Let’s be honest, most of us aren’t lucky enough to have smooth, flawless skin.

Our every day lives weather us all to some degree and as we age, we begin to notice imperfections from sun damage to uneven skin tones, enlarged pores and brown spots. When these things start to become a concern, it may be time to seek treatment by a reputable cosmetic surgeon. As I approach my birthday this year…I’ll be 56, I decided that I wanted to have a procedure that I’ve heard about called Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser to help with the appearance of my skin.

I first heard about the Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser at a blogger conference that I went to back in January. Dr. Burke Robinson of Robinson Facial Plastic Surgery in Atlanta, spoke about several procedures during the conference and I was so interested that I literally followed him out of the room to learn more. I decided after speaking with him that I would come to Atlanta and try two of the procedures that he spoke about. The Halo Laser was one of them.

I’m not trying to give myself a new face or a new life when I try a cosmetic procedure, I’m just doing what will make me feel the most confident about my appearance because I don’t feel old and certainly don’t want to look old. I do understand that when I talk about some of these procedures, they are definitely not for everyone — but I hope that if you are interested or have entertained the idea of having a procedure such as the Halo Laser that you can learn through my experience in order to make the most educated decision for yourself. So, having said that…I want to tell you about my experience with the Halo Fractional Laser.

Also, keep scrolling for a short video of the actual procedure.

My procedure started with a skin analysis with Visia Complexion Analysis. “VISIA allows for an in-depth analysis of your individual facial characteristics, making it possible to benefit from rejuvenation and skin care programs planned for your specific complexion.” It was a little terrifying to see the sun damage that was underneath the surface of my skin.

This comprehensive information that is gathered by Visia enables your skin care professional to present the optimal treatments and regimens which are right for your skin. I placed my face inside of the imager and it scanned my skin to show “six areas affecting complexion health and appearance: wrinkles, spots, pores, texture (color variation in the skin tone), porphyrins (evidence of bacteria in pores), and UV spots (characteristic of photo damage, typically from overexposure to sun). Additionally, VISIA provides an informative comparison of your complexion's characteristics to others of your same age and skin type.”

It was, as I said, absolutely terrifying to see the sun damage, but also extremely interesting.

The above picture was sun damage!

Watch the Video Below to See What the Procedure Was Like!

The two pictures above were taken right before the procedure with no makeup.

After the imaging, numbing cream was applied to my skin to lessen the pain of the procedure. It was just a little uncomfortable, but definitely not anything too painful.

I had pictures taken of my face, neck and chest (the 3 areas that were to be treated) before the Halo procedure began.

I wore goggles to protect my eyes during the procedure.

They gave me a handheld fan to help with the burning sensation when the procedure was over. As you can see below, I had significant redness but the burning stopped after about 30 minutes and I went immediately to eat lunch with my daughter and grandson (sans makeup)!

I used Avené Products after my Halo treatment and loved them all!

The images above are before the Halo procedure and the images below are the day of the procedure immediately after (left) and the next day (right). The redness was almost totally gone the second day. I wore sunscreen, but no makeup (except for my eyes) for three days after the procedure.

The image below was taken 6 days after the procedure. I was obviously wearing makeup. While I don’t see much difference in the brown spots on my face (from sun damage), I definitely see a huge difference in skin texture and pore size. One thing to remember…skin care is an ongoing process and in order for my skin to stay this way, I will need to repeat this procedure periodically. It also would be helpful to have one more treatment with the Halo Laser in a couple of months (which I am considering). Sun damage is deep and accumulates over the years and there is nothing that will completely erase it.

Photography by Christine Shestko

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! As I mentioned in the first part of the post, I had two procedures done…my experience with the Profound Laser is coming in a few days so be sure to check back! Thanks so much for reading!