A TV host came to see me in the office recently, asking for help with blotchy redness and broken blood vessels on her face. Although she's usually diligent about sunscreen, she'd started playing beach volleyball every weekend this summer, and she'd ended up with a couple of sunburns. she was horrified to see a slew of red spots all over her nose and cheeks. Since her face is her livelihood and she can't take much time off from work, we decided to do a photofacial. This is a noninvasive laser treatment that uses flashes of light to help shrink tiny blood vessels that cause the redness. Here's what it's like to get a photofacial laser treatment: There is also
Laser Painting with the Sciton for capillaries.
First, I gave my patient goggles to protect her eyes; then I applied a thin layer of cold, clear gel all over her face. While my assistant held a cold fan, I treated my patient's entire face with a series of light pulses. As with most lasers, each pulse feels like a quick, hot sting. I tell patients it feels like a small drop of hot oil that jumps onto your skin when you're cooking — annoying but tolerable. The whole procedure took about 20 minutes. Afterward, my patient looked and said she felt as if she had a mild sunburn — a little pink and warm, but not uncomfortable. She applied sunscreen and was able to resume her normal activities.
I told her that over the next few days her skin would feel a little sensitive, so she should avoid anything abrasive, like scrubs and washcloths. Otherwise, she could shower, wash her face, and wear makeup as usual.
She had a few freckles, which the photofacial instantly turned smaller and darker. In a few days they would look like tiny specks of black pepper, and within a week they would fall off.
For best results, most people need three to five treatments, spaced a month apart, so we made an appointment for the following month. In the meantime, my patient promised to use sunscreen and products like HEALING SERUM and DAY 25 moisturizer to help reduce redness and protect her new investment.
Thank you,
Melanie Vasseur
vsskin.com