My name is Kimberly Buchannen, and I’m a patient at Reflections.
I came here because I suffer from melasma, which is dark patches on my face. It developed probably from years of tanning, and also hormones cause it too.
It was very frustrating for me because no matter how much I washed my face, I used topical treatments – the brown spots just didn’t go away.
Especially in the summertime with the sun, even though I wore sunblock, it….the sun makes it worse. Heat makes it worse – even using hot water makes the melasma come out (become darker and more visible).
I read a beauty magazine while I was on a plane and I just happened to come across an article about Clear + Brilliant laser. And a few movie stars said they used it, and they loved the outcome, and they had melasma. So I looked into it, and when I searched on the internet, Reflections came up as one of the places that offers the treatment, and it was in the town right next to me – conveniently!
As soon as I walked into Reflections, the staff greatly me very warmly and by my name and they just took great care of me, made me feel relaxed, especially the nurse who helped set me up and put numbing cream on my face. She was just very warm, and it was easy.
The treatment includes numbing of your face with a cream beforehand. That takes about 20-30 minutes for the numbing cream to work and then they just apply the laser while you hold a cooling fan to cool your face. It just feels like a sunburn (the laser treatment).
They told me that I could go back to work the next day. I didn’t really believe it before I had the treatment. But after I had the treatment, my face looked like I had a mild sunburn. It didn’t really hurt getting the treatment – it just stung a little bit – so it depends upon your pain tolerance. But I had a wedding to go to that Saturday. I had the treatment on a Thursday and I had a wedding to go to on Saturday, and I was very concerned about it. I went there (to the wedding) and it was like nothing had happened – I just had a rosy glow to my cheeks.
The results are starting to become more noticeable to me. I have gone through 3 treatments already, and it’s about a month apart from each treatment. My results just keep getting better and better.
So after coming to Reflections, I am very happy with the results so far. I was told that I might have to come back in the future for touch ups, especially after the summer, because melasma does come back – it really does unfortunately never truly leave.
I absolutely would recommend friends or family to Reflections. They’re highly professional and treat you with grace, and you just feel very comfortable coming here.
The real me is confident! Reflect the real you at Reflections!
Kimberly suffered from Melasma, a common skin condition that affects many women. Melasma is a dark, splotchy discoloration that usually forms on the face, often on the cheeks, forehead, or around the mouth (mustache). Many patients try to self-treat melasma, thinking it’s just dirt or surface sun damage that can be treated with chemical peels or exfoliation. However, melasma gets worse if left untreated and no intervention is done to prevent its worsening.
Luckily, treatment doesn’t have to mean anything aggressive to have a big impact. Clear & Brilliant laser offers a no-downtime series of treatments that create a dramatic impact for most patients.
Of course, each patient needs to be evaluated before we can make a recommendation, and this is not only laser or treatment that we recommend for melasma. But we do offer free consultations with our physicians, so that you can get the answers you need in order to make an informed decision.
