A Review
NYC
Why?:
Seeing is believing.
Another attendee at a blogger/editor beauty event with glow-y-refreshed facial skin sans makeup -courtesy of a week old- HALO Laser treatment...visually convinced us to give it a try...
What: HALO by Sciton uniquely combines 2 fractional laser wavelengths in one-'aimed' at ridding targeted areas (face, décolleté) of "superficial aging" brown sun spots, reducing pore size, improving overall skin tone and smoothing out fine line wrinkles ...with-bonus-the ability to adjust the type of treatment depending on goals and number of treatments and recovery time desired. It has the ability to target superficial and just under the surface skin layer...in a non-ablative (read that as no downtime) and ablative (requires a few days of healing) manners....not one or the other like other lasers currently on the market for skin rejuvenation.
For the science of how lasers work:
Sciton Luminaries Discuss Their Success with Halo™ from Sciton on Vimeo.)
Meaning: HALO is becoming the go to laser for more MDs-allowing the practitioner to customize the depth and aggressive of the about 20-30 minute full face procedure...even going to different levels on the same face in one session. (BTW we strongly suggest a Board Certified Doc on this...as with anything that requires some kind of numbing prior to treatment-our standard).
Another a big plus...HALO is a suitable laser for a slew of skin types...-according to Dr. Mark Schwatz M.D, F.A.C.S-where we had our treatment... from one to five on the Fitzgerald scale in his experience so far- that includes the skintones of Asian, Latin-American and Sub Asian ethnicities.
Preparation:
Laying off the Retin-A products for a week prior ( a 2 week halt is standard)...was all the prep we needed. Some Doctors, including Dr. Schwartz-have patients take a once a day for five days oral pill (before and after treatment) to prevent oral cold sores- a rare side-effect from some facial laser treamtments-even if one has never had an outbreak. We actually forgot the post treatment doses (oops) but we've never had a cold sore so wasn't on a list of worries. Having said that-it is a good idea to stick with the recovery plan-which we got in detail-prior to treatment and in a 3 pager-part of a post treatment kit (more on that, later).
The Treatment:
Located in a convenient just off Fifth Avenue location, Dr. Schwartz's office is a calming setting (always good!). From the get go-the Board Certified Plastic Surgeon patiently answered all of our questions concerning the procedure including what to expect during the laser treatment aka pain, if any. Fortunately...Dr. Schwartz is all about the comfort of his patients including the very nervous types...and spent as much time as needed- clearly describing what to expect -during a HALO session- and afterwards.
As mentioned prior, the HALO laser can be customized for treatment levels-typically Dr,Scwartz opts for a 20%-30% range for optimum, visible results....with typical recovery times ranging from 3-5 days of...redness, followed by crusty topical facial skin that looks bronze-y-to peeling that reveals the new visible epidermis skin-with deep dermal rejuvenation visible with a few weeks time.
First part of the treatment= our face was photographed by the nifty Visia camera - a techy image taker that looks like a beefed up computer work station with a chin rest. This camera's UV photography- has the ability to render images showing skin conditions visible to the eye including brown spots, redness (spider veins, acne, rosacea) pore size and texture-AND the 'layer' of skin underneath the surface-revealing generally invisible UV spots before they surface. Front, left and right images-16 in total were taken-serving up a TrueSkin Age™ of a female eight years younger, (we found out later).
And though we don't have many (any) fine lines/wrinkles (yay for sunglasses/hats)...anecdotally, Dr. Schwartz believes Halo laser also reduces redness...something we have gotten treated for. And our HALO goal was to ward off the appearance of future damage. Bonus-a TrueSkin Age™ of 15 years younger? Win-Win.
Dr. Schwartz takes into account a patient's Visia images as a guide to the strength of the Halo treatment and post procedure recommendations... and also if another type of laser-is more suitable for a client. Asking just that, he commented that Halo's dual laser treats multiple skin concerns at one time, the two laser wavelengths result in " deep dermal rejuvenation with epidermal renewal for a combined synergistic effect you can’t get with any other treatment" and promotes healing- faster "...it's counterintuitive, but it's true..." and is now his laser go to choice for a majority of his clients.
"A lot of patients come in on a Friday-and take the weekend to heal..."he added, a typical schedule decision that we might add a day to for not too public time.
Typical treatment plans for HALO- one to two more aggressive treatments or a series of lighter sessions-spaced about 4-6 weeks apart. Notably, two women who work in Dr. Schwartz's office both had two HALO treatments apiece, and by coming to work post sessions-allowed patients first hand to see how the skin heals. Needless to say, convincingly so- they both have great facial skin...!
PART TWO