Ok, I am not talking about some traumatic life experiences that I have gone through, but rather the physical scars I carry on my face due to my very bad acne during my younger days. There are different types of acne scars such as boxcar, ice pick, and rolling scars and guess what? Damn it, I have all of them and I even had an aesthetic doctor tell me before, straight in my face that "Erm, your face ah, difficult." In any case, I have also never looked into any treatments for my scars because since married already, with 5 kids some more I think no need liao lah.
But hor last July, I actually got the opportunity to try out some rather fanciful acne scar laser removal treatments in consultation with Dr Gerard Ee from The Clifford Clinic. Straight from the onset, I went with an open mind and with not much of an expectation, especially after my earlier first experience with an aesthetic doctor. But Dr Gerard was quite positive though and worked out a schedule of different treatments for me to try out, and we agreed to just see how it goes. I was thinking to myself, no harm trying too, since my face can hardly get any worst lol...
Infini Acne Scar Treatment
The Infini acne scar treatment was first treatment that Dr Gerard performed on me. So what this treatment does, is to penetrate deeper into the dermis so as to stimulate the production of new collagen fibers so as to "level" the skin.
I tell you hor, this treatment no joke. I had numbing cream applied to my face and was forewarned that it can be a little painful. Of course I was scared lah, but had to act brave as I sat in the chair. So the good doctor went one round my face with the laser and it felt like someone stapling my face softly with a bunch of microneedles. Can tahan, a little discomfort at this point only.
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| I look very cool and collected but I think I was 'luning' nia... |
Ok what... not pain leh I thought... Until he started going over my face the second time and then the third time, going deeper and deeper each time. By the second time, I think I was already struggling to keep a straight face and was so glad once the treatment was over. Miraculously the treatment only left my face reddish leh and I was already ok by the third day.
PICO MLA Laser Treatment
I felt more relaxed this time round, after going through Infini, which was supposedly the most painful of the lot I was going to try. And yes, it was definitely not as painful as Infini and I only felt minor discomfort. However I was told not to be alarmed by how I looked after the treatment and I was told not to share photos of my face somemore lor!
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| For this treatment I need to wear safety googles, looking much like Ultraman ya? |
Ok take my word for it, PICO MLA acne scare treatment confirm got downtime. Expect bleeding which would stop soon after the treatment and for scabs to form. In fact my kiddos got a scare when I was home from the first time of trying it. The laser treatment is supposedly great for enlarged pores, fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin texture and acne scars.
Edge Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment
Fractional CO2 laser was the last type of treatment I tried, which is meant to trick your body into producing collagen by zapping your skin with lasers. There was minimal discomfort experienced but being able to smell your own skin being burnt can be quite an experience. As scary as that sounds, it is really the mildest treatment of the lot.
This is indeed the least painful of the 3 treatments and you can see the grid-like marks left by the lasers.
What I loved about the very short treatment, is that my face suddenly does not produce as much oil as before for at least a few days after treatment. I can feel minimal scabbing, with only raised dots at fixed intervals. If it does really make the skin produce collagen hor, I really wouldn't mind going for regular fixes!
Does it work or am I scarred for life?
To be absolutely honest, I never expected just 6 treatment sessions to have a very impactful change to the 'weather-ravaged pockmarked' face I had since teen. I am already used to friends making fun of my face by comparing me to Mark Lee, but hey guess what? His complexion also improved quite a lot over the years and was also seeing Dr Gerard too.
I had only undergone a total of 2 sessions for each of the 3 different treatments over the course of half a year. And my wife commented that some of the scars does seem to be less obvious, especially the shallower ones. I honestly cannot see the difference myself, because I see my face everyday leh but the clinic did take photos every time I visited and yup, you can see for yourself in the before / after photos.
I am of the opinion that for people with deep acne scars like myself, it is already considered very good if treatments can lighten the appearances of the scars. Any effective treatment would likely have to be a long drawn process, if one needs very visible improvements. After all, if Mark Lee is still undergoing maintenance to date, I probably need even more sessions lah! Aiyah, if my wife can love a face like mine, I am happy already. Besides, there are also lots of photo editing apps if one needs any touch ups lah!
The Clifford Clinic is located at 24 Raffles Place #01-04, Clifford Centre Singapore 048621. You can reach them at 6532 2400 to schedule an appointment.
