Skin resurfacing using fractional CO2 laser has a more severe downtime than my well-loved pampa-blooming TCA peel procedure. Despite this unfortunate consequence, it is able to improve my deepest & most discouraging acne scars better than any chemical peel.
But before you commit to a more aggressive acne scar treatment, you may want to check the kind of downtime this scar-busting procedure can give your skin.
Day 0: I look severely, overly, very, annoyingly RED immediately after the treatment (as shown on my first fraxel* post). Positive facial swelling. Dot marks on the skin only visible upon close scrutiny.
Self-Consciousness Factor: 4/5
I feel abnormally self-conscious because I came to the clinic with a normal-looking face and went out looking bloody red. However, since I come out of the clinic after dusk (around 7pm), I get less uncomfortably conscious about my reddened face making the 4/5 rating drop to 2/5.
Days 1-2: Less reddish but notably more swollen. Untreated areas of the skin, for some reason, look soft and nice. Dot marks still less visible but begins to turn brownish towards the end of Day 2.
Self-Consciousness Factor: 2/5
I'm still able to meet people but I'm definitely aware that they're whispering behind my back saying, "mukhang nagpaderma." Definitely not the best time to see someone you have a crush on so better be around two types of people only: those who love you for who you are and those you care less about.
Days 3-4: Burnt-look. Dotted marks start to look very brown, almost scab-like, and micropeeling around the "screen wounds" take place. Skin looks rough especially on the nose area. Facial swelling is remarkably reduced by Day 4 though.
Self-Consciousness Factor: 4-5/5
I hang around with only one type of people: those who love me for who I am. I stay home and refuse to go out by Day 4.
Day 5: Major peeling happens on Day 5. Still, I refuse to leave home.
Self-Consciousness Factor: 5/5
Days 6,7, 8: Redemption Days. Approx 90% of the scabs completely peel off to reveal better-looking skin on Day 6. The scabs that are the last to go off are those on the sides of my face, nose, and on the temples. Some dot marks especially those on the nasal area may still be rough-looking.
Self-Consciousness Factor: 0-1/5
There may still be scabs and dot marks on some areas of the face but the new skin that has resurfaced definitely makes up for it decreasing the self-conscious factor at its lowest. Still, Day 6 is not the best day to be seen by the guy who makes you swoon --- only because you want everything to be perfect when he's around.
Day 6 of Laser Resurfacing session 2: 90% peeled! Do you notice the dot marks along my lower mandible area?
.................................
This timeline is what has generally happened to my skin post-fractional CO2 laser treatment on sessions 1-3. My latest treatment, just last Thursday, yielded a quicker-paced timeline perhaps because Doctor Foronda shifted my retinoids from 0.05% to a 0.1%.
There's a catch to the early onset of peeling, though. I've never had post-fraxel peeling as unsightly as this:
Day 4 heavy peeling. Day 3 had more of those unsightly peeling scabs.
It may be a cliche but the good old saying holds very true for skin resurfacing via fractional CO2 laser: No pain, no gain. If you're ready to go through purposeful scabbing while becoming overly self-conscious for days, then you're definitely a step closer to better skin with less embarrassing acne scars!
*fraxel - I only use this term to shorten fractional CO2 laser. The Multixel machine is used for my treatment.
Thanks for sharing this. Your skin went through a very traumatic experience but it seemed to heal itself in the days that passed. Thank god! You'll look amazing in no time :)
that looks painful...and I can't take a long down time like that...you're really brave Arg :)
Thanks for sharing a personal experience. You are brave and helpful! Fantastic post.
Wow! Kudos for better looking skin :) Thanks for sharing Argie. Any recos what kind of chemical peel dapat sa mga beginners like me? haven't tried any kind of peeling before and I want to lighten pimple marks and even out my skin tone. As for my freckles kasi sabi nila kahit ipa laser ko hindi na talaga mawawala. It will lighten pero nandun pa din and may tendency na babalik so ssyang lang din.
My cousin had the same treatment last year (from the same clinic...I think) and her skin significantly improved. Great post!
@Rainy Days
I'm hoping the good results are permanent so that the skin trauma and public embarrassment are really worth going through.
@Gale
Skin resurfacing via fractional CO2 laser is painful after the procedure is done and the anesthesia has worn off.
The downtime is really grave it's best to time the treatment on long holidays.
@Grl.li
You're very welcome!
@Kath
Glycolic + TCA peel is a good combo if you want to improve and even out your skin tone. A good derma will be able to prescribe the %age for each chemical peel to perfectly suit your virgin-to-chempeels skin.
@Barbra
Oh! I'm curious to know what she thinks of fraxel, overall. I currently like the results but I'm still giving it time before I'm able to come up with a verdict.
I seem to be having a bad batch of word verification images. I couldn't read anyone one of them.
I feel like what you went through isi worth it. I've been researching about this since I met you at Figaro, and it has a whole lot of other benefits aside from acne scarring.
How many sessions pa daw? :)
@Rae
I should deactivate Captcha.
Doc wants to address pore size too but the scars have more significant improvement.
