Seeing Red

I had an early morning appointment with my dermatologist yesterday to get my face lasered. That statement is a bit of exaggeration, but she pretty much covered my face with the exception of my nose and eyes. I have that typical Irish fair skin, thin, white and flushes easily. After a childhood of frying in the sun slathered with baby oil and cocoa butter, I learned to avoid the rays, hiding behind my always-present sunglasses, underneath wide-brimmed Panama styled hats of in every neutral shade, and slathered in waterproof sunscreen. However, over time my broken capillaries got the best of me, turning my cheeks a perpetual red, eliciting questions from friends about why I do not do something about my rosacea. Duh, broken capillaries are not the same as rosacea.

Versapulse (R). That is the name of the machine that did the job, best to rid one of broken capillaries in no more than a few treatments at $450 a visit. Upon arrival, the doc took a good long look at my face and said, "You have an unusual amount of background redness. This won't get rid of it but IPL will." I would have asked more questions about IPL but I got my IPL education courtesy of Patty, the woman who administers my monthly facial.

"It stands for intrapulse laser, I think. It costs about $450 per treatment and you get it done by an esthetician. You usually sign up for 5-6 visits to keep the price down to $450," Patty informed me. "That's probably what your doctor will recommend when you see him."

I was not planning to see my doctor, her, by the way. However, I found myself formulating my strategy all the way through my facial. After all, why spend money on a monthly facial if I wasn't willing to fix my most obvious skin problem with anything more than makeup?

I'm sitting here today, my cheeks still slightly swollen, speckled with white dots, all nicely arranged in a column, the result of the Versapulse(R) that only penetrates the skin about 1/20th of an inch, good enough to heat up the blood in the capillary and shut it down. Now I just have to wait six to eight weeks while the capillaries get flushed out, then I can evaluate the success of the procedure and determine if I need another session.

It is probably too soon to tell for real but my skin already seems less red with less visible capillaries. However, I know the laser, in spite of wearing safety goggles, has affected my eyesight. Somehow, the $450 I was charged (even before I went in to see the doctor) got in the way and has altered my ability to see red.