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Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:21 pm  |
Part I:
Age: 47
Skin Description: Combination that gets oily in the summer. Large pores in some areas. Constantly battling breakouts in the jaw/chin area. Showing signs of aging around the eyes and forehead expression lines. Chronic dark under eye circles.
How I got here: I decided to give the Obagi regimen one more try (tried it in 2005 with an inexperienced esthetician in a Dr.s' office. Never saw the Doc once. The only thing that happened over the course of 8 weeks was that my skin poured out oil and broke out worse than normal. Not what I was striving for!)
I figured once I was prescribed an initial Obagi regimen (including tretinoin), I'd buy future Obagi products from EDS.
I visited the Obagi-referred Dr. in my hometown (near Cleveland, OH). I'd been using the Obagi C-ffectives line for about 8 weeks with moderate improvement, but I was looking for more dramatic improvement.
The Dr. reviewed my skin with the Obagi questionaire and determined I was a Fitzpatrick I/II (always burn, rarely tan), thick-skinned, moderately oily, with pigmentation, breakouts, signs of aging (was there any good news?). Lucky me!
Yes, she said, Obagi would provide nice transformation for me, but it would take time. Would I by chance be interested in spending about 25% more for the most cutting edge anti-aging skin treatment available with immediate results?
This Dr. has 5 different lasers to treat acne, rosacea, and other skin maladies plus rejuvenate aging skin.
What's a micro-laser peel?: (Per my Dr.)
Our skin is approximately 150 microns thick. For the sake of comparison, microdermabrasion lifts off 1 micron. In the micro-laser peel, the Dr. goes between 10 and 60 microns deep with the laser. This essentially burns off (my words) the upper layers, forming collagen and newer, tighter skin in the process. The 10 micron peel is considered "no-downtime" and you can return to work. My Dr. recommended a 20 micron peel for me.
According to her, my fine lines & pigmentation would be gone and future breakouts significantly minimized. The icing on the cake was that she would "get rid of" the dark circles that have bothered me for my entire life.
All of this for $ 500.00 and some occasional maintenance in the future.
Risks Explained pre-procedure:
Pigmentation - Some people (usually with darker skin) can have pigmentation problems - things either lighten up or darken up for awhile. Usually not permanent.
Scarring - Rare, but not common; asked how previous scars had healed.
Discomfort- it feels like a bad sunburn
Downtime - you probably won't want to show your face in public for 2-3 days after the procedure
Dr. says I will be "red as a tomato" the first day. I assume she's exaggerating just a bit.
Infection - rare, but you have to take prescribed antibiotics beginning the day of the procedure and for several days afterward. If you've ever had a cold sore, you need to take something prophylactic for that as well.
Decision Criteria for me:
Financial: Expensive, but not much more than the Obagi regimen & Retin-A products and results are much quicker. That appealed to me!
Risks: I'm pretty risk-oriented, and frankly, tired of spending a lot of money on products that don't work (TNS Recovery serum comes to mind). I wanted some results and nothing on the risk list (particularly the pain) overly concerned me.
Downtime: I don't work on Fridays so I have a 3 day weekend and will be able to wear makeup on the 4th day. Curtailing activities is a little hard with kids, but we'll deal with it.
Shouldn't be a big problem.
So, I say yes and get scheduled for later in the week.
Actual Procedure:
Pre-peel prep:
Once at the Dr.'s office, I fill out the requisite release forms, then wash my face
and apply an analgesic cream all over my face and neck. I'm told it will take about 20 minutes to fully numb the skin.
(Note: While reading the release forms I see that a 60 micron peel requires oral analgesics and a driver to take you home. I'm glad I'm not going that route!).
After 20 minutes, I use a washcloth to remove the analgesic cream from my numb face!
THE PEEL:
I lay down on the treatment table and the Dr. puts some eye covers on as well as wet gauze between my teeth (she says to make sure my teeth don't keep clacking together during the procedure - huh?? My first taste of fear!)
The Dr. demonstrates the noise and sensation I'll feel on my hand so I know what to expect. It stings a little, but I think I can handle it.
The Dr. starts on my forehead and usually alerts me she's going to start a sequence by saying "3-2-1". Good thing, because when she doesn't forewarn me, my whole body "starts" like when you're surprised by someone!
The discomfort is there - it feels like someone is pulling a burning match across your skin. I'm glad I had the numbing cream on my face. I don't think it would be tolerable without it.
