change your path. Normal skin tone is good, but it's not mandatory for achieving greatness. I know it will be much more chanllenging than before, but I have full confidence you can do it, I do. In the end you'll be proud and not regret it.

If you really must change your screenname, may I suggest indomitable or bravo? Chin up hopeful, I know you can do it.

These stories make me so angry! I mean, it's one thing if you had been warned or what they call informal consent, but you weren't.

Can't you sue him? Have any of you talked to a lawyer?

At least report him so when people DO check him out pre-dermabrasion, they will know he isn't squeaky clean with "no patients with side effects" like he says.

Hi emmanuel you got PM. Thanks.

Sword, I just wanted to say I've been reading your posts off and on for awhile and just now looked at your gallery and really you have nothing to worry about from those pics. I don't know what your skin looked like pre-dermabrasion, but now your skin is relatively smooth and the bit of redness could surely be covered by tinted moisturizer or makeup. My scars are red and fairly deep so I guess I would trade just red and shallow, but since I'm a girl I can cover the color with makeup but can't cover the texture. I did have a consult with Dr. Y when I lived in New Orleans, but he thought I wasn't a good candidate because I think the redness is rosacea related so it would likely just get worse. I think he should have advised you on the prospect of the demarcation with your skin tone, but really you are looking pretty good! My redness started out like bright red last year but has faded a bit from a few IPL treatments and using the happy skin acne light daily. However, my texture in the scars has not improved from either. You just can't cover that up with makeup and it is depressing. I could understand if your red was so bright you couldn't cover it but it doesn't look that bad.

Hope this makes you feel better and not judged for complaining, because I can tell by your posts you were devastated, however you seem to have come to terms better now, and that is what I am striving to do myself!

tricia,

I'm in a peculiar position not everyone can understand here, but I appreciate your comments.

The key to my suffering is not redness or pigment loss alone, there are lots of people redder or lighter than my dermabraded skin. The problem is how the new color in relation to surrounding skin.

The fact is I wear a mask of redness / lighter color with clear demarcation lines. The difference is more pronounced in some lighting then other. Caucasian people don't pay much attention to it, but I live, work, play and belong to an asian community. Believe me they did and still do notice, some even laughed. Most asians don't even know what Rosacea is (I didn't until after the dermabrasion) so this kind of bounded redness is very unusual to us. The light pigmentation is difficult to capture on camera because the redness gets in the way. If I am no longer red, you will see I wear a light color mask on my dark yellow skin. I'm sorry you can't see it but it is true.

As for make up ... its just me but I swear I won't put that stuff on my skin again even if some point a gun at me. If I can go back in time I would not have dermabrasion, but if I really must have it again, I would not wear any make up to hide the extreme redness. First it didn't hide it, second it was soooo obvious that I was wearing it, I got equal humiliation for it as for the extreme redness.

I'm glad you didn't had dermabrasion because it will for sure make your rosacea worse. I understand how you feel about your scars. I hope you don't mind me suggesting this, but knowing now invasive procedures (dermabrasion, ablative lasers, exoderm) would very likely cause more harm than good, and non-invasive things don't do anything for scars, the best thing to do is forget this whole scar revision business, just take care of your skin and keep it healthy.

Thanks and best wishes.

Sword, I just wanted to say I've been reading your posts off and on for awhile and just now looked at your gallery and really you have nothing to worry about from those pics. I don't know what your skin looked like pre-dermabrasion, but now your skin is relatively smooth and the bit of redness could surely be covered by tinted moisturizer or makeup. My scars are red and fairly deep so I guess I would trade just red and shallow, but since I'm a girl I can cover the color with makeup but can't cover the texture. I did have a consult with Dr. Y when I lived in New Orleans, but he thought I wasn't a good candidate because I think the redness is rosacea related so it would likely just get worse. I think he should have advised you on the prospect of the demarcation with your skin tone, but really you are looking pretty good! My redness started out like bright red last year but has faded a bit from a few IPL treatments and using the happy skin acne light daily. However, my texture in the scars has not improved from either. You just can't cover that up with makeup and it is depressing. I could understand if your red was so bright you couldn't cover it but it doesn't look that bad.

