Hi I'm Dr Monica
and today we're going to be doing a
split face trial, on our lovely patient here, Sue.
We're going to be basically treating half of Sue's face
with a Fraxel laser
and the other half with a TCA peel.
So today we're gonna be addressing some of
Sue's concerns, such as Pigmentation and Solar Keratosis
or the brown spots that you can see.
And some of the fine lines and wrinkles.
The side that we're going to be treating with the Fraxel Laser
which is on her Right side.
We've applied a numbing gel and that stays
on the patient's skin for up to 40 minutes.
This is to help the patient stay comfortable while the
treatment is being performed.
On the other side, which is the left side of Sue's face,
we're going to be, um, treating this side with TCA peel
and um generally the TCA peel is
more, um, comfortable
and the reason we don't apply the numbing gel
is something it can effect the
effectiveness of the treatment itself.
So, a Fraxel laser is a fractionated laser.
and what it means is it's basically going to fire laser energy
in columns into your skin.
The benefits of having a fraxel laser is, because there's
areas of skin left being untreated, this actually
aids in the healing and recovery process.
The other benefit of having a Fraxel laser is that
it is less operator dependent.
therefore minimising the variability in the treatment outcome.
The benefits of having a TCA peel, it is a
fairly simple and quick procedure
and it doesn't require any laser machines.
So we're going to start treating Sue's right side of the face
with the Fraxel laser
and I'm going to start with her forehead
and what this is doing is laying down dots of laser energy
one of the other benefits of using the Fraxel laser is
that we can, um, change the setting to treat areas where
there's scarring.
What this does it helps organise collagen in the
scar for better healing and also a better aesthetic outcome.
now we're going to move on to the TCA peel
and what I'm going to be doing now is just using
some acetone on Sue's left side of the face
to degrease her skin.
So now I'm going to start applying the TCA peel on Sue's left side of her face.
So now that we've finished with treatments on
both sides of Sue's face, um, we look forward
to seeing Sue in a couple of weeks time and we will
then see which side of the face has shown a good
improvement with both the different treatments.
This is I guess day two, and um, as you
can see I think, I guess the red, the right hand side
of my face, the Fraxel side is a little bit redder
and it feels puffier and more swollen
And the TCA side of my face is, just feels a bit tight.
but definitely no where near as red.
So I haven't put any bepanthen on yet,
I've just washed it. But I'll keep you updated tomorrow
and do a day three video. Bye.
Okay so, day three, so I've had the TCA on the left hand side
and the Fraxel on the right.
This morning I woke up my face was really tight
and still quite swollen on both sides
the TCA side feels tighter,
definitely more tighter.
The Fraxel side is just a little redder I guess and still
definitely more swollen, especially around the eye area.
I've got some slight peeling starting to happen
um, but otherwise it's not painful, just a little uncomfortable
and I certainly don't want to go out anywhere or see anyone,
or have any heat on it particularly.
This is shiny because its got bepanthen on it at the moment
but bepanthen definitely makes it feel better.
So yeah, that's day three so I will keep you updated.
Okay so this is day three still.
and I just thought i'd give you another update.
I've just washed it, ah, it's just in the middle of the day
just thought I'd give it a wash and a bit
of a cleanse and I haven't
put the Bepanthen on yet but I wanted to show the
You can see how this side is kinda pulling quite tight
But how this side is just sort of red and puffy.
So, it's quite a different result
but I'm really looking forward to the outcome to see
what the difference is and then, ah
to get it done again, on the flip side, so
get the process reversed.
Um, it feels good as I said
It's not really painful, it's just tight.
Um, can't really smile that much but um,
it shouldn't be too long, it's starting to peel a bit more now.
So yeah, I'll continue the updates.
So this is day five I believe, I didn't do a video
yesterday, I forgot.
Um, as you can see though
the um,
the redness has gone down a fair bit, it's still
a bit red, and definitely where um,
the skin is starting to come off
there's little red patches.
Um, it's sort of flakey and peeling
on the TCA side.
And the Fraxel side is just sort of, hmm,
a bit scabby and coming off in little bits.
and um, it just sort of looks and feels like sunburn.
There hasn't been much itching at all
it's not painful at all
and I'm using the bepanthen everyday.
The skin underneath, where it's starting to peel
is um, really really soft.
So it'll be interesting to see how it goes and what the result is.
So that's day five.
Okay so this is day six, which is
Sunday, I had the treatment on Tuesday.
Left side of the face is TCA right side is Fraxel.
The Fraxel side is, ah, definitely still more pink
um, and the TCA side is probably a bit more uneven,
as in tone and colour.
Most of the peeling has stopped and
it's not, ah, sore, it's not even itchy.
Um, and I'm still using Bepanthen on it
but the skin is really really soft so,
hopefully this is a new start and um, yeah.
I'll keep you posted.
So it's Tuesday, 1 week exactly since I've had the procedure done.
Left hand side TCA, right hand side, is um, Fraxel laser.
The Fraxel laser side is still a little pinker.
but, ah, it seems to be more even.
The TCA side certainly never got as swollen.
it seems to be a little bit more blotchy
and has taken a bit linger to finish peeling,
but all in all, it's not too uneven.
but yeah, I look forward to seeing
continuous results.
I'm going to put make up on today for the first time.
So, Yay!
So today's Thursday, it's a week and
two days since I've had the treatment done.
TCA on the left and Fraxel on the right.
The um, TCA peel, I don't think its quite as
effective yet. Although i guess it's a bit ealy to tell
because I've not fully recovered
Still some redness, ah, certainly
on the Fraxel side there's
more pronounced overall redness.
on the TCA side it's more, ah, blotchy I guess.
But I don't think it's gotten rid of as many
fine lines as the Fraxel.
but as I said, remains to be seen.
So, i'll keep you posted.
My skin feels really soft and smooth.
and it's definitely healed very very well.
It healed really quickly.
Um, the amount of solar keratosis and dry skin has definitely reduced.
And it just overall feels a lot brighter, a lot better.
The difference between both sides is very minimal
ah, between the TCA peel and the Fraxel laser.
My friend did notice that the Fraxel laser side
was probably a little better then the other, side
but I honestly can't really notice.
Um, the healing process was quite similar.
The peeling was a little bit different, the redness
was a little bit different but was very marginal.
I think I noticed there was more tightness
in the Fraxel then there was in the TCA.
Just the peeling was slightly different.
The Fraxel side was, ah, tended to be more
lumpy and granular I guess.
Ah, where as the TCA
was coming off in more sheets or strips.
Ah, but neither one was difficult
It was just different.
Overall now my skin feels very soft and smooth.
Certainly when I put make up on its um, it's a really
great result for me.
A lot of the redness is gone.
A lot of the dry skin and solar keratosis has disappeared.
And the blemishes also,
just so, overall both procedures were quite successful.
My friends have commented that my skin is looking
really good. I'm getting lots of comments about the
fact that i don't look my age.
I'm 47 and um, my children think I look amazing
which is great! I can go
out with my daughters and people don't know that I'm their mum.
and my friends have definitely commented on
how good I'm looking and ah,
They don't know why. they just think that I've had a really good rest.
I would definitely recommend either TCA or Fraxel
depending I guess on what needs to be done
to the individual's skin but,
I would definitley say that either procedure
is really really effective in getting rid of
blemishes and just improving the overall look of the skin
Getting rid of wrinkles and just makes you feel great afterwards.