PART 2: A Mother-daughter Conversation at Estes Park, CO

Holding the Line
Pixel Laser Facial Treatment #1

Pixel Laser (the latest technology for skin re-surfacing and rejuventation)

I went in Wednesday morning, put on a robe and took off my make up. You can keep the eye makeup on because you are wearing protective glasses during the procedure and the laser is never near your eyes. If I had known what to expect I would have scheduled to go straight home, never mind the hair and wear something that goes on easy and not over the head.

So the first thing they did was sweep my face for the dead cells that we all have on the surface. She said it would feel like a kittens tongue as it sweeps over your skin - it did. Like a vacuum it pulled it up and took it away. It took just a minute.

Then she showed me the machine she would use and explained that she would go over my neck and face twice. I was surprised that it made a lot of noise but I think that was the hose she handed me. Not a vacuum, it was a serious flow of cold air (to offset the heat of the laser). She said if you need to, just put it on your face to cool it down. Once I realized it didn’t interfere with her job I just kept it on my face like an oscillating fan.

Now, I will admit that I was taken-aback and not prepared for the sting. I half-heard her remind me that it will burn like the combination of really bad sunburn and a nasty windstorm. It was more of the mental pictures I was thinking about that set my mind to racing, thinking “What are the lasers actually doing to my skin?”

She gave me glasses to protect my eyes and turned on the laser starting around my lower left jaw line. I didn’t know how long it would take, but I seriously hoped it would go fast… and it did. I could smell an odor as the laser moved across my skin between my nose and lip and it reminded me of the smell of teeth being drilled by the dentist.
I was glad she was talking to me to kind of keep me connected and at ease. She had a casual chatter that made me think it must be going ok. I thought to myself “How would I know?” I told her that it did hurt and she explained that it only lasts a few minutes. “In fact, by the time you get to the front desk the pain will be gone” she said. I was dubious, but welcomed that notion.

In a matter of 10-15 minutes she was done. I sat up on one elbow and asked if she would show me what the laser did. She put it on the top of my hand and turned it on for just a second or two. I saw smoke coming right off my skin (you don’t see that everyday)! Now, I understood the noise of the suction hose used to draw in the smell and smoke similar to the device a dentist’s uses.

Next she applied and ointment and advised that I go home and go to bed laying a bit more up-right instead of laying flat.

My face was deep red and I said I think I will attract a lot of attention. She advised that people leave here all the time looking like this and everyone is gets used to it!

So, there I was at the front desk, it didn’t hurt and no one paid the slightest attention. As I was driving home, I realized I was thinking about so many other things I had forgotten what we just did. If I had known that going in, I would have been far more relaxed about everything. We have all heard about hindsight being 20/20.