 

Hope this makes you feel better and not judged for complaining, because I can tell by your posts you were devastated, however you seem to have come to terms better now, and that is what I am striving to do myself!

 

Sword,

I appreciate your comments and I understand the asian community probably is a lot different from the caucasian one, I know the light skin verses dark neck you talk about, I have seen it on women with cosmetic procedures to remove wrinkles, however they are caucasian and can get away with wearing makeup. I hate wearing makeup myself, as it originally contributed to my breakouts and doesn't really cover scarring, however mineral makeup does a good job at getting the red out of my skin and is actually good for my skin.

I have been doing lots of non-invasive things and yes they don't work too well, but over a long period of time does make the skin healthier. I was thinking of looking into subcision, but I am scared of making my scars worse, so will probably not. I was also thinking of trying fillers when I save up the money but for now I am trying to work on self-acceptance and just keeping my skin healthy. Since I had a baby I look at life a little differently and try to think of others like him and my family more than my skin and it helps. I think we all have more emotional scars that physical ones and we have to work on those as well.

Hey MissShady & Sword,

I can't say exactly how the scars were formed... I just know that it's there now post dermabrasion when there was actually perfect skin there before. I do understand that everything has its risks, but to think I was not fully warned of this possibility is more than disappointing. When I asked about my pigment type and possible complications that are associated with this procedure, I felt it was downplayed to the greatest degree... something of the sort "Oh, these things do not really happen. Just to the smallest few" Of course, because if any doctor were to warn patients of the true percentage of risks, some or many people may back out. Thus, less profit. I'm not saying I know the true intentions of anyone, but I do believe I was not given a full scope of what could happen. Some may think, well, you should've researched it for yourself... well, you know what? I did, that's why I specifically asked how my skin type/color would respond to this procedure (because I've read in journals of the risks). However, when you're in a vulnerable state such that you want to believe there's something, anything that will take away your problems or atleast lessen it, you're more than ready to embrace these easy to digest answers.

I guess, what I'm saying is, people are usually very emotionally driven when they go to such extremes to "correct" scars or anything for that matter. Not giving someone the most comprehensive consultation is truly a crime, because the patient is so willing to jump on board. I think that we all trust that an expert knows more than we do (even though we thoroughly read through articles, journals, message boards, etc.) but hearing from THE EXPERT that something is going to take away your current problem, sounds like a voice from heaven. I guess that's where the problem lies... people are easy prey and even without the doctors meaning to make them into victims, they ultimately become one!

Well, Sword, I commend you for not allowing to stay a "victim". I, for one, am getting better each day... each month. However, I still struggle with overwhelming emotions when something reminds me of what I was able to do so simply, or when I talk to friends about a camping trip we took a few years back, staying in a cabin on a ski trip... or when I can't face my family (who do not know that I had this procedure donel) when I visited home for the holidays and trying not to get caught without makeup on in the hallway going from the bathroom to my room. Such angst I cannot even describe. It's not just the way my face looks, but rather more what I associate this tragedy with. Less contact with people I love, the activities I used to enjoy, the way I felt about myself.

Perhaps in time, I could be stronger and come out of this on top.

Sword, I like those alternate screen name ideas. For now, I will stay "hopeful", hopeful that I will conquer over this... whether skin or not!

Hopefulskin, so in other words did Dr Yarborough scar you?

 

Well said Hopeful. I cannot agree with you more about what actually happened in our consultations. I usually questioned everything to death, but if I couldn't trust Dr. Y who has done thousands of dermabrasions and appeared very sympathetic and caring, who else could I trust??? I trusted him before I even met him because of what other said about him!! Easy preys we were indeed.

As you know I was in the your current situation for many many months. Just read my messages in this thread and you will see. I didn't have the courage to face anyone or go out to do "normal fun things" that, well, normal people do. I locked myself at home and was going insane. My family sufferred with me during that period. Forget about looking good. The redness, lost of pigment and demarc lines made me I feel I lost my license to exist as a normal and acceptable human being.

