I just went for my first fractional laser treatment last week and wanted to share my experience with you all! This isn’t a proper full review as I’m just penning down my thoughts and experience so far. If the results are effective I’ll probably share more again!
Clinic Name: Dr Leo Aesthetic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (Mount Elizabeth Hospital)
Acne scars have been one of my skincare issues and it has been around for the longest time without much improvement. So I decided to try aesthetic treatments to improve my condition. #notsponsored by the way!
When I arrived at the clinic, I had to sign some indemnity and registration forms, and my face was applied with numbing cream. After about what felt like a 30 minute wait, I had to wash the cream off. I think I accidentally splashed some of the water to the rest of my face and my lips actually became numb too! Nothing to worry though as the effect will only last for a while.
I was ushered into the treatment room where the doctor started the laser treatment and it lasted about 10 minutes. Having zero expectations, I was really nervous about it. On the first zap, I thought it was quite tolerable. Or perhaps, it wasn’t so bad after all. Only some parts were particularly much more painful (Not sure if the cream wasn’t applied on those areas or that they were just more sensitive). The pain felt alright partially due to the short treatment time, any longer and I might just not be able to take it anymore.
But what comes after the treatment was worse than the process. Guess I seldom experience sunburn, but this was a couple times worse than a normal sunburn. It was really uncomfortable and the pain was throbbing. Some people cannot stand facial extractions, but I’m quite used to that. This felt like a different level of pain, probably because it was also on a bigger patch of area. I couldn’t take it and took a painkiller to subside the pain. I was also given a antibiotic cream for application 3 times a day for 3-5 days.
Here’s a summary of my skin updates!
Day 1: Face felt a little swollen and looked red, but the pain subsided after an hour. The skin texture was very rough.
Day 2-4: Swelling stopped, there were obvious rough textured marks that looked like “mini BBQ pit” caused by the laser. Skin felt super dry and itchy.
Day 5: The rough texture started to peel off, sometimes I tried to lightly peel it off without force. The itchiness subsided as well.
Day 7: All the dried skin have dropped off.
So far, I have noticed that my pores have reduced in size, and the acne scar has visibly become less obvious. The marks are still there though (as a few sessions are required minimally), but based on the first session, I thought the results are really not bad!
The ‘before’ photo is with the clinic, so I’ll probably share more when I complete more sessions! This post is more about sharing my experience and the process of the treatment.
Stay tuned!
