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Having been able to remove a few sun spots with a laser a long time ago (15 years?), without them coming back, I decided to visit my dermatologist in Vietnam to remove the sun spots that have taken up residence on my face since I have been traveling nonstop (and especially in hot and sunny countries).
My dermatologist recommended the PICO laser, which has a 7-day social isolation period. Before the laser, I was given an anesthetic cream to leave on my skin for 20 minutes. During the laser session, I felt a little of tingling and a burning smell, but it was bearable. I would say it’s less scary than a dentist appointment 🙂 Just after the treatment, a cold mask was applied (it felt good) and then I went home with my skin all red like I was burned.
After this session, scabs started to form on my skin. I wasn’t allowed to wash my face, so I stayed at home and just washed the skin around the scabs with cotton pads. My dermatologist gave me a cream to apply to the “wounds” for the first 3 days. Once the scabs turned darker and harder, I could wash my face again, but very gently and quickly.
During that time, I wasn’t allowed to eat seafood, red meat, or chicken… I just stopped eating meat.
Neither my dermatologist nor I knew why my social isolation lasted 10 days instead of 7 days. The scabs had a hard time coming off on their own. My dermatologist gave me extra hydrating masks, which helped a lot.
Here is my face right after the laser (red and I was in pain when the anesthetic cream stopped working), then 3 days, 6 days, and 9 days later.
I found this photo more telling: before I had spots on my nose and after the laser, they are gone, I don’t know if you can see it well.
All of this cost me €80 in Vietnam. I imagine it must cost more in France, but I haven’t checked the prices.
In any case, I found the skin fragile after such a treatment. I had to put twice as much cream on afterward. Some of the scabs, after falling off, are pink and you have to be doubly vigilant so that they don’t become darker than before. In short, I found the maintenance after the treatment more restrictive than the treatment itself (which only lasted an hour). At least one year after the treatment, you need to apply SPF50 every day!!
I recommend it if you can avoid the sun, but if you continue to be regularly exposed to it, like me, know that some spots may come back.
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