When I first began my journey to reclaim my life, I had to deal with overwhelming pain and pyschological obstables. Sometimes I grieved for the loss of my color. Most of the time I hated the bright redness and easy flushing. Sometimes I felt beaten up by other's reactions to my face, be it someone at work, or a waiter at a familiar restaurant, or parents of my kid's classmates, etc. etc. etc.. How do I ever face friends and relatives again?

Well there was no one time big-bang solution to all that, but through many struggles, each time I gain a little more control and strength. It was like, 3 steps forward 1 step back. Although the pain of loss and anger from being lied to is still here, today there is no doubt I am in control again. I didn't think it would be possible 6 months ago.

So, its okay to feel overwhelmed by the emotions you mentioned. Its human, and its normal. When you feel discouraged, take a breather and try again. Step by step, you will conquer all fears and regain your full strength, although your brain and heart may be wired differently after that. Trust me Hopeful, it will happen.

Hey sword:

Glad you are out of your abyss and finding strength from within.

I may be in a similar boat with you and Hopeful after my fraxels. The fraxel is supposed to be safer than dermabrasion but technically at the levels my "progressive" doctor was treating me at, the fraxel penetrates much deeper than the wire brush. The laser is only supposed to cover about 15-20% of your face, sparing the rest of your healthy skin, so I thought it would be okay and safe. I just noticed a few weeks after my 2nd treatment that my skin was lighter than before the fraxels. I really don't know if it's a synergistic effect as a result of having a dermabrasion AND the fraxel treatments or it's the fraxel at the higher settings. I've read it is relatively safe for Type IV and V skin but it's still a relatively new technology. When I asked my doctor about it, she explained the lightening of the skin was temporary and the pigment would gradually return. She also said that the fraxel could even help with re-pigmentation. I think she may have consumed one too many paint chips as a kid. I was about a shade lighter after my dermabrasion. Now I feel about 3 shades lighter after my fraxels. And I got a little bit of sun the other weekend and it seems that I burn more than I tan now which is probably a bad harbinger right? It's a bit disheartening and demoralizing right now but I'm going to wait and give it some time to see if some of the pigment returns before I head over to the EMO Forum!

kooky brother how are you?

 

I never healed the way you did, but I really appreciate your continous encouragement and support when I was at the bottom of the universe. To a degree I have accepted that my skin tone will never recover again, I just hope I will be a stronger and better person despite the cosmetic disadvantage.

 

I think you were the only one here who has type IV skin and managed to recover dermabrasion without persistent redness, substancial pigment loss or obvious demarc line. Leafsfan said the demarcation were blending also, but he has lighter skin tone. I wonder how he's doing. Sunblock was happy about the outcome but even she said she had demarc line, and so did a few other lighter skin asians (about demarc line). And shade from NO, he complained about having darker and redder skin than before. I never heard from him after Katrina, I was really worried about him. I hope he's ok.

 

I just had my 3rd monthly VBeam treatment a week ago. I shall report progress in the IPL thread, but basically it worked somewhat not enough to remove the red mask from my now weak pigmented face. As for hypo, there are so called treatments out there, but most are snake oils or misses as reported on virtigo discussion forums.

 

I don't know much about fraxel, is it less risky than dermabrasion? How did it affect your skin tone? If you can survive something as brutal as dermabrasion you will recover from a much less invasive procedure. I wish you the best, keep in touch.

 

Hi sword,

I'm sorry you've been through hell the past year. I do hope you can at some point get on with your life and put it behind you. I appreciate you warning darker-skinned folks about the real risks of dermabrasion. Because of you, I decided against having another dermabrasion. Well, that and hurricane katrina put a kink in my plans but that's besides the point. I don't plan on having another one period. Also, I think any type of resurfacing procedure now poses a greater risk for me to lose pigment, probably because of what the dermabrasion started. I hope some of my posts and PMs didn't mislead you to believing that things would eventually be okay. That is obviously NOT the case for you. I really did feel okay about my skin tone and color until recently after my fraxel treatments (whole 'nother story) but part of it may be that I'm generally a "the beer glass is half full" type of person. Have you found anything out there that could help with the redness and hypo? Good luck man and take care,

Dan