I don’t know about you guys, but the number of laser treatments and well really skincare treatment options in general can be suuuupppeeerr overwhelming! As someone who is well into my 40s and has sun damage, fine lines and some wrinkles -I am going to share with you why the halo laser treatment is one that I absolutely swear by.
You are going to learn about the benefits of the halo laser, the side effects I experienced from the halo laser, how painful the halo laser is as well as some before and after pictures from the halo laser treatment.
After learning about the good, the bad and the ugly from the halo laser treatment, you are going to want to invest in this anti-aging laser treatment yourself!
This post is all about the halo laser treatment.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links at no cost to you. However, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
Does the halo laser treatment really work?
1000% yes! It’s important to understand that this laser treats so much more than fine lines and wrinkles and it is great for all skin types. You will notice a huge improvement in your melasma, uneven skin tone and sun spots (which appear more frequently as we age). This laser also “resurfaces” the skin, and also helps to diminish pores size and scarring – including those acne scars.
Another impressive feat of the halo laser is that it continues to work on your skins overall health for months after your treatment. The reason for this is because the laser works on both the top layer as well as layers below the surface of your skin. Crazy, huh? HOW???It uses an ablative laser which is what removes all of the imperfections on the top layer of skin and a non-ablative laser which invades the deeper layers of the skin.
This is great for having your collagen production regenerate!! When this is happening, your pigment and texture will continue to improve over the next several months!
When I had the treatment, I noticed improvement in my overall skin tone pretty much immediately. My pores shrunk within a week and my noticeable brown spots were diminished. Truly, the most visible signs of aging were diminished! It was astonishing! ???????? I also noticed what they call the “halo glow” but it’s 1000% true. Meaning my skin was glowing about 3-4 weeks after the treatment!
All of this sounds great,right? However, there are some side effects you should be aware of. My face became the size of a grapefruit, and as red as a beet for about 3 days! Yet, I still think it was 100% worth it.
What actually happens to your face during the actual treatment?
Well, it’s pretty straightforward.
When I arrived at the aestheticians office, the very first thing they did was measured my face. They used a motion tracking technology to do so. Next, we went back to a room (a super cute room) and put a topical anesthetic aka numbing cream all over my face. It took close to an hour for the numbing cream to set in. While we were waiting she explained to me exactly why the halo laser treatment works so well. The laser resurfaces the skin by using ablative wavelengths an and non-ablative laser. Typically laser treatments use only one of these type of lasers.
After about an hour, we were ready to get started. The very first thing she did was explain how the process worked and told me what to expect. She stated that she would run the laser over my face in sections and she would also measure to make sure she had the right depth and for each section. Each section would take about 10 minutes. She started each section of by measuring the surface area of my face with what felt like a jade roller and the next thing I knew, we were off.
Once the halo laser started to move into my skin, I could definitely feel something happening and the feeling of heat, but the numbing cream had kicked in by that point, so it wasn’t too bad.
OH! There is another suction hose that has cooling technology and feels like a fan. The suction went over the treatment area at the same time as the laser, so that definitely helped keep the pain to a minimal discomfort.
How long does the halo laser actually take?
The actual treatment took about an hour. Right after she was done with the treatment, I was handed that cooling suction fan to use over my face and I wanted to keep on my face until the end of time!!! I was starting to feel a burning sensation like I had a really bad sunburn. But, that fan made a huge difference! HUGE. I seriously did not want to leave the office because when she did take the fan back, I could definitely feel the heat of the laser.
Then I was off…back in my car & headed home. Now, this was definitely the worst part of the halo laser procedure. My face felt like the sun was burning it off. It was SO HOT. I had my A/C pointed on my face from all angles and on full blast the entire drive home..which was about an hour. The nurse assured me right at an hour my face would start to feel normal, and my eyes probably burned the clock off in my car waiting for that hour to end. But, sure enough, just like she said, my face started to feel back to normal about an hour after the procedure.