She thinks 2-3 more sessions to further target the pore size. But I think after this latest session, my skin's gotten better and I'm okay na with the results. I just need to make sure all four treatment's results are carried over for life!
Yeah, yun din ang isa ko pang naisip why I might try this. Kasi, unlike TCA or diamond peel and mga IPL, parang mas "permanent" ang effects nito, though I can't be sure unless I try it.
Anyway, I really appreciate the comment you left on my 'feeling pretty is overrated post'. I thought I was alone in feeling like that. I was writing the post, I got teary-eyed, coz it's an issue that's really close to my heart.
i feel you on the whole consciousness thing after treatment.
ako nagpa remove ng warts and syringoma thru carbon dioxide laser therapy and parang sinunog din mukha ko!
so i can relate.
and since malapit na kami bumalik dun dito sa SG when i had that done,
we had to go to malls to get stuff we will bring with us and people kept staring at me!
kaka conscious but di ko na lang sila iniintindi haha.
parang ang sakit nito ha?! ouch... all for beauty's sake talaga tayong mga gelays hehe.
how many sessions is needed to totally rid of the acne scars?
mukhang pricey ito, where did you have it done?
Wow, noticeable na ang improvement after your last session! Will have this procedure by Dec hopefully will turn out well same as yours =).
@Rae
*hugs* You've made a good use for what has put you down in the past by writing about it and inspiring others to feel otherwise. Your personal posts are always heartwarming, relevant and human :)
@Mhean
Oh wow, it must be more costly to have it done in Singapore!
Totally rid of the scars --- i might have to have 3-4 more, really. Visible pa yung scars and flawed pa rin skin ko after 4 session. But the deep scarring have definitely become more shallow.
I had it done by Dr. Six Foronda. She's such a great doc, super maalaga and very professional.
@Ralph,
Drop me a note on how you think it fared a month after your first, ha. I'm eager to know how fraxel works for others' acne scars.
Ay nope, I had it done at Belo The Fort when I was there for vacay. I'm not comfortable with the aestheticians here eh, baka di kami magkaintindihan. :-/
Where did you have yours done? Near our area lang ba, Rizal?
Thanks for sharing the pics! I had mine done at Shinagawa in Makati. Ganyan din and I spent 7 days at home. Iyong first 3 days ko grabeng swelling. I didn't have the courage to take my own pictures. This is very informative especially to people who are thinking of undergoing this treatment
@Mhean,
Oh! I misunderstood!
I had it done at 6F in Medical Plaza, Makati. Doc Six Foronda did the procedure. Ang layo noh? Trusted derma na kasi ng family, eh.
@blueberry,
thanks for appreciating! It's really hard to take photos with your skin looking really bad.
Hi' just wondering how was your skin few months after the treatment. Would you confidently recommend it for treating acne scars?
Just did the same procedure last Feb 2..We have the same experience
I'm on day 2 now..wish me luck :)
Hello, how's the result of your procedure? :-D
Hi, I would like to ask... parang light peel lang ba sya? kasi in the pictures it looks light unlike 30%+ TCA peels which are medium depth. And one more thing, can it remove ice pick scars? thanks. hope to get a reply soon. :)
Hi there! Wow, super same experience. Like yung pain sa forehead and temples na parang grabe na ung pagkagrip ko sa aking hanky! Haha. Thank you for the pics, I've recently done my first session nung Feb 12, and nung maliit lang yung results na nakita ko, I was thinking na di ko n lang ipagpatuloy yung 2nd session dahil ansakit. Then I read na di rin permanent ang pagtangal ng scars through Diamond peel. I really hope din na permanent na itong FCO2L. Meron kasi ibang procedure that others told me na it's just because of the heat, kaya temporarily raised ung deep scars kaya mukhang even. Er, sana hindi! Lol. More power to you sis! :D
Have been following you anonymously for a year already! Nakakatuwa kasi I have acne scar din and naging derma ko si dr. six, di ko lang natuloy treatment ko sa kanya (that was year 2010). Kaya kita na-follow kasi dahil sa comprehensive review mo sa mga whitening soap na nagamit mo. Hanggang sa nalaman ko na nagpapaderma ka pala, ayun gusto ko malaman kung ano feedback mo sa mga treatments nya sayo. I think our acne scars are very similar.
I am so happy na you're skin have improved A LOT! And also I can't help noticing your glowing face.
I was doubtful nung sinabi sa akin ni Dr. Six na magagawan pa paraan ung acne scars ko and mahahabol pa daw. Para kasi sa akin ang lalim na ng scars ko. The agony of hit and miss on using products. Pero ung finollow ko itong blog mo especially nung nagpa-fraxel ka, naniniwala na ako na there's a hope. Di ko naman gusto na totally mawala na sa face ko ung scars kasi ang naalala ko sabi ni doc, magiging pore size na lang siya (nung wala pa syang machine for fraxel). And all I have to do is to save money for that. I will keep on following you until you make the final verdict sa treatment! I'm so excited!
