Overall my dermatologist is pleased with the results however she can still see evidence of demodex activity on my face particularly around my nasel folds and chin and she reminds me to keep using the scabies lotion regularly as maintainence. This is evident in the images below, as a couple of small pustules.
My face looks a little flushed in these shots and it's due to a couple of reasons. One reason is that we are now treating the strong veins around the nose and over the chin with a new laser called Genesis. We are also going over the cheeks to close off the veins to remove the background redness.
This new laser is very effective and the downtime seems to be less than the previous laser. While it is so much more targetted, it is also very much more painful and I'm only on a moderate setting. I haven't had to resort to a stressball until now, and behind my goggles I am weeping with pain.
Unlike recovery from the previous laser, the recovery is less like a surface burn but more of an interior swelling so my past strategies of quickly cooling the skin does not apply. In fact, there's really nothing I can do but be gentle for a couple of days and not let my husband near me with his beard stubble which feels like a thousand daggers.
The second reason for the flushed appearance could be due to anti aging products recommended by my dermatologist which can both cause flushing.
I'm still getting into the routine but basically it's using a Vitamin C topical serum in the morning with 50+ sunscreen over the top and at nighttime, a very low percentage Retinol topical with Hyaloronic Acid serum over the forehead and cheeks and the scabies lotion around my nasal folds and chin. I couldn't afford the topicals sold by my dermatologist but have purchased very similar products from The Ordinary which are almost a tenth of the price.
At this point, I am very confident in my skin. My complexion is generally clear and even. ...and not bad for nearly 51!
PS. At long last I got a sample tube of SooLantra and used all 10mg of it over the course of 5 nights (just around my problem areas). It was okay. No reaction, no nothing really. The Cetaphil base it consists of makes it easy to apply and lightly moisturising. My feeling is that the Quellada or Lyclear is just as good and at a fifth of the price. I was glad for the opportunity to test it out though!
