Has anyone done laser for scar removal?

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Jun 03 2024, 12:09 pm

I'm in my mid 40s and have bad chickenpox scars on my face since I was a child. They've been bothering me recently and I'm thinking of getting them lasered. Has anyone done this and would be able to answer some questions?

amother

Dimgray

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 12:05 am

I've thought about it but never actually pursued it to see if laser should work or how much it would be.

amother

Lemonchiffon

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 12:50 am

amother OP wrote:

My daughter did for an hemangioma on her face

amother

Amaranthus ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 1:32 am

I’ve done laser for scar removal. Best to see a board-certified dermatologist and ask him/her what your options are. There are different lasers/treatments available.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 1:38 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

I’ve done laser for scar removal. Best to see a board-certified dermatologist and ask him/her what your options are. There are different lasers/treatments available.

Thanks! I will do that. Was it a one-time treatment or did you have to go several times? And did your face look normal afterwards or should I plan to take off work for a few days?

amother

↑ Amaranthus ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 1:48 am

I needed about 4-5 treatments, and treatments were spaced about a month apart. About 4-5 days of downtime each time, and then instructions to keep out of the sun (there’s a chance dermatologist might advise you to wait until September.)

There might be other treatment options that are more suitable for your case, though (along with less downtime, no sun issues, etc.) so an initial consultation would be the best place to start.

Hope the above info is of help!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 1:56 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

Thanks! I just made a dermatologist appointment.
Can you tell me what you mean by downtime? Feeling weak? Looking bad? Lying in bed?

amother

↑ Amaranthus ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 2:07 am

Skin looked puffy and red and had a sandpapery feel. No makeup allowed, no sun exposure allowed. The sandpapery top layer sheds on day 4 or 5, after which you can apply sunblock and makeup.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 2:11 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

Skin looked puffy and red and had a sandpapery feel. No makeup allowed, no sun exposure allowed. The sandpapery top layer sheds on day 4 or 5, after which you can apply sunblock and makeup.

Wow, what does one do if one works out of the house? That's an awful lot of missed work!
Was it painful?
Are you happy with the results?

amother

↑ Amaranthus ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 2:38 am

Schedule appointment for Thursday so most of the downtime happens over the weekend.

Painful? Depends on your pain tolerance and how well the numbing cream kicks in.

Personally found it to be very much worth it. I was painfully self-conscious and would have done anything at that point in my life to
Improve my scars.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 2:47 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

Hope I'm not asking too many questions!
How far apart are the treatments?
I work Sundays so I'm concerned about missing more than my boss will allow.

amother

↑ Amaranthus ↓

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 3:13 am

Treatments are scheduled about a month apart.

Downtime depends on different factors. How your skin responds to the laser, on how high of a setting the machine is set, etc.

Also, I don’t know what kind of job you work at. If it’s the kind of job where it’s not a big deal to show up looking red and puffy for a few days.

In that case, you would just have to be super careful to and from work as far as sun exposure.

The downtime definitely adds a certain amount of strain and has to be worked around.

amother

Canary

Tue, Jun 04 2024, 3:35 am

I’ve done laser treatment for my daughter who has a scar from a burn on her body.

It gets very very red and raw u til you start seeing improvement.

Hatzlocha - definitely made a difference

light2 ↓

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 9:07 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

Would much appreciate if you could share name of doctor and type of laser used. If you prefer you can PM. Thank you!

amother

↑ Amaranthus

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 9:53 am

Fraxel laser for acne scars. Treatment might be different for chicken pox scars.

↑ light2

Thu, Sep 12 2024, 10:22 am

amother Amaranthus wrote:

Fraxel laser for acne scars. Treatment might be different for chicken pox scars.

Thank you so much for your response.
Do you know which type of Fraxel it was? Was it ablative (Fraxel Repair) or non-ablative (Fraxel Restore or Fraxel Dual)?
It’s encouraging to hear that you had good results.
If you feel comfortable you can PM name of doctor (assuming you were happy with him/her).