Q-Switched Ruby/Pico Laser Session

If you’ve been following my laser treatment journey on here, then you know I finished up my last V-Beam Laser treatment last month. To briefly recap, back in August I started getting V-Beam Laser treatments once a month to get rid of scarring caused by blemishes that had accumulated over the years. V-Beam is only for redness, so once that was taken care of over the course of 5 months, I was left with brown spots. These were there already, but made more visible now that the redness was gone and according to my doctor the red really masks a lot of other little imperfections.

So last Wednesday I went for my first Pico laser treatment. Well, they told me it was Pico but they also interchanged the name with Q-Switched Ruby Laser – I don’t really know the difference or if they’re the same. But with a good internet search I read that both Q-Switched Ruby and Pico can be used for acne scars and things like tattoo removals. Anyway, this is to get rid of the brown spots. I have one sort of large brown spot that I started noticing about halfway through my V-Beam treatments and it’s been bugging me!

This laser felt similar, but was different than the V-Beam. It felt like the bursts were much quicker and it felt lighter. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve had a laser treatment, but it’s almost like the touch was lighter but it felt a bit more intense. As with the V-Beam treatment, my eyes were covered but this time I saw flashes of red whereas with the V-Beam I saw sparks.

This treatment was short just like the V-Beam treatments. It’s all over within minutes. My face felt warm, but I wasn’t in pain or dying to get some ice on my face so either this was less intense than the V-Beam or my face is just used to it now!

The doctor told me that I may notice my skin around where the spots are getting dry and flaky. That’s normal and not to pick at it – just let it flake off. The nurse said I could use Vaseline or Aquaphor to keep my face moisturized for when it flakes. The nurse applied Vaseline on my face with a q-tip and I was on my way. I did reapply Vaseline to my cheeks later that evening, but haven’t since. My face was a bit tender the next day and I did notice a few blemishes pop up on my cheeks in the day or two following, which I think was a result of it being irritated plus the lubricant I was slathering on my face! But they were very short lived and my face felt normal a day later.

I have not noticed any flaking, but the brown spots do look more faded since last week. The bigger spot isn’t totally gone, but it’s definitely lighter!

I forgot to take a proper before photo that day. I remembered when I was in the waiting room, but it was awkward to take a selfie in there with other patients! But I figure you see my face pretty regularly on here and on Instagram!

I did take a photo as soon as I got to my car though so you can see how my face looked just minutes after the treatment. Then, I took photos the next day (Thursday). Again on Saturday. Lastly, yesterday – 5 days after the treatment.

I tried to highlight the side of my face that has that larger brown spot so you can see that it is getting lighter.

So, again, I didn’t experience the flaking that the doctor said was common. I guess everyone’s skin is different. She did say that that first session may be the only one I need, but that we’d assess in a month. If it keeps getting lighter then I’m good with one session. I know my skin will never be absolutely perfect. But if it stays this shade, I would be open to doing one more session. After this, I may tackle texture, but we’ll see!

I’ll let you know next month what’s next!