Day one, treatment day

After all of my researching, reading online confessions, looking at before and after photos, i decided to have my fraxel treatment done just yesterday march 20 2013. my dermatologist is from makati medical plaza in manila. her clinic is at the 17th floor, Dra. Six Foronda. she has a lot of celebrity and model clients also in fact every visit i always come across celebrities who she is also treating. she was referred to me back in 2011 and i had some chemical peels done with her before.
when you enter the clinic you'll see a variety of derma and beauty products from her shelf-

clinic from the outside.

 reception area. this is where all the prescribed medications are stored and also where the cashier is.

the television is just beside the reception area. you can read magazines or watch tv while waiting.

I came in 15 minutes early (was so excited to have it done) my schedule was at 2pm and the secretary, ate jovy said to just wait as they prepare for the procedure.
Dra.six isn't always at the clinic, she has particular hours when she's in because she's also a dermatologist in makati medical hospital. usually the secretary makes schedules based on the clinic hours of the dermatologist especially if they have new clients so that she can explain to them personally what skin type and procedures will benefit clients best..
so i sat there in their new clinic (they had an old one at a lower floor) and watched television for a while. after 15 minutes the aesthetician called me into the treatment room for application of my lidocaine  (a topical anesthesia to numb the face), it's a must for everyone being treated with fraxel since it would be very painful without it. some patients are even required to have calming tablets before the treatment so that they wont get fuzzy or nervous when it is being done. maybe those patents are the ones who have anxiety, they are required to be relaxed during the procedure. i didn't need those drugs.
i had to wash my face first they provided me with a cloth head band to put on so my hair is away from the face. then i had to lay down so the aesthetician could put the cream on my face, she spread it all over even under my chin and then wrapped it with a plastic paper and put tape on it so it won't fall off. yes i felt like i was a meal being prepared wrapped up and ready to go lol
after being wrapped up, i was told to wait 45 minutes to 1 hour for the effect to take place and so i just watched television while waiting.

please don't mind my lovely fly away hair going static everywhere, they're just as excited as i am lol i just had the cloth head band removed.

i think 20 minutes into the lidocaine i already started to feel numb at my lips and upper eyes, it was a weird drowsy feeling.
after one hour i was asked to wash my face again and wipe it with tissue and lay on the bed. when dra.six arrived i was already prepped and waiting in the treatment room. she arrived with a celebrity's sister and mom (i don't want to mention who) they were getting botox and laser treatments as well.
she came in the treatment room and took a look on my skin, she said it's more of large pores that's the issue plus some scars. she also said a lot of people are getting addicted to the fraxel because it has the ability to remove all skin imperfections in just 2-3 sessions.
as we were getting started she put something on my eyes to keep it shut, i think it was a wet cotton pad or something. she turned on the fraxel machine and told me we were starting the procedure. she did a test on my upper cheeks i think this was a test to see if i could feel the laser. i didn't feel the first try at all, so i think she increased it twice and then i started to feel the tingling sensation on the test spot. it was a weird feeling actually i cant explain, it's like tiny water spritz, tingling sensation, small current or zapping feeling. weird weird but it was not painful at all. i was expecting something really dramatic and painful. i think she went 4 passes on my pores and scars and once or twice on my whole face. i'm not sure what the basic procedure requires but i was satisfied. a little surprised at the pain, well it was painful when the laser would hit (the fourth time it was like just a split second per hit, super fast) but once it was over it didn't hurt at all, tolerable. i didn't know also if i needed to feel the pain or not because from what read online people say it's very painful, i wouldn't say very with it it was just painful for a while. i also noticed since it's my first ever laser treatment, the smell of burning skin that was also so weird for me. it was like the smell of going to the dentist and having cavities removed, similar smell i think. i can't describe it, it's a weird smell. while dra.six was doing the procedure she kept talking to me just to make sure i was ok. she told me about the debut of julia montes (a local celebrity, she's also a patient of dra she was also a guest) and how pretty and handsome all the teenage celebrity guests were compared to how they look on television.
after she passed the laser about twice on my chin and nose plus one pass on my whole face, she did one last pass (4th) on my cheeks it was more painful now but bearable (i think) cause all that was going on in my mind during the procedure was "no pain, no gain" or as they would say in tagalog "tiis ganda". that was the last pass done. i felt kinda bruised but it was ok, i also felt that maybe i should have added one more pass to the cheeks so that it would be more intense.
When we were done, Dra.six then explained what to expect in the coming days- skin will feel and look sunburned plus the peeling would normally start on 3-4th day so i was advised to leave it alone and don't try to peel off the scabs. the peeling will be done within the week and results will be fully seen within a month. absolutely no sun exposure at all is allowed so i need to stay home for at least a week or two. she then handed me these ice rollers to cool down the burning feeling (which i didn't feel much). when i got up from the bed i was surprised to see my face was all red and i did look sunburned and somewhat swelling.

i also came to realize my true skin tone i was a yellow base I've never seen my true skin tone as dra.six would say "you have the skin tone of a Chinese" . now i see why people always mistake me for one.

this is the fraxel machine they used on me. i would call it a miracle machine lol
after i think 30 minutes of ice rolling the redness was still there so dra.six told me to wear sunblock because it was so hot outside and the sunblock would also help in concealing the redness because it's a matte formula. i was given a toner, retinol, face wash and a sunblock for post medications. i was advised to begin using them after 24 hours. i was not allowed to wet my face before 24hours. the toner was only to be used after the 6th day since the peeling will be almost done then.

upon arriving home (i'm from quezon city) one hour post procedure, i started looking and scrutinizing my lovely, swollen, poka dot face. i didn't mind it. my oh my was i amazed to see the results on my freakin' nose! absolutely baby skin i had no white heads, black heads and the age spots disappeared! i was so freaked out and happy! I've never seen my nose this clean, shiny and smooth!

you can still notice my pores on the cheeks and it still looks sun burnt. if the results are going to be the same as my nose oh my lord, i'm gonna be so happy!
this photo is one hour post procedure.
in my next blog ill provide before and after photos. i think this one is becoming too long. :)
please do follow me on my journey to achieving beautiful skin.