We’ve tried laser skin resurfacing at R Clinic and it’s less scary than it sounds

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fielded a few random questions about my face by friends and family, from whether I’ve changed my skincare routine to whether I’ve had cheek implants (no, what? Are those?).

Yes, I’ve done something and I’m going to explain all the ins and outs below. But in preparation for writing this article, I first checked the guidelines for reporting on cosmetic procedures from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

These state that responsible advertising of a product or procedure provides balanced and accurate information, shows realistic results, states risk and recovery, explains that individual results vary and positively portrays the body’s normal fluctuations.

As a 52-year-old mother of two who hasn’t been able to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep since the 1990s, I feel I can give a fair and accurate report on my experience with Fractional Ablative Skin Resurfacing by a qualified doctor at The R Clinic at Belconnen. And I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (warning, if you don’t like blood, you may want to skip the pictures!).

Now I’m no stranger to various skin treatments and have done a few different things since my 40s, including lightening dark spots, broken capillaries, and several hydrofacials (a personal favorite) along the way. I have also tried an ultrasound neck tightening treatment which I liked the result. But I’ve never tried anything dramatic like fraxel, I’ve avoided skin needling (horrible) as well as anything invasive like threads. No judgement, just not for me.

The laser works over your skin in a grid (which stays there in tiny red dots for up to a few weeks.) You look like you slept on a dot printer…

This treatment was something completely out of my comfort zone. I was nervous but also eager to try something more intense than my previous experiences based on looking in the mirror and feeling, frankly, a little blah.

I saw Dr Wen because he is a doctor specializing in aesthetic medicine and general dermatology and because a friend recommended him. It gives me great comfort to know that the person holding a laser to my face is also on call in the emergency department of a major hospital and did a little neurosurgery as part of their training.

When I make my initial visit to the clinic, which is a new and luxurious little retreat in Belconnen, Dr Wen asks me how I’m feeling about my skin.

Well, overall I feel like I’m holding up well for the 52, but there are a number of little things I’m noticing more and more. These include fine lines around my eyes, thicker lines around my mouth and, to add insult to injury, the pores on my nose seem more noticeable. But why?

As for my neck, I have even bigger problems, all due to not applying sunscreen over the years. If I could go and tell teenage Emma one thing, it would be to spread SPF on top of her T-Shirt. Each. Single. Day.

Face treatment at 14 days, neck recently lasered that day. Hopefully I’ll fit in at the end of this one!

To begin the treatment plan, Dr. Wen does a scan of my skin, which is profoundly unattractive while also confirming. Turns out I’m only 45! He’s already winning!

Dr. Wen plans to attack almost all of my complaints with the one Fractional Ablative Laser treatment using the Alma Hybrid. I’ve never seen this machine before (it’s the only one in Canberra) and I’m doing some research on what it entails. To be honest, the science kind of eludes me. The ablative laser vaporizes the skin and stimulates collagen, while the non-ablative laser uses energy to heat the upper dermis and stimulate elastin. Anyway, just make me look like I slept 14 hours straight on a Swiss sanitarium and I’m good to go.

I’m told to put on a ton of Emla cream an hour before my treatment and be prepared to spend three to seven days out of the public eye.

My appointment arrives and I lay on the table wearing glasses to protect my eyes. An assistant holds a wand of cold air to blow my face while Dr. Wen gets to work with the laser. It’s a hot, stinging sensation, not pleasant but not unbearable. I then see video showing a grid system being drawn across my face and a laser going up in tiny metric dots. The worst part? The smell of smoked Emma wafts through the room. I thank God for the application of cold air and smile through it.

By the time I’m done, I’m looking pretty sunburned. My face is also incredibly tight. Post-treatment maintenance involves copious rinsing of the leather in a vinegar solution and to be honest it’s another smell I could do without. On the second day I start to swell up a bit and tiny pinpricks of blood appear on my cheeks. Also, pretty quickly I start to develop a sandpaper texture as the old skin falls off. I force myself to leave it alone, not pick at it, scratch or rub, and stay away from mirrors. I wonder how I will leave the house in the next one, when it will surely take weeks to recover?

Surprisingly, by day five I have turned the corner. I still feel like sandpaper but the redness and swelling is gone. By day seven I feel like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis – soft, cool and more even than I can remember in many, many years. That’s when people start commenting.

Pigmentation is reduced and everything becomes tighter and firmer. Bouncy even! I especially notice that the smile lines around my mouth (nasolabial folds to be exact) are less pronounced and where makeup used to settle into them by the end of the day, it no longer does.

Two weeks later I get my neck fixed. Turns out I didn’t put enough Emla cream on for the first treatment and when Dr Wen is responsible for numbing my skin I don’t notice the laser at all. Necks are much easier to deal with than faces, and while mine felt like I was stroking the trunk of the oak tree in our yard for a few days, it was easily disguised by wearing a collared shirt.

I keep getting comments about how “fresh” I look. Under my chin it feels and looks firmer.

I can’t wait to go back for the second treatment.

We leave it for a month and since I healed well, I want to start. I tell Dr. Wen to power up his machine and rip! I am covered in Emla and we do face and neck in one treatment.

I may also have gotten used to it feeling much less painful. However, I walk out of the clinic like I have my face stuck in a wood oven. I’m so swollen I don’t look like me and that night, hours after the treatment, drops of blood slowly emerge all over my face and neck. Look, it’s a little annoying to be honest. Even cats don’t want to sit next to me…

A few hours after my second treatment. I really can’t believe I’m putting this picture on the internet. If, in the event of my untimely death, this is reposted anywhere, I will come back to haunt you. I promise.

Trusting the process, I decide to take a photo for verification and then literally stop looking at myself for the next three days. Once again, my healing is extremely fast. I’ve gone from clinging to my silk pillowcase to emerging a significantly fresher face. What I like the most about the second treatment is that Dr Wen targets my nose pores and they shrink/sag/fade.

The pigmentation is almost gone and even some broken capillaries around my nose are gone as a handy byproduct of the laser. What shines most is a new stability. Indeed, to the untrained eye I could very well be sporting cheek implants! My jaw line in particular looks tighter and everything looks slightly lifted.

Writing this article after ten weeks, I am still amazed by the results.

Before and after. For me, the biggest improvement was the firmness of the skin, noticeable around my jaw, cheek and mouth.

The biggest difference is the desire to stop wearing foundation and let that new glowing face live its best life or naturally. I’ve always put on some kind of makeup and some kind of powder to go out and now I use a BB cream or even just tinted moisturizer and I love the soft sheerness of it all. Of course I don’t leave the house without sunscreen. But it’s a major departure for me, and the number of compliments I get reinforces my desire to show off my new, more even complexion. In the end, the laser has erased about 10 percent of my skin. In any case, he has turned back the clock.

Although this is a sponsored post and I did not pay for this treatment, I will return for an annual treatment to maintain the results, as is the general recommendation. At $2000 for the face and $2500 for the face and neck, it’s a significant investment, but one that shows immediate returns. I joke that I wish Dr. Wen would put me in an induced coma and do my whole body… Ok, I’m not kidding. But he has refused.

PS: My husband, who has been waking up to my face in various states of the treatment journey, booked in two weeks after I had my first treatment and had his skin done (paying the full treatment rate, FYI). He too has come out with firmer and more even skin, showing that this type of skin rejuvenation appeals to many.

Anyone considering a treatment such as Ablative Laser Resurfacing should make a visit to discuss whether this is the right treatment for them, given their skin condition and medical history. Recovery times and treatment results vary between individuals.