Laser Freckle Removal

If you know me, I have been hating my freckles for a bit now. I hate it to the point where I want to get rid of them! People say my freckles are cute and makes me unique, I don't think so, at least not on me. It makes me look old! (it's not on you, of course you won't know how I feel) I still want people to think I'm in university (forever) lol (people still think I just grad high school or in uni with my freckles...). My freckles aren't too bad, I have seen people with more and darker ones but I think I have a lot compared to my friends. I don't think any of my friends have it, only one or two dots?

I love walking around in the sun, I'm not like those girls/women (OMG sun! Use hats, umbrellas, gloves, etc). I may become one of them soon...not like I want to. When I was young, I never used sunscreen because no-one at home used it (they don't have freckles...and my mom doesn't even use any skincare and she has nice skin). I started using it some time during university because I started seeing a lot of freckles and I start meeting friends that are crazy with skincare. I learned a lot from one of them (haven't seen her for ages) and that's when I started my skincare routine. Being a girl sucks sometimes, we have to spend so much money on keeping ourselves pretty (so much products sitting around in my room). Well, we don't have to but who doesn't want to be pretty? And who are we being pretty for? Hm...?

Consultation
Anyways, I decided to get laser removal. That's the most effective way to get rid of them. I have tried over the counter products, I still see them there... A few people that I know went to this clinic before for freckles/acne problems. So, I went for consultation that cost $60 (I heard her say $50 over the phone...). Had to fill out a form, phone number, emergency contact info, health history, what is your concern for coming, done any treatments, etc. Then they took 5 different angle pictures of my face, I guess so I can see the before and after pictures if I'm not satisfy? I felt like I was getting plastic surgery or something LOL! Then the receptionist was asking me questions that I have answered on the form already... Told me the cost ($380/ treatment) and what kind of laser or light therapy thing that they are going to use on me (IPL laser). She said usually after one treatment, I will see result but sometimes may have to do more. Then the doctor came and pretty much repeated what the receptionist said...

They said they will put a numbing cream on my face for an hour before the treatment. It's not gonna hurt but I will feel this heat and see this bright light (even when they cover my eyes). I asked a friend, will I drool? (like at the dentist lol), she said no. She also said "even if they put numbing cream, she can still feel something..." My cousin said "it's not as painful as laser hair removal", I hope so.

There were lots of waiting during the consultation and I was so tired from work, I was like falling asleep when I waited for the receptionist and the doctor. There was also a deposit fee of $190? She said I get them all back when I do my treatment, so I guess it's part of the $380 but they are just charging me now? So confusing. The receptionist gave me a list of don't do's before and after the treatment. Have to buy a mild cleanser and a bunch of sunscreen just to prepare for this laser (You don't have to but I want to be safe)... The receptionist said I have to reapply sunscreen every 2-3hours even if I don't go out. Seriously? How do I do that if I have make up on at work? It's gonna ruin it. *sigh* I'll find a way...

Laser Treatment (no pictures, too ugly lol)
Before the laser begins they took 5 pictures of my face at different angles again. Then they took me to this room, put this numbing cream on my face then they put plastic wrap on top of it. Then they moved me to another room. Had to wait an hour in this room with this relaxing type of music, almost put me to sleep. During the wait, my face felt kind of cooling and tingling, sting ish. I looked like I had a mask on.

After an hour they took me back to the same room as before. They took off the wraps and numbing cream. They went through a consent form and asked me to sign. Then they covered my eyes with two cool feeling things. The doctor came in then they started putting this cooling cream on me. The doctor notified me he is gonna do the first zap. I didn't feel anything. Then after a few zaps he stopped telling me when he would zap me. So every zap onwards was a surprise. I didn't know where he would zap next.

The whole process wasn't painful but I did feel like a snap on the face, mainly the freckle parts of my face. I smelled smoke when they zap my freckles. Sometimes I would twitch because I don't know where he is zapping and those area felt more of the snap feeling. The darker the pigments/freckles/hair the more painful it is. I knew how it would feel and everything before going so I wasn't afraid or anything. I also realized my senses were better when my eyes were covered. When I smelled the smoke, I felt like I could see the smoke (also saw my veins near eye area). I can tell if it's the doctor or the nurse(?) that walked off and coming back.

After the laser, the doctor said I should use these cleansers/serum and prescribed me this thing for my jawline acne which I'm having trouble with. I felt like they were making me buy stuff but then I kind of want to try and see if those products will help me. Those products were expensive, way more expensive than my normal skincare products. Oh well, I won't buy again if it's not good.

The whole process (waiting + laser) took about 2 hours. It's quite time consuming, especially the numbing part. My face felt so stingy (burning) afterwards for at least 2 hours. My freckles looked 100 times darker than normal and a bit red near my cheeks. The other parts of my face looked so white. Made me look so weird and ugly. =( The freckles were so dark it reminds me of Pippi Longstocking (cartoon version).

Days After Laser
They said the freckles will get darker then it will fall off eventually (7-10 days and 3-4 weeks for it to fall off completely). I can't wait till they fall off! I think it look so horrible that I don't even want to go outside. I stayed home for 4 days straight.

Day 5, didn't even want to go to work. I'm sure people at work can tell the difference because it's so dark but no-one said anything.

Day 6, my face felt dry and rough. Wanted to just scrub my face but I'm not allowed. It was rough because the freckles are starting to fall off.

Day 8, that's when I start to see the black freckles disappearing, yay!

Day 10, the scabs pretty much fall off already, still a few dark ones on there. =( But overall, I have a much clearer face than before. =)

2 and a half weeks, my skin is back to normal and I can use my regular skincare products. Friends said I look better. 95% of the freckles are gone but to me I think there are still some marks but very light that can be covered with makeup. I do plan to do it one more time to make it perfect. Who doesn't want to be perfect? I won't be doing it anytime soon though.