Let’s talk about all the gory details and the side effects you can expect from the halo laser.
OMG friends, the aftermath! A few things you should know about the possible side effects from the halo laser. So, the next few days were interesting, to say the least. There was minimal downtime, about 3 days of downtime before I resumed my normal activities.
The next day when I woke up, (the first day after the treatment) my face was literally swollen to the size of a grapefruit. So swollen that you could barely see my eyes..it was so weird!! Nothing hurt at all, but I didn’t look normal! My fiance was like “Babe, are you okay?”
I will say this, my aesthitician did tell me I would be in one of three categories when it came to swelling…1. not much at all; 2. some swelling; or 3. Tons of swelling. Well obviously I fell in the third category. 🙁 Also, she did suggest not wearing makeup for three days & to limit my sun exposure). If I were in the sun, make sure I wore a hat and tons of uv sunscreen (which wasn’t an issue because I already use an SPF 50 everyday).
Finally, after looking like a combination of a grapefruit and the main character in a horror movie, the swelling did go down significantly and my skin started the “peppering” process.
WTH is the “peppering” process?
So, this is where the old skin essentially falls off and the new skin starts to surface. The scientific term for it is, microscopic epithelial necrotic debris, or MENDs. The process last several days, but it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t itchy and there was no discomfort for me, I just could not leave it alone. This part for me really did seem like peeling from a sunburn!
When can you expect your skin to return back to it’s normal state?
I seriously expected my skin to be back to normal about a week after the process, but it wasn’t quite there yet. The initial results of my skin were dry, flaky and rough in several spots. TBH, it took about 10 days before I felt like my skin was back to it’s “normal” self, so to speak. It was a little more of a lengthy recovery, but there was way less downtime. It was really just those first 3 days I didn’t do much. However, being able to wear makeup did seem to help, and I also followed a very specific skincare routine during the healing process.
The skincare routine seemed to be an effective treatment and here is my step by step routine:
- Cleanser
- Next, and this Regenerative Skin Nectar absolutely SAVED my skin!
- Sunscreen with an SPF 50
So, why on earth would should you have a treatment that makes your face feel like it is being burned off by the sun?
Well, for me, I wanted my skin to have a youthful glow for my upcoming wedding and, mission accomplished. Honestly, there were noticeable improvements in my skin including an even overall tone, hardly any noticeable dark spots,the day before my wedding, I was wearing no makeup and while running around like a madwomen doing a million and one things, and one of my friends said to me “what have you done to your face? You have vibrant skin, it is glowing and I don’t see any wrinkles!”
And, she is one of those brutally honest friends (which is why I love her). So, coming from her, it was a real compliment!!!
You can expect compliments galore about your “glowy” skin!
Seriously!! At my wedding last week I had so many compliments on my “glowy” skin, and I had one of my husband’s aunt ask me if I was 35 (I am 44). So, to me, that made the pain, swelling and discomfort of the halo laser treatment worth it!
How much does the halo laser treatment cost?
I think that probably depends based on your location. I’ve read that it costs about $1500-$3000. In the DFW area it was $1500 laser. I KNOW that is pricey, but honestly, it was worth it to me because it really believe it removed years of sun damage! Also, I only have had botox twice in a year – I think the halo laser removed the appearance of those fine lines, so botox every 3-4 months really wasn’t necessary.
Where can you find the halo laser near you?
Are you wondering where you can find this treatment near you? The halo laser was actually created by a company call Sciton. If you go to their website, you can find providers based on your zip code! Click here to find the closest one to where you live!
FAQs: Does the Halo Laser Treatment really work
The short answer is yes! It does wonders to remove years of damage including visible signs of aging such as fine lines, brown spots, acne scars and reduces large pores.
Does the Halo Laser Treatment work for melasma?
In my experience it absolutely has. There is minimal downtime, and the reductions of melasma, sun spots, brown spots…all tied to melasma have been absolutely amazing, IMO.
