Fractional laser experience and before + after

I had Kim K’s fave fractional laser treatment and here’s what happened

Apparently resurfacing laser treatment is Kim K’s favourite treatment. And I don’t blame her — baby smooth skin, removal of scars and discolouration. It can also help with melasma, pigmentation and will give you NEW skin! But, it’s unfortunately not suitable for brown and black skin as it can cause huge pigmentation issues. Always consult your doctor or dermatologist, I am only sharing my personal experience!

I got this treatment done at Dermoiatriki in Athens and paid around €250 for one treatment.

Preparing for my fractional laser treatment

Preparing before the treatment is important, you want to avoid any (further) irritation or disrupt the healing of your skin. My doctor advised me to stop using retinoids / tret at least 10 days before the laser. Also I told to avoid pain killers that thin the blood (like ibuprofen) and instead chose paracetamol (Depon/Panadol). Blood thinning pain relief can make the healing longer!

I went there in comfy clothes, no makeup and applied numbing cream in the car. The receptionist was THRILLED that I thought to apply it before my appointment. The doctor applied some more numbing cream.

During my fractional CO2 laser

We discussed the areas the laser would cover, as my main issue was discolouration and acne remnants she suggested we should focus on the face only. She said we could do my under-eyes (I’ve been feeling like my dark circles are getting worse) and she is against tear trough fillers for the under eyes. But we forgot to use numbing cream there and it’s a very sensitive area so we will discuss treatment options next time (maybe Dermapen).

After 15 minutes with the numbing cream, the cream is removed and skin is prepped with an antibacterial liquid (procedure specific, like the Clinisept) and we GO!!

The setting was lower for my forehead and higher for the rest of my face, as my doctor said I didn’t have much that needed to be addressed for my forehead.

At first it feel uncomfortable and it stinks. It smells like your skin is burning (because it is)! The sensation is a little like laser hair removal and like a bunch of tiny needles. The actual laser lasted for about 30 minutes to cover each tiny bit of my face.

Forehead was fine, then half of the face was okay but a little more annoying around the mouth area. After the laser is done they gave me ice packs to apply on my face. I had the icepacks on for around 20 minutes and they help a bit with burning, but then less so. After a while and when I arrived home, I was in a lot of pain. I’ve included that part in my IGTV video. It was super uncomfortable, but applying room temp chamomile tea compresses helps a lot. I need to apply that morning and night and that’s my ONLY way of cleansing for the next 10 days.

The tiny dotted needles will leave a mark for the next 10ish days.

After the fractional laser

THANKFUL for quarantine as I could not go out looking like this! First off it’s a little scary and I look weird. BUT I obviously posted about this loads on my Instagram and I don’t mind telling people about it that care about treatments.

For the first 4 days I have to apply Fucidin which is antibiotic, at least twice a day. I shouldn’t go out in the daytime for the next 4 days, not wear makeup for 10 days and not cleansing. After the 4 days I can change to a normal reparative moisturiser (she suggested this Aderma). The skin should be feeling moisturised ALL THE TIME which is why I went through two whole tubes of Fucidin in 4 days. I was also given some pills (called Valtrex) to avoid herpes around the mouth. No sweating/exercise for one week as you can’t cleanse properly and I think this is partly to disrupting the skin’s healing.

The night after my laser I slept horribly! My skin was burning, I was told to have a pain killer and keep my skin from feeling dry or tight. The chamomile compress helps a lot. The next day I’m looking a little puffy and quite red.

By day two, my face started to itch! That won’t be fun I know for sure. Just like everything that requires the skin to heal, itching is normal. I’m trying to ignore it!

By day three, I miss properly cleansing and my normal face! But my face is less red and I speak a little better. The thick antibiotic is almost done. My face is sooo itchy though!! Forehead is looking a lot better.

By the end of day 4 I can start applying the face cream which is a welcome change! The antibiotic is thick and oily and sticky so this is way better.

Days 5 and 6 were horrible in terms of itching! Because you can’t cleanse your face properly and can only ‘tap’ the cotton pad on it, there’s no way to relieve that itching. But day 6 while I was applying my face cream I could see the little scabby pieces of my skin falling off.

By day 7 most of the bits have fallen off and my face is overall more glowy. There are still areas of my face around the perimeter that haven’t scabbed at all.

Day 8 and 9 the forehead hasn’t changed, we still have the little scabby bits, on the rest of my face there are very few dead skin/lasered parts left. I now wish the laser was stronger on my forehead so that it would have healed already!

Day 10 almost all the scabs are gone but I’m continuing with the chamomile compresses and loads of the healing cream. I’m now applying more than twice a day to ensure my skin heals faster!

Day 11 and 12 my skin is looking better and better and I can probably have a proper routine in the next few days! I have naturally rosy cheeks from the laser! Day 12 I was having a little allergic reaction hence my eyes look a little weird here.