My concerns:
Large pores, uneven texture, acne scars, pigmentation (sun damage), fine lines and wrinkles, collagen depletion, and overall skin tone (I have some redness and broken capillaries).
My primary goal:
I wanted to shrink my pores and have an over-all smoother and youthful appearance.
My laser treatment experience:
The actual laser treatment is about 45 minutes. Numbing is definitely advised which takes another 45 minutes prior. The treatment is performed in sections on your face, it does not treat the entire face at one time. The laser was not at all uncomfortable for me, but each section requires several passes and towards the final passes of each section you start to feel the heat build. The last few passes are definitely pretty warm, but not at all unbearable. Your laser professional will communicate with you through the entire treatment which was very helpful to me in knowing what to expect. She will ask you to speak to her in terms of pain on a scale of 1-10 (0 – nothing, 5 – you’re crying, 10 – you’re dying). The only discomfort I can speak to was the post-treatment heat, which mostly feels like an intense sunburn. That is rather short-lived, maybe about one hour-ish.
My laser treatment pain value: 2
My one-hour post treatment pain value: 3-4
My post treatment pain: 0
Day One:
My face was very red initially but the redness starts to settle down after a couple of hours. Immediately following the treatment, I kept a cool fan on my face which took away most all the heat and discomfort. I experienced some pin-point bleeding, that is very common with the Halo. I stayed out of the sun (indoors) and refrained from anything that would compound any heat to my face (or body) – no working out, yoga, swimming, hot showers, hot tubs, or anything outdoors in the heat or sun. I splashed some cool water on my face only using my fingers and applied a super moisturizing cream (Bio Cream by NeoCutis) and relaxed the rest of the evening. You can use a very mild/gentle cleanser, like Cetaphil, but don’t use sponges or facial cloths at any point on the first day. No other creams, retinols, topical serums, clarsonics, or exfoliants should be used unless your Provider has approved it.
Day Two:
Redness all over.
Pin-point bleeding was still visible, but no longer active.
Swelling occurred mostly around my eyes and apples of my cheeks.
MENDS started popping up around my forehead and jawline.
MENDS (microscopic epidermal necrotic debris) will appear on the 2nd·or 3rd day after treatment as tiny dark spots and bronzed appearance to the treated skin.
MENDS are part of the healing process where treated tissue is working its way out of your body as new fresh skin is regenerated. During this time, your skin will be very dry and feel like sandpaper before flaking and peeling off. Keep your skin well moisturized to support the healing process.
Tightness was occurring very slightly, but felt normal after applying my moisturizer.
I cleansed with water only using my fingers, moisturized with Bio Cream morning and night.
I applied a physical sunblock this day and reapplied twice. I used Elta MD in the morning and reapplied with my Color Science SPF 50 brush-on sunscreen.
Day Three:
WOW!!! Major skin impurities were coming up all over.
My MENDS had easily tripled and started feeling like sandpaper.
Redness was still pretty visible and my swelling had peaked by this day.
My facial product and cleansing routine stayed the same.
One thing I will note is you start to see some small flaking of your skin starting in the center of your face, around the nose and mouth area. DO NOT PICK at your skin. You absolutely do not want to prematurely exfoliate or peel away the skin, this will only make your treatment efficacy much less if not very poor. Scarring is always associated with traumatizing already compromised skin, and this is not a cheap procedure!
Let your skin flake naturally.
Day Four:
Still a little red, but mostly pink-ish. I kept my skin care routine the same but applied a little bit of mineral make-up on this day. I finally felt like I could work-out (indoors) and kept my face well moisturized throughout the day.
This evening I took a long hot shower and used my fingers to rub in some of the areas that were really flaking off. If you rub very gently over the same area a few time, the skin will ball up and not be forced off as if exfoliating or scrubbing.
Moisturize. Moisturize. Moisturize.
I have very oily skin and I still needed to use my Bio Cream immediately after drying my skin. Keeping it moisturized with help with the healing process and eliminate the need to pick at the dead skin.
Day Five:
I still have a slight pink-ish tone, a tiny bit of swelling, but definitely am feeling the GLOW!! I truly understand today why they call it the “Halo Glow”.
I have kept my same skin care routine but added my facial sponge to cleanse with a very gentle cleanser. Moisturized. Sunblock. Mineral Powder.
I still wouldn’t use any liquid make-up products today, only because my skin is sensitive to anything occlusive and my face still feels like it needs to breathe as much as possible.
I can already see so many improvements in the tone, texture, and over-all appearance of my skin. I can honestly say that this is the best thing I have ever done for my skin. I have tried so many different laser treatments, including more aggressive procedures and this is already one that has produced the BEST results of any of them. I am so very, very happy and can’t wait to share my 3 and 6 month results with you!