I have to say that I admire you for doing this. You give hope to people like me who are experiencing humiliation because of "our fellow" acne scar. Hopefully, permanent na nga ang effect ng fraxel.
Keep going ate argie!
♥
To the beautiful us and to gorgeousness! :)
Hey kamusta na? Any new updates on your progress? Tuloy na treatment ko this April ^_^.
thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Guys,
I just had my Co2 Laser 1st session this week April 25, 2013. We have same experienced but for me I went to the 12F Makati Medical plaza same floor of Belo office. I saw in the online internet there was a Promo for C02 laser for this skin clinic so I grab the opportunity which instead of paying 70k+ in Calayan I only payed 22k+ for all 6 session there. My first experienced was scared but I told my self every Doctor here in Makati Medical Plaza are good so I go for it! Compare to Belo and Calayan with the skin care I went-in I think the difference is artistahin ang price nila and there office space is quite small so those medical things were not organized but I consider them good with the service. My advise before you go there you have already idea of the price to avoid mislead :)With my 1st session I'm little happy there was some changes in my scars hopefully in the coming 2nd til 6th sessions and results it will be much better =)
Note: Sometimes the Doctor do the Co2 session but often there PT too. My advise let the doctor do it.
Hello, Ms. Argie!
I came across your blog while searching for clinics offering Fraxel (or similar procedures). You see, I've been having my face cleaned at Belo Med for two years na rin, and I've been advised to try Fraxel. Grabe naman kasi ang price ng Fraxel sa Belo. Php 16,000+ ang price per session, exclusive of anesthesia.
Ganyan din ang appearance ng acne scars ko, at meron ang parehong cheeks ko. I started having acne when I was 9 or 10 years old, and started getting my face "cleaned" since age 13. I haven't undergone any procedure other than the occasional cleaning since then.
I might avail of Dr. Six Foronda. Sana Php 10k pa rin ang price niya.
Salamat sa inspirasyon ha! May pag-asa pa pala ako! :-D
Hi Guys,
It's been almost 1 month already that I took my 1st session. To tell you the results it was amazing many of my office mates noticed that my face skin changes for better sabi nila kumikinis and I am becoming handsome daw ko... I noticed also my scarce are improving and I can say thank you meron ng ganito na machine. Looking forward for the 2nd session that will be much better. By the way in my case the result comes up about 2 to 3 weeks after the session.
I am happy na may nakakapansin nasa akin ngayon =)
hi can you give me the ckinic of your derma and contact number.. btw may i also know how much per session yung fractional c02?thank you! i love your blog!!!!!!!!:)
san kayo nagpa fractional co2? at how much per session
Thank you for posting your experience with Fraxel. Your skin really improved a lot.
Now I am not scared to have my fractional laser this august. It doesn't look so bad after all. I thought its gonna be bloody as Ive seen in youtube.
Im excited to get my Fraxel at D'spa this august I bought in metrodeal.
Thank you for the post.
Hi Guys,
I will have my CO2 3rd session next week of June 2013 . I wish to have a better looks after this session as many had mentioned 3rd session is the best results that could happen.
Thank you for posting!
I've had Fraxel done also and currently in Day 2 recovery.
I will surely continue reading your blog and thank you for putting yourself out there for others to see, learn from and be an inspiration to just do it! :)
Guys,
I just finished my CO2 Fraxel laser 3rd session last June 24, 2013 so far there are changes but I am not satisfied. My scars are recovering but due to deep scars in my chick I can say 50% over 100% was improved. I am considering taking a PRP session this time as mentioned by Skin care Doctor this has better result as it tightened the skin after the session.
how much po and wheres the location of the clinic.. ty
I learned that 6F now offers fractional CO2 laser at less than P8k (used to be 10k/treatment). I should go back!
Doc Six Foronda's clinic is at the Medical Plaza, Amorsolo St., right across Makati Med.
Hi Kembot and herroyalbleakness,
I got mine for P6k for 3 session in Dpa Skin care at Medical Plaza. What is the difference between Doc Six Foronda's clinic and Dpa Skin care aside from the price. I undergo four CO2 session already and I have 2 more left. I also took the PRP at same clinic but you know guys unfortunately I am not satisfied until now of the result. Still my scars are there except that my skin was "glowing/ healthier" like before as per my office mates. I don't know how this scars will fade since I wanted it since high school. I also bought their soap Glutaflex w/ moisterizer. It's been 5 days now since I'm using it and I'm monitoring my face now. Sometimes it crosses in my mind to undergo Glutathione injection also maybe it will help my face. What do you think guys? Any here experience gluta injection already? Any advise please?
May I know how's your skin right now? Can u post recent photo for us to see? thank you
@Mei Chee
I've posted photos of the results of fractional CO2 laser therapy for my acne scars. Hope that post helps you.
Thanks for dropping by!
Hi!
Where are you doing your skin treatments?
I've been doing fraxel laser treatments as well, but in Korea. When the scabs came off it definitely did not look like that. Do you think it was because it was done with a weaker setting?
I'm trying to update my progress like you are as well.
http://seoulskindiaries.blogspot.kr/