Today I underwent my first treatment of the Ellipse I2PL laser acne treatment at the Knightsbridge salon.
As per their very detailed instructions I've spent the last four weeks dutifully applying adapalene cream every night and wearing SPF40 in the day. I'm very conscious of my skin burning, so I'm doing my best to avoid any sun damage at all, despite the unfeasibly hot weather.
I nervously approach the clinic today, with my fingers crossed that the treatment is going to be quick and painless. Well, one out of two isn't bad...
The pain of the laser on the face has been described as 'similar to an elastic band snapping against your wrist', and seeing as I'm the kind of girl who used to cry when I removed a plaster, this wasn't at all how I found it. To be frank, the pain was excruciating.
It started easily enough- I lay down on the white bed, and the lovely nurse Elize took various pictures of my face so I'd be able to see what my results were like over the course of the treatments. Next she deep cleansed the skin to get rid of any makeup and product and then she applied cotton buds to my eyes and then placed goggles over that.
Next she lathered me up with a cold conducting gel that would help the laser reach deep into the skin. The laser wasn't going to be pressed against my face- just lightly moved across the top, almost skimming across the gel as it worked.
Next step: treatment time. Bang! Despite being shut my eyes were filled with a flash of light, and a hot searing pain was felt on my chest. Bam! Again the pain and the light. Next she moved onto my face after what seemed like barely a minute on my chest.
'It goes very quickly because the laser just skims across the chest, Elize told me. 'You will see some redness though'.
The face was probably more painful than the chest, but I was surprised how much more sensitive my cheeks were than my forehead. At one point I had to ask her to turn the laser down a notch, but the whole treatment was finished in under ten minutes.
Elize then applied aloe vera gel to my face to cool it, and she showed me my reflection in the mirror. I was shocked at how red I was, but was assured it would dies down, 'Within an hour to six hours' she told me confidently, and she spoke the truth. Two hours later my skin looked normal.
Results wise, I look exactly the same, buts she told me that I'd need three or four treatments before I'd notice any real results. In the interim I'm to continue applying the adapalene cream every night and wearing a high SPF in the day.
Fingers crossed- I'll check back with you in a month!
Related: Long term treatment test: Ellipse I2PL Laser for Acne