Has anyone used VBEAM to get rid of facial redness?

Does it get rid of anything else? (ie smooths out skin?)

I'm looking to get it done and i have an appointment with a clinic that i've heard good things about. I just want to hear more about people's experiences.

Thanks!

Hi EK1 , vbeam is a pulsed dye laser and this seems to be the weapon of choice when fighting facial redness . I ve had several test patches with some results . You may need to have it at a pupuric level for best results so there may be some down time .It may also require several treatments , up to 4 I believe . You certainly can t go wrong with a test patch at various intensities . Good luck and keep us informed .

Hi. I have had 2 Candela Vbeam Pulse Dye laser treatments with good results.

My whole cheek area, eyebrows and part of my forehead were treated on both occasions.

I have the KP conditions known as ulerythema ophryogenes and atrophoderma vermiculata. In my teens and twenties I also had bad KPRF (this faded with age).

I agree with Derfel that to get good results you need the right setting for your level of redness - this can result in bad bruising (pupura) which can take up to 2 weeks to subside.

My facial redness was quite bad and in both treatments my whole face was badly swollen for 3 days then it took about 2 weeks for the bruising to fade. However your skin my react differently - a test patch is a good way to go.

I will probably need 1 or 2 more treatments to get my skin tone to a near normal colour.

The results have been permanent however. The Vbeam will target anything that is red. However if you have KPRF you may find the red surface bumps will eventually return. You really need to know is the redness on your face from just the surface bumps or is it from red blood vessels. If it is from the latter V-beam should provide some permanent help.

Hey,

thanks for the info guys!

My bumps arent red (well i may have a few, but those are just clogged pores that got inflamed). Otherwise, the bumps are tiny tiny and are not red.
The redness on my face is either KPRF or rosacea (everyone says something different!) But it's like a permanent redness, although it can get redder and spread to more of my face when i'm upset (like crying, yelling etc) or if i've just done a lot of physical activity and i'm boiling hot.

I'll mention a test patch to the doctor though.

Any idea of using glycolic 10% will cause any interruption with the vbeam? I'm using it every 2 -3 days to get rid of my bumps and smooth out my skin. I think it's working (although slower than i would like, obviously!)

I used retin-a cream (retinoic acid) regularly for a year prior to 2nd treatment. I asked derm if it would effect it and said said no.

After treatment however you need to lay off anything like that until your skin has healed. Check with your derm if you are not sure.

Here are some before and after photos from the Candela site:

Candela Laser: Cosmetic Laser Procedures for Hair Removal, Acne Scars & More

Thanks!
I'm going tomorrow for my consultation, so i guess we'll see what happens!

Well i went today and found out something new!

The Diagnosis:

I have keratosis pilaris on the face, along with a bit of seborrheic dermatitis. (didn't know about the SD Part! But it makes sense... dry/rough cheeks/forehead and flakiness that doesnt want to go away no matter how much moisturizer i use). The strange thing is... my face isn't oily like most SD sufferers. In fact, it USED to be extremellllllly oily until i realized i have a hormone imbalance and was but on some androgenblockers. I'm not sure if the redness i have is SD or rosacea, but that's beside the point i guess.

I've deicded I'm going to do ahead with the Vbeam laser treatments, first one is this Wed. Just wondering if anyoone else has SD and if it helped with that too? She said it would help with my KP bumps.

Hi again , Just wondering how you got on with the glycolic acid . Have you had a look at turquoises links in the normal kp forum , she's developed a cure for normal kp by using micro derma abrasion for 6-8 weeks (to reduce bumps and open pores ) followed by glycolic acid ( to reduce keratin build up inside the pores ). This may work for us and any diffuse redness would then need to be reduced with PDL . basically we need to cure the root of the problem by opening our blocked pores then treating the erythema! I for one have no sweat or oil from my kprf affected cheeks so this would seem to make sense.

Unfortunately the moderators have blocked these links.

Yes her method spelt out in detail on her site certainly helped normal KP and would be worth trying on KPRF.

The only thing to be concious of is taking it slowly and laying off for awhile if your skin gets irritated.

I used retin-a cream which contains retinoic acid. When I first used it my skin really reacted and I thought I'm not using that again. However I perserved and now my skin tolerates it well.

My KPRF has faded with age however the retin-a cream certainly helps with overall texture and appearance of my skin so I continue to use it.

I cant use glycolic anymore, because it gives me these red bumps. I think my skin is too sensitive for it.

Ek1 , I know you re going for some pdl soon so let us know how you get on . I find at the highest setting the purpura goes away after 7 -10 days but then leaves a red mark which slowly fades over the following months with an improvmenet to the erythema .I still think it s important to not just treat the symtoms but get to the underlying problems which I think is the blocked pores . What about trying her method ie derma abrasion ,have to start very slowly as the facial skin is sensitive , it may take months but I reckon it s got real potential !

Derfel I agree - in theory microdebasion and or an AHA should work.

However the problem is the skin is so sensitive and red that this will make it worse initially and the person is likely to abondon treatment. If someone could use something that is gentle but effective I would like to think results would come after several weeks or maybe months.

I will ask Annuu on this site to post his thoughts (he is a NZ pharmacist) who has been developing products along this line.

Anne

well im going tomorrow for my vbeam! we'll see how it goes and what the derm recommends i do.

so far the antifungal shampoo my derm gave me is making me less rough on my face. not where i want it to be at, but better than before.

im also taking new supplements (based on what my naturopath says) so hopefully that helps too.

im annoyed, my chest was all KP-like as per usual, but no red bumps. i was all sweaty today and i look down now, and im itchy and tons of red bumps it sucks i can never wear v-necks or tanks. i hope it one day goes away completely.

EKI - wishing you all the best with your treatment.

Let us know how you get on.

Anne

Thank you Anne.
I went today and while it was kinda painful when it was being done, the pain quickly subsided with ice packs placed on my face. Right now im red, and swollen (not like whole face chipmunk swollen, like parts of my face, so it kinda looks like i have "waves" on my face - does that make sense??). I might also have too small bruises (they're red though, not purple like purpura) on the side of my face, which is weird cause i never even get redness there. lol. Maybe it was from a freckle? or... i have no clue lol. Either way, i'm not all bruised up thankfully.

I've gotta use hydrocort. for three days, and then im back in a month. Sucks how expensive it is, but oh well. I trust her, she's done many many vbeams on people and ive only read good things about her.

I'll have to update later when i can tell whats going on with my face in a few days or so. Hoping for some diminished redness!!!

How are things with you Anne?