We're all on the hunt to get that perfect, camera-ready skin and one of the latest methods helping us to get there is a laser treatment known as PicoSure. Laser skin treatments are nothing new, but the latest player in the game is helping to tackle a bunch of different skin issues and concerns.
The lovely ladies at Skiinsure Laser Clinics in Newcastle were kind enough to offer me a series of PicoSure treatments and let me test this new procedure out for myself.
Firstly, what is PicoSure?
This treatment can tackle a range of things including pigmentation, tattoo removal, scarring, acne, fine lines and wrinkles, sun spots and enlarged pores. For spot and tattoo removal, Picosure is the fastest technology on the market. By delivering ultra-short pulse bursts of energy to the skin, it shatters the ink particles and allows the body to quickly absorb the pigmentation.
When getting PicoSure on your face, due to the nature of the skin in that area, it tends to more reactive to the treatment and works a little quicker than on other parts of your body.
If you're looking to book yourself in for a treatment, an important thing to note is you should try and stay out of to much intense, direct sunlight two weeks prior to your treatment. If you've had a burn or some redness as a result of sun exposure beforehand (particularly in the shoulder area) it's not advised to get laser as it can just make the burn worse.
Now onto the actual treatment. After sitting me down and chatting me through all the points I basically just shared with you, Sarah (my technician) started by cleansing my face and putting on a light enzyme peel. Whether you wear makeup to the appointment or not your technican will do these steps just to make sure your face is completely clean before the procedure.
As someone who's never had a facial or any similar sort of treatment before, it felt really nice to be pampered and the scents of the products she used were amazing!
I've had a skin laser treatment in the past (the name of which I can no longer remember) but I found the PicoSure to be much more intensive than my previous experience. This treatment was also conducted over my entire face whereas as my last experience only targeted my t-zone.
I'm sure the big question everyone is wondering is, does it hurt? As someone who has a fairly low pain threshold, I feel that if I say it's bearable, most people shouldn't have a problem with it. Remember, you are having a hot laser run over your face, so it's not exactly the most comfortable experience, but it is certainly bearable and I think most people would get through it no problem. I found the areas near my eyes and nose where quite sensitive, and the most sensitive was around my lips and upper cheek area.
In terms of heat during the process, I could definitely feel my face warm up, but by the time the second side was done I felt that the heat had subsided substantially on the first side she did. You do also get to hold a cooling tube during the process which you can bring to your face if it is getting to hot for you. Also, of course, if it's getting to much at any point you can ask them to stop and give you a little break.
In terms of aftercare, you need to avoid any cleansing or skincare routine that night and stick to simply running your face under cold water if you need a rinse and just applying the cooling gel they provide. By the next day it's usually fine to use a gentle cleanser and moistuser, but it's best to avoid serums, masks and any sort of exfoliant for a few days to give your skin time to settle. It's also best to avoid wearing makeup for the rest of that day and night (gives me the perfect excuse to stay inside and watch Netflix). Depending on how your skin reacts, it's normally fine to pop a little on the next day, but if you can avoid it for another day that's only going to better for your skin.
Also, remember to PUT ON SPF for the days following your treatment. You're skin is quite sensitive after the procedure, so applying SPF to your face, no matter how short a time period you're planning to head into the sun is super important!
Speaking of staying out of the sun, it may be given, but it's best to stay away from direct sunlight for the rest of the day following your treatment. Your face will look quite red, so if you're like me, you'll be wanting to avoid to much human contact as possible anyway, so this usually isn't an issue.
Sarah and Shannon (my trusty photographer and videographer during my first session) were absolute angels. Sarah explained everything to me and answered all my questions. Afterwards we bonded over our love of Dysons, piercings and our incompetence with iPhones.
That night my face was still a little red when heading to bed, but nothing more than an extremely mild sunburn.
By the next day I was still a bit red, mainly under my eyes, but it wasn't anything a little BB cream couldn't cover.
In the few days following, my skin definitely felt a bit textured on my checks and around the frame of my face. I also experienced a bit of breaking out on my chin (which had been a problem area for me at the time anyway) and had some little bumps above my eyebrow which went down in a day or so and really weren't that noticeable. However, my skin really started to calm down after about a week.
A few days into the second week following my first treatment I felt like I began to notice the pores on my cheeks near my nose started to minimise, however it can take a good six weeks to begin to notice results, with the results continuing to develop for the next six months. So if you do give this a go and you get to your second treatment and don't feel like you've noticed any massive differences yet, that is completely normal.
I booked in and went for my second appointment four weeks later and this time I was in and out a little quicker, as Sarah didn't need to reexplain the procedure or aftercare process for me.
As I'm writing this, it's now the second day following my second treatment and the congestion pimples have started to come back again, but I know my skin will settle down by the weekend.
So my final thoughts on the treatment:
I think it's still a little early for me to say whether or not this has actually worked for me; as I mentioned it can take a couple of months for results to become noticeable.
I have booked in for a third treatment, where I will get another set of photos and I plan on keeping you updated on whether I'm starting to see any changes, which I expect I should be by the third treatment, even if they're only minor.
What I can say though is that I haven't had any bad reactions to the treatment, it's a procedure that is certainly bearable to undergo and the girls at the Skiinsure Laser Clinics in Newcastle are amazing.
Watch this space for further updates.