Spots around my temple, under the eyes and upper mouth are very tender and I'm glad when she moves away. But it is manageable (I do have a high pain tolerance, I think).
Worse than the pain is the more than occasional waft of what I suspect is charred flesh. (The Dr. confirms this later). Yuck!
Dr. keeps saying I'm doing really well. Good, because I'm digging my nail into my other hand to offset the discomfort. (I do the same thing at the dentist's office when I don't want novacaine).
About 15-20 minutes later, it's over. It wasn't terrible, but I'm glad it's over!
The Dr. tells me she stuck with a 20 micron setting for most of my face but where there was darker pigmentation &/or lines, she sometimes went up to 30 microns.
RED AS A TOMATO:
I am, in fact, as red as a tomato. After the Dr. applies some Aquafor (a vaseline-like product in the drugstore first aid aisle) and gives me a mirror, I burst out laughing. I truly did not expect I'd look this bad!
The pain is there and does feel like a very bad sunburn. I'm shocked when the Dr. hands me a prescription for vicodin. Just how bad does the pain get, I ask her. She said right now is the worst. I think I can handle that and figure I won't fill the vicodin unless absolutely needed.
I sneak down the building stairway and out into my car and head home. I'm more embarassed than I thought I would be. After all, I look like a greasy tomato!
Arriving home, I get everyone used to the "new me". My 5 & 6 year old daughters stare and stare.
I take 2 Advils and check my emails. I feel the burn but it's not completely distracting. I hope it doesn't get worse as the numbing cream wears off.
2 HOURS LATER:
I look in the mirror and am amazed - my skin is pink but not red any more. I didn't think it would lighten up this fast.
The pain is completely managable - I feel burning and tightness in spots, but I definitely don't need the vicodin.
Later that Evening:
I feel burning & tightness in spots still, and it's time to wash my face with distilled water and washcloths. (2x today and 4x for the next 3 days per the Dr.) My naked face definitely feels much worse than with the Aquafor on it.
There are noticable spots that are redder and more burned than others. Under my eyes looks much less dark, but who knows if this will last?
This area has also swelled a bit.
No oozing or skin peeling, at least not yet.
I sleep with a towel on my pillow and awaken frequently. My face isn't painful, just uncomfortable. I reapply Aquafor whenever I'm awake on the spots that the towel has dried off. It feels so much better with Aquafor on!
THE NEXT MORNING:
My skin looks like I was sunburned in certain spots today. Red lines and splotches with a lot of normal color elsewhere.
There is not enough discomfort for me to even need an Advil which is great!
I take a shower avoiding tap water in the face as much as possible (the thick layer of Aquafor helps too).
I take my antibiotics and wash my skin again.
My nephew comes over and tells me I just look "like I was working out and worked up a sweat." Nice!
That's where I am right now.
I'll do my best to post a photo later and will definitely get my "before" photos from my Dr. to update this post.
I'll let you all know if it's been worth it as soon as I can tell!
Lisa
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Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:08 pm |
Thanks Lisa! I look forward to getting the next part.
kimberly |
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Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:26 am |
| Awesome post Lisa, keep us updated! |
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Sat Jul 14, 2007 5:12 am |
| LKL6411 , thanks for sharing your experience , i am waiting for your photo ! |
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Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:06 am |
| LKL6411 , how about your face skin today ? any update ? |
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Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:54 am |
| LKL6411, did you go back to work today? Would love to read an update! |
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Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:48 pm |
I have been thinking of getting a micro laser peel myself.......I can't wait to hear the rest! I hope you love your results!  |
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Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:47 pm |
| Really informative! (If doctors only knew how valuable the testimonials were!) |
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Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:28 am |
What a great informative post! I have also been considering a laser peel for lines around my eyes and mouth.
Can you see any results yet? |
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Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:25 am |
| Hope you update soon! |
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Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:21 pm |
Part II
Sorry I haven't updated my post in awhile. We've had a virus going around our house and I've been really busy with some projects at work.
Post-procedure Healing:
Two days after my procedure, my skin was pretty tight and a little itchy. It was my daughter's 6th birthday and my husband and I always take our kids out on their special day, so I decided that I'd just put extra moisturizer on that day instead of the Aquafor for the few hours we were out. We went to a "Kiddie Park", an outdoor amusement park with rides just for kids and it was a sunny day, so I wore a ballcap and sunscreen to keep my skin protected from the sun. I'd describe my skin as "slightly striped" that morning. Patches of normal-color and some red areas where the laser had obviously gone a little deeper. After about an hour, I missed the Aquafor - my skin was uncomfortably tight and itchy. But I knew we'd be home within a couple of hours and it was bearable. The only stares I got were from little kids who noticed my skin. Most adults, I noted, were busy keeping track of their kids and didn't look closely at other parents.
