High-Resolution Before / After Photos

The dermatologist's office was good enough to send me these extremely high quality versions of some of the photos in the previous post. Click the links below to have a look at the situation before and after laser resurfacing. If your browser displays a magnifying glass when you mouse over the photo, then you can click to magnify. Note that it might take a few minutes just to get one photo, on account of the huge size. Hopefully, the improved image quality will assist you in the decision process.

Face Before

Face After

Left Face Before

Left Face After

Right Face Before

Right Face After

Laser Resurfacing, Day 44

I'm officially done! I got the dermatologist's office to mail me the before and after photos, the latter of which having been shot today. While the resolution leaves a lot to be desired, they are nonetheless very clear, as they were taken with a far better camera than my own. Have a look at the comparisons below. Bear in mind that on the day of the procedure, I wore a beat up T-shirt and didn't bother to put any mousse or gel in my hair, so as not to leave any residue on my forehead. So don't be deceived by my improvement in grooming, and just concentrate on the skin. (Subconsciously, it's easy to see someone as better looking because their "after" photo has them smiling more. Being aware of this allows you to perform less biased comparisons.)

Here you go. Click to enlarge:

As you can see, the differences are mainly a reduction of actinic keratoses, red blotches of irritation, and a softening of wrinkles and dents. My neck serves as a control area, as it was not subject to the laser -- just the face. My left cheek appears to have a new actinic keratosis spot, but it's actually red more than brown, and appears to be the faint remnant of that one horrible zit I acquired earlier in the healing process. I also have a minor zit in my mustache area, which I expect to disappear. I have removed identifying information from the photos.

My work is done. I hope this blog has helped you in your decision process. Mind you, the more damage you have to begin with, the more difference the procedure stands to make, particularly with multiple sessions; on the other hand, the less damage you have, the younger you'll end up looking for longer. Good luck!

Laser Resurfacing, Day 31

Here's what I look like now. Note that I've gotten slightly redder. This is because I intentionally progressed from about one minute per day of unprotected solar exposure -- once I had mostly healed -- to about 10 minutes. I've been doing this in order to restore my just-barely-tan complexion. After I'm back to my normal skin tone, I'll start using SPF 50+ on my face daily. (I use it now, but only after I finish my unprotected exposure time. By the way, my exposure time measurements are quite rough, based on how long I think I've been walking outside, and what percentage of time I was actually in direct sunlight.)

Don't be confused by the red mark on my nose. When my nose itches, I tend to scratch it. I appear to have an amazing ability to slice it open with my fingernail. Oops!

After I've completely normalized, I may continue to expose other parts of my skin (not my face) to the sun for 10 or 20 minutes per day, in order to keep my vitamin D levels up. Or I may just wear sunscreen on all exposed skin, and instead supplement vitamin D3. Suffice to say that there is a lot of debate on how best to acquire vitamin D, in order to maintain bones and the immune system, and to suppress cancer. Furthermore, some studies suggest that sunscreens may actually promote skin cancer, as some of their chemical components turn carcinogenic as a result of ultraviolet radiation exposure, so I'm not particularly keen on slathering myself with the stuff. (I use Aveeno, which is the safest that I could find in this regard, based on current -- and frankly insufficient -- published research. I should qualify that: zinc oxide appears to be safer, if you don't mind looking like a pasty white ghost, as it doesn't vanish into the skin, although perhaps there is a risk of zinc poisoning.) I would strongly encourage you to Google around for vitamin D, sunscreen, and cancer.

To further complicate matters, ultraviolet light can often improve skin conditions, as with psoriasis. It also draws one's macrophages (white blood cells) into the skin's upper layers, increasing protection from invading pathogens. It combines with cholesterol to produce a source of vitamin D, which appears to suppress cancer (although studies are ongoing). In excess, of course, it causes wrinkles and skin cancer.

Incidentally, excessive solar exposure was the primary cause of my wrinkles and actinic keratoses. Now that they're basically gone, I'm going to be much stingier with my solar exposure time. But you have different genes and different skin issues, so I'm not going to pretend to be able to tell you what balance of solar exposure and sunscreen is best for you. Google for the research and decide for yourself. And don't assume that your dermatologist has all the answers. Read what cancer researchers have to say, as well.

Laser Resurfacing, Day 24

Here's a high-resolution shot of what I look like today. My eyes are less droopy because I took the photo when I was a bit more awake, and had just shaved. (In the past, I had taken shots straight out of bed, hence the exhausted look!)

Really, nothing much is going on, save for a little pinkishness flanking my nose, which is "normal me". My skin tone is also normalizing, but I'd prefer it to get a bit tanner. And yes, I did get a haircut!

Laser Resurfacing, Day 19

I'm basically clear now, except for a trace of acne and a faint redness. I took this photo a couple days ago:

Laser Resurfacing, Day 13

When I looked for my cheek pimple this morning, and had trouble finding it for a few seconds, I figured it was worth another checkpoint photo:

By the way, I increased the resolution on the "before" photo back in my first post so that you can see the fine lines and actinic keratoses in better detail, if you click on it. When my skin tone finally normalizes in a few weeks, i.e. when I'm clinically done with this process, I'll post another high resolution photo.

Laser Resurfacing, Day 12

Almost there! The zit is just about gone.

Frankly, the level of acne on my face has diminished to the point of insignificance relative to the laser resurfacing procedure generally. I'm very happy about my relative lack of wrinkles. The pinkishness is starting to merge into my normal skin tone.

Therefore, I'm going to scale back on posts, but I'll try to get a new photo up every week or so until my skin tone normalizes. Lesson learned: an acne breakout may occur after lasering, but the treatment is a matter of strict diet and supplementation, as explained in this post.

Laser Resurfacing, Day 11

I'm looking decent now -- just still a bit pink, and fighting that zit on my left cheek.

Laser Resurfacing, Day 10

The diet, supplement, and topical regimen is paying off. I've never had acne clear this fast in my life -- especially not so many pimples. It's almost gone. Now, I've just got to let the pinkishness fade back into my natural skin tone. I plan to nudge the process along by taking baby steps back into ultraviolet exposure from the Sun.

The whitish spot at the top of my forehead is benzoyl peroxide acne cream or something. It's not there as I type this. Just gotta kill that whitehead, or blister, on the left cheek...

Laser Resurfacing, Day Nine

My acne killing protocol described in the previous post is starting to work. While I've read that most treatments in isolation take weeks to be effective, my skin has noticably improved a matter of days. I will continue my punishing vegetable-and-sardine diet until this clears. I realize that if I allow the problem to go even slightly out of control, then it may return with a vengence. Behold, the power of broccoli!

Laser Resurfