Laser treatments for rosacea and redness.
V-beam, The misunderstood laser
If you look up “lasers for rosacea,” you will see a lot of chat about the YAG laser. While the YAG is a great multitasking device, both building collagen, and helping with spider veins, I can tell you from personal experience that its impact on diffuse redness and rosacea is underwhelming.
Yag vs Vbeam
The key difference between these lasers is the wavelength that they emit. The YAG outputs light in the 950-1440 nanometer range which is in the infrared range. These wavelengths penetrate deeper into the epidermis and stimulate collagen well but they tend to pass right on through superficial vessels. On the other hand, the v-beam emits a very specific wavelength of 532nm which is exactly the wavelength that our oxygenated blood absorbs. This makes it way more effective for rosacea and general redness because it literally targets the redness.
When you look at reviews, however, you will see that only about half think that the treatment was worth it and that you can only expect a 20% decrease in redness.
I could be wrong, but I feel like Candela, the company that manufactures the laser, dropped the ball when it came to creating recommended treatment protocols. What I mean by this is, when they began selling the laser to derms and plastics, I am sure that they trained the techs on how to use it and for what conditions to utilize it for, but I suspect that they didn’t make any recommendations for how to space out follow up appointments. Hear me when I say, THE KEY TO V-BEAM SUCCESS IS APPOINTMENT SPACING.
Here is my perfect-ah treatment protocol for the V-beam laser. Follow this to the T and you may see up to a 95% reduction in redness and rosacea over time. You are welcome!
What to expect.
The tech is going to go easy on you for the first appointment to see how you react to the treatment. Most people will experience some swelling that may last a few days. The best thing to do after your appointment is to relax, with a cool wet towel or cellulose mask in an inclined position afterwards for a little while. After a week or 2 you will notice a 20% reduction in redness.
Apparently, this is the point where Candela collected all of their data. I mean if you got a laser treatment that made you swell up for 4 days and only saw a small reduction in redness as a result, I wouldn’t blame you for the “meh” review, especially since redness and rosacea always comes back eventually.
So, what is the secret? You need to get retreated before your redness returns all the way. If you wait for your redness to return completely then you are back at square one for every laser appointment and you will only ever see a 20% reduction. This was my experience in the beginning when I went once every 3 months or so.
Then it occurred to me one day that if I went back for an appointment at 5 weeks, when only 10% of my redness had returned, I might be able to expect a 30% overall reduction in redness and rosacea afterwards.
TA DA!
This, I discovered, was how I was going to make progress to square 2, 3, 4, and on to square 8 where I saw around a 90% reduction in my redness and rosacea.
So, what does this look like as far as appointment spacing? That depends on you, your routine, and your environment but for me, as someone who is reluctant to give up spicy food and booze, I found that 3–5-week intervals between appointments yielded the quickest results. I did nose-and-cheeks at every appointment and full face and neck every other. Now that I have my situation under control, I go about every 8-10 weeks for nose-and-cheeks and only need full face and neck appointments about once per year. I no longer experience any rosacea and only occasional blushing even when I drink alcohol!!
Another thing I noticed was that when I reached a 90% reduction in redness, was that it was much slower to come back.
V-Beam Tips and Tricks:
Post appointment swelling. Most people will experience some swelling from this treatment. Those, like my younger self, with mega-reactive skin, will experience significant swelling after the first several sessions. If this is a concern for you, take 2 Benadryl 2 hours BEFORE your appointment. Not 1 hour before, not 1 hour after, not 10 minutes after, not 10 minutes before. 2 HOURS BEFORE. If you have highly reactive skin and you take your Benadryl at any time other than 2 HOURS BEFORE your first several appointments, you will look like the cat lady for a week afterwards. I found this out the hard way. If you are worried about driving, take an uber.
Barrier function and inflammation reduction: It is important that you try to preserve your barrier function and manage inflammation with the use of a quality skincare treatment regimen like illumenase. Take a few days off from your retinoid before and after your V-beam appointment and learn more about skin sensitivity and what causes it so you can make good choices.
Treatment discomfort: The laser pulse is accompanied by a puff of cold air but for me it doesn’t quite cut it. If your tech has a cryo available, ask to hold its hose. The blast of cold air is heavenly.
Cost: A full-face treatment can run anywhere from $200-$500 with nose and cheeks landing you in the $125-$250 range. I know it may seem like a big investment, but it was so effective for me, I stuck to it even when I was a poor guy in my 20's with roommates. Ask your tech if they will provide a package deal. Once you get your condition under control, treatments will be super quick and probably less expensive.
Important!. Before every appointment, your tech should ask you this question. “Have you been on antibiotics recently?" If the answer is yes, then you need to reschedule. Antibiotics change the way your skin absorbs light.
Now it’s time for you to go and find yourself a tech that has access to this laser! Please feel free to come back here and leave some comments about your ongoing experience with the treatment.
Please, go and have a quality day!
MBM
