Review: Freckle Removal with Laser

If there is one skin problem I have, it has to be pigmentation. Or more commonly known as freckles. I love the outdoors (minus the heat), I love the beach, but I do not, I emphasize, I DO NOT like the pigmentation that develops after a day at the beach. 

I've always had them, since I was a kid. Other kids get tanned. I get tanned unevenly, with freckles. After I became an adult, I still get tanned unevenly, with freckles. It's just the way my skin reacts to UV and sunlight. And I've learnt to live with them, and deal with them every couple of years with external treatments. 

Yup, I mentioned I used to go for IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatments which remove the freckles. But the truth is, they hurt like a bitch (imagine someone snapping a rubber band against your face repeatedly for an hour), and most therapists do not touch the area around my eyes as it is supposedly dangerous. 

So while the rest of my face remains clear especially after my IPL treatments, the areas around my eyes just get more and more heavily pigmented. 

Whoa liao...like horror film screenshot.

You see, the way these treatments work is by zapping the spots which have developed so they surface onto the outermost layer of the skin - the epidermal layer. After which, these spots dry up and fall off. It's a little like forcing the skin to grow new cells and push the old ones out. 

This means that the pigmentation, once removed/fallen off, will not come back. What you might hear of people saying that the spots will come back is actually a result of new dark spots developing. My freckles always "come back", but those are new ones which would develop even if I had not gone for any treatment anyway. 

Thanks to Dr Zhang Yijun from The Face Aesthetic Clinic who wants to help me take care of my face (Cute hor? Taken already, you guys don't try anything funny ah~), I had the chance to take off those freckles. One more time.

Source: Google images

Spam you one more of his pictures. How often do you get a cute doctor huh?

This time Dr Zhang advised on Laser Treatment to help with my pigmentation issues. It doesn't hurt, and it's supposedly more effective. And the best part? Those freckles around my eyes and sensitive parts of the skin CAN BE REMOVED!!!!!!!!

Hoooray!!!!!!!!!!

Eye freckles - go your mother (for the foreign readers, it's a swear word that means F off)!

Look closely and you will see them. This is with makeup. Boo.

The last you will see of this face. Next time it's all freckly, or with a different set of freckle pattern when new ones develop. 

Okay now: Day 1 barefaced

Let me first apologize for the different tints in my pictures. They were due to different lighting when the pictures were taken. I've tried my best to balance it so you can see the results clearly but as I use only iPhoto, it has its limitations. 

Before treatment, no makeup: the right profile. Notice the freckles around the eyes? That's right, I don't see much here, but you will see how many deeply embedded ones there are. 

Before: Left profile.

This was the machine used. Doctor Zhang said that he will only do on a few spots to see how I react to the treatment. If it goes well, he will do for me my entire face the next time round. =D

Numbing cream was first applied on my face for about 15 minutes. If you have a very low threshold for pain, let Dr Zhang know and he will apply for you a very gao gao layer and leave it on for a longer time. 

It's a very strange feeling after the numbing cream was wiped off as I really couldn't feel my face/skin. Like my cheeks weren't mine. 

I suppose this was pretty good as I couldn't feel the laser. In fact, I think I dozed off halfway through. LOL. Not for long of course. It took half an hour? Less? And the whole treatment was done. 

So I walked out looking like this:

Eeeekssss!!!!! This was immediately after the treatment. My skin felt a little tender, but it lasted for less than an hour, and the discomfort was gone. 

Before you run away screaming "OMG I'm not going to do this!!!!", rest assured that the bumps, which were a result of the laser treatment on each freckle, went away in a couple of hours. Meanwhile....

I'm SURE you have these from the Sumatran-fire-days, which weren't very long ago. Who says you have to wait for the next fire to use it? ;)

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Day 2. No makeup. I think I look like one of those Ang Mor cartoon characters. With a lot of freckles. Like strawberry shortcake, or Archie, or someone like that. Cute right? Lol!

The swollen bumps have totally subsided, and what's left are the freckles which have surfaced! Scroll up and compare before pictures. Could you tell I had this many freckles??? They were all deep beneath the surface of the skin, and the laser treatment forced them out. Li hai ma?

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And this is Day 3:

Yup he zapped 2 freckles off my nose too.

Why I still bother taking pictures with my iPhone 4S, don't ask me. I think generally it has a better battery life than my Samsungs, but the camera, especially the front one...CMI TTM la.
(On a side note, I think the iPhone 5S camera seems really good....but let's save this discussion for another time, if I ever come back to it. >< )

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Day 5:

The freckles are starting to dry up. I can feel that they are almost scab-like now.

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Day 6:

Not I want to say, but I really think I look very cute with these VERY obvious freckles. Like I purposely drew them on. 

Of course in real life freckles don't grow like this. 

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Day 8: 

Finally!!! A lot are starting to come off on Day 8. Doctor told me 2-3 days should start peeling, but it varies with individuals. 

I thought since my skin was dry the freckles would scab and fall off faster! Plus I didn't apply any kind of moisturizer during the entire downtime. All I would have on when I needed to go out for work/meet people was makeup. Which meant loads of concealer dotted onto the black spots. Lol.

  

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And this is Day 10!

Clean face? Yes!!! 

Of course, like I mentioned, Dr Zhang only did for me a few spots, which frankly speaking, allowed me to see pretty significant results. I'm looking forward to my next treatment, and I will share with you my results for those as well. 

Post treatment, your skin will tend to be a little more sensitive. Take extra care when heading outdoors and do not forget your sunscreen. As we want the freckles to dry up and drop off, do not apply moisturiser. It might be worrying for those of you who cannot live without eye cream, but tahan for a few days. It'll be worth it.

With no foundation, only concealer for my panda eyes. 

And light makeup. Photo unedited. 

This treatment, apart from pigment lightening, also rejuvenates, whitens and brightens your skin. So you will look very clean and radiant after your freckles come off. Like me. Lol bu yao lian. \^^/

To make an appointment, visit The Face Aesthetic Clinic, or call 62236788. (Try not to swoon over my doctor.)

Disclaimer: As this is a review and not a paid advertorial, no monetary compensation was provided for this article. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone, not by or validated/endorsed/manipulated by Dr Zhang Yijun or The Face Aesthetic Clinic, Q&M or any affiliated employee thereof, and written solely for the benefit of my readers looking for an honest review showcasing factual results. Photos have not been edited to exaggerate results. Grammatical errors, intended or not, are also mine. Do note that this was my experience and your results may vary based on your individual skin condition. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, I own copyright to all material in this blog post. Thank you!

The Face Aesthetic Clinic is located at:

Malacca Centre

20 Malacca Street #01-00

Singapore 048979

Tel: 62236788