CO2re Laser “ My Experience
Background Story
A bit of background on me¦ first of all I have never written a blog before, however, when trying to research peoples experiences of lasering for acne scarring I felt like there was a lack of information online. So, I have decided to write my experience and hope it assists anyone who is thinking about having this procedure carried out. I am a 26 year old female who has suffered with acne since I was about 14, and have been on any and every medication you can think of and tried a variety of procedures. Antibiotics, topical creams, the dianette pill, roaccutane, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, to name a few. As well as spending hundreds of pounds on different makeup, fillers/primers and œmiracle creams and face packs which did nothing to help the appearance.
About 5 years ago I completed a 6 month course of roaccutane which I felt gave me the best results as I no longer suffer from sever breakouts. Only now and again and it will be 1 or 2 little ones here and there. What I have been left with is indented œpitted scarring on both cheeks, and between my eye brows. As the years have gone on, which in turn has affected socials events, dating, and my general day to day mood and confidence if I catch my reflection in a certain lighting which highlights the fact that I had these holes on my face.
Over the last 2 years, the scarring has become the forefront of my worries and so I have attended a few clinics and hospitals to gather information and see what could be offered to me, which has also been either a dead end, or I have been quoted thousands of pounds for procedures which œmay or may not work. My most recent appointment at Hammersmith Hospital (January 2016) ended with the Doctor at the Dermatology Department informing me she would not be able to help me as the acne is under control and the scarring is œcosmetic and advised I contact the SK:N Clinic and they may be able to help.
Leaving the appointment very disheartened, I took her advice and contacted the SK:N Clinic and booked in an appointment with a nurse and see what could be offered to me. There was an appointment that weekend which I booked via paying a £25.00 deposit to secure my slot.
On arrive I completed a questionnaire form and waited for my name to be called. The nurse was really helpful, gave me loads of information as well as thoroughly assessing my skin and from there told me the next step, should I wish to have a patch test was to book in to see a Senior Medical Director if I wanted to go ahead with any lasering procedures she has spoken to me about. During the appointment with the nurse I didn™t feel pressured into booking anything, I was handed paperwork of pricing and the lasers available and told her I wanted to go away and have a think about it all, which the nurse was happy with. I appreciated her professionalism surrounding the whole appointment, as previous clinics were all about the sales pitch, whereas this nurse seemed to care about giving me full information of what was available and that it was okay for me to do everything in my own time which I really appreciated.
That brings is up to date¦
Saturday 13th February 2016:
So today, I and my sister (who always comes to my appointments with me for support, and also to get a second opinion on the clinic, people working there, and general information given to me) headed off for my meeting with the Senior Medical Director appointment at the SK:N Clinic in Holborn. It was £140.00 for the appointment, so I wanted to get my money™s worth from this person.
To be honest I didn™t feel like a 20 “ 30 minute meeting was worth £140.00 but if an expert could advise me on the best way to get results, I would pay it. I met with the plastic surgeon (Senior Medical Director - Mr Reza Nassab), who informed me that if I am looking for something to help with my indented acne scarring, there are 2 types of lasering that would be available depending on what downtime I could allow myself and also which laser I thought I could handle œno pain, no gain were his words.
He informed me that the Fraxel laser and the CO2re laser were the 2 best options for me (after assessing my skin).
The Fraxel Laser was less invasive and didn™t need as much downtime (approx. 3 “ 5 days), however, I would probably need more than 1 session of this laser if I wanted to see significant results.
The CO2re laser could be a downtime of up to 10 days of sever redness and flaking. There would be up to 3 weeks of less redness after this.
After much research, I felt that the CO2re laser would be best for me, and I may only need 1 session of this, which in the long term would be better. The Doctor said we could do a patch test for a further £99 but I would have to go over to the Harley Street Branch as that was where the laser was kept and he had a free slot at 2.30pm. I agreed to do so, as I wanted to get the ball rolling, and also get a feel for what I was potentially going to be dealing with.
My sister and I headed over to the Harley Street SK:N Clinic and ended up being 30 minutes early. But the doctor was there and I was called straight away. He took me into a room on my own and ran through all the information again, the potential side effects, my medical history etc. and I signed the consent form. He then told me that usually (for the full face) a numbing cream would be applied about 45 minutes before the procedure but as this was just a patch test he was going to inject me with a numbing solution in the local area that the patch test would be carried out. I was more worried about the injection than the actually laser. He assured me it was a small needle, the same size they use for Botox and it shouldn™t hurt. The injection seemed to burn slightly, and when I asked him about this, he said it was the solution which was burning as it™s quite acidic, but it only lasted about 10 seconds or so before the numb sensation kicked in.
He decided to select a section of my cheek, right on my cheek bone as close to the hairline as he could get but also had some scarring on it, and so I could carry on my day/week being able to hide the patch test area when my hair was down, but also see the results of the scarring over the next few weeks. The Doctor then took a œbefore picture of the area.
I placed on metal goggles and let him do his job. I wouldn™t feel much other than slight heat coming from the laser, as would be expected. There was a smell of burning skin/hair which was pretty unpleasant, but again, was expected. He then placed some Vaseline type of cream on my face and that was that. He told me that I should book an appointment for 4 weeks onwards to have the procedure arrived out, and the receptionist would discuss prices and payment plans available to me when I book the appointment.
Straight away I could see in the mirror that the area is slightly pink where the laser had hit it, but I didn™t worry too much. I booked in with the receptionist for an appointment in April 2016, paid for my patch test and was told I could pay for the procedure on the day of arrival. I was told to arrive 1 hour before my appointment for the numbing cream to be applied and allowed time to work before the lasering is carried out. The receptionist also told me that it would be best if someone could pick me up after the procedure as my face would be bandaged up, just until I got home. She then gave me an aftercare sheet which informs you of creams and face washes to use after.
The only thing the SK:N Clinic couldn™t provide me with when I asked was any recent œbefore & after pictures as it was against their Patience Privacy Terms and Conditions. There was 1 picture on the leaflet given to me, and a booklet of a very old school œbefore and after picture and the patient hadn™t even had the CO2re laser. I just think that if you are having something done which is so invasive, especially on the face, they should be able to show what to expect after getting your face lasered I would like to mention when I next attend that I would be happy to allow my œbefore and after pictures to be seen, just in case there are any people like me visiting for similar issues and find visuals to be quite reassuring¦
Here are a few pictures of the patch test area ranging throughout the first week:
I am quite shocked by how it looks if I™m honest, but it looks a lot worse than it feels. It doesn™t hurt at all, I make sure I keep applying Vaseline to it, and other than the annoying of forgetting it™s there if I have an itch, or need to tie my hair up, it feels fine.
Let™s hope the full face will have the same œlooks worse than it is feel.
I hope my experience can help if anyone is looking to have this done, and will keep you updated on a weekly basis.
Have a great week!