After the amusement park we went to Toys R Us & then to Olive Garden. At those places I just removed my hat and hoped for the best. Again, I didn't notice any stares - I may have looked a little weird, but nothing you could see unless you got pretty close.
I was glad to put on the Aquafor when we got home. Immediate relief from the tightness and itchy, dry feeling. I noticed when I washed my face with distilled water several times that day as directed that some of my skin was peeling off, but it wasn't in all areas and not a lot of skin came off.
The bad news: I was already noticing a return of my dark circles - definitely not as light as the first 2 days after the procedure.
The next morning (3 days after the procedure) my skin peeled again slightly when I took a shower. I put on Aquafor again and my skin had less redness and wasn't "striped" like it had been the previous day.
4 days after the procedure it was time to go back to work. I washed my face normally, applied my moisturizer and mineral makeup and with just a couple of spots that needed concealer, I was good to go.
The bad news: My dark circles were obviously not going to be gone.
1 week after the laser peel:
I had a follow up appointment at the Dr.'s office. She said she thought the results looked wonderful, but I was honest and told her I didn't really see much of a difference. She said my face was still healing & that more results would follow as that occurred.
My honest assessment:
Absolute & obvious improvements:
Forehead creases:
I had two fairly deep furrows in my forehead. They are not invisible, but definitely much, much lighter. I used to be able to feel the ridges when I washed my face. Now I can barely feel them at all. This has been the most dramatic improvement with the peel.
Some Improvement noted:
Pigmentation:
The freckles/age spots on my cheeks are lighter but not completely gone. I continue treating them with Obagi C-Ffectives, which I was using before the peel.
Minimal/no improvement noted:
Skin tone/evenness:
I can't say that I notice a big difference in the texture or tone of my skin. I definitely don't have a "glow" but at my age, I'm not sure that's even feasible. I do think pore size in some areas is smaller and my skin is less oily, in general, but that may be just from the drying effects of the peel.
Tautness:
Again, I don't notice a big difference.
Dark Circles:
Big disappointment, my circles are still about as evident as they've always been. When I said to the Dr. "I thought my dark circles were supposed to be gone," her response was, "Well, not completely, but they look MUCH better." Not in my opinion!
Bottom Line:
I am pleased with the improvement in my forehead lines but I could probably have achieved this result with a forehead-only laser peel and saved myself some money & healing time.
I don't view this process as having "transformed" my skin in any meaningful and tangible way.
Would I do it again? I don't think so, but in the event I haven't truly given it enough time to heal and for the "better" skin to surface, I'll reserve judgment for another skin cycle (I guess at my age, that's about 40 days). However, I don't expect the results to change a whole lot.
Regarding the pictures I intended to post, I learned subsequent to my first post that I needed to have a website to post the pics and provide access, but I don't have one so I guess I won't be able to do this.
Suffice to say, the jury is somewhat out, but I don't think the results I've achieved to date were worth $ 500.00.
I do need to qualify, though, that I have very resilient skin and maybe the Dr. didn't go deep enough to make the resurfacing meaningful. I was surprised, for example, that my peeling was so minimal. If my skins' surface were truly removed to a deep level, shouldn't I have been peeling "in sheets" like some of the Obagi folks have mentioned?
One of my thoughts is that the skin is a pretty tough landscape to alter a whole lot. I think of people I know with deep facial scars from an injury, or acne or chicken-pox scars from youth. There are limits to what any skilled Dr. can do to eradicate scars or other features of an individuals' skin in my opinion. Think of actors and actresses with unlimited budgets and access to the best plastic surgeons, products and estheticians in the business. They still have facial imperfections - each and every one of them.
I think my Dr. raised my expectations to way too high of a level and I should have known better.
Any questions, I'm happy to answer them.
Take care,
Lisa |
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Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:29 pm |
| Thanks for sharing! I think we are all looking for the magic bullet that will solve our skin problems. Right now mine is acne. But then realistically, I think of those celebs with acne probs-- like Cameron Diaz and Britney Spears, and even with all that money their skin STILL isn't great. It's mostly genetics, I think. |
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28 / Asian / oily tzone + dehydrated / Acne under control, fading acne marks. Still have clogged pores. |
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