Acne Scar Resurfacing in Singapore
Due to my genetics misfortune, I’ve had the worst acne breakouts since my teenage years, which has spread into my adult life with quite widespread scarring on my face. Some bloggers can post photos of their beautiful face to get more readers, while others like myself have to post beautiful food photos instead. Well, at least I get to eat a lot while I’m at it.
I finally decided to do something about the scarring on my face, partly also due to the increasing number of live media exposures that I am required to do.
An old friend of mine recommended me to Dr. Tiffiny Yang to consult on what can be done about it. Do note that it -is- spelt ‘Tiffiny’ and not ‘Tiffany’ for the more observant readers.
Located at the 12th floor of Park Mall, Tiffiny Yang Aesthetics & Surgery pride themselves on providing top quality, non-invasive aesthetic treatments served with tender care and hospitality. The clinic although small, is clean and simple enough to make you feel at ease.
Enter aesthetics physician: Dr. Tiffiny Yang. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, that’s the doctor who also happens to hold the title of Mrs Singapore Universe 2012.
Besides winning beauty contests, Dr. Tiffiny Yang has officially practiced for years with a focus on beauty aesthetics medicine, driven also by her passion for the expression of personal beauty.
During consultation, her detailed explanation and patience to my long string of questions made it a delightful and casual experience despite being of a medical nature. For my particular skin scarring issue, I’ve been informed that the most efficient method would be to use CO2 Fractional Skin Resurfacing to treat a ‘fraction’ of the skin’s surface.
This procedure is not only quick (just 20 minutes), but reduces downtime to a minimum of just days. By downtime, I refer to how soon you can actually show a presentable face in public. Most patients reportedly go back to work in just about 3 days.
The procedure is pretty simple; topical numbing cream is first applied to the face to prevent you screaming your head off during the treatment. The cream sits for about 20-30 minutes for it to take effect, thereupon your face would feel like a dead fish.
Here’s some shots of my skin condition before treatment. As you can observe, I’ve quite a few pronounced scars on the cheeks and pretty much everywhere else, which renders me ineligible to join mediacorp.
So after I lay down my zombie-like face, stylish protective eyewear is put on for me and the procedure starts. The fractional laser beam is shot all over my face in sections, and mostly painless short of the beard and moustache area. Areas with hair are apparently more sensitive to light, thus the increased sensation. The ladies will probably have less to worry about this.
Having a conversation with the gentle doctor while going through the CO2 laser treatment makes time pass a lot faster though, and before you know it she’s gone over my face with the laser tool twice already.
On the left you can see what I look like immediately after the procedure – mostly covered in redness with a bit of swelling which resembles a sunburn. There is a slight burning sensation felt also, but that goes away probably after just 1 or 2 days. I was out and about going for media tastings after just 2 days, although I’m sure not everyone is as nonchalant as myself – my talents are in writing about food though, which can also be done by anyone looking like the Red Skull.
On the right photo is my skin on the 4th day after treatment which actually looks pretty normal already, save for some small dotted textures and some minor scabbing. Be sure to apply a lot of moisturizer and the given anti-bacterial cream to minimize scabbing. 30 SPF sun block is also a must to prevent any blemishes from forming during this sensitive period for your skin, if not it it will take months for dark sun spots to heal. Alcohol based beauty products are also to be avoided for at least 2 weeks after the treatment.
After a week, my skin’s scar do look slightly less prominent already. New skin will start to take place over the older laser-damaged skin, while the laser also stimulates new collagen growth as well for continued improvements over the next few months.
There is obviously still quite a bit of scars left as evidenced by my very honest mirror, so don’t expect a miraculous instant recovery. For my skin condition, the doctor recommends around 5 – 6 laser treatments, with each treatment getting around 10 – 15% improvement.
After each subsequent session, the fractional laser power is increased and will be able to be more effective as your skin gets used to it. It’s also important to test out how sensitive the skin is beforehand, hopefully without any complications, which is why a number of additional treatments will have markedly improved results rather than just doing it once.
You need 1 month in between treatments for your skin to recover, and its not like you can just do 1 the next day, so the whole process actually takes quite a while.
I still have 4 more CO2 fractional laser treatments to go and will be quite intrigued to share just how effective this scarring treatment is after the recommended dosage. Will definitely post up comparison pics after these sessions.
One more piece of fanfare for the readers: Dr. Tiffiny Yang was also featured and interviewed in the October 2014 Issue of FHM.
Tiffiny Yang Aesthetics & Surgery is also known for their proprietary “1-Point V Face” to create a V-shaped face without surgery.
Read here for CO2 treatment results after my 5th session.
Expected Cost: $500 per session
Tiffiny Yang Aesthetics & Surgery: Park Mall, 9 Penang Road #12-22, Singapore 238459 | tel: 63389448 | www.tiffinyyangclinic.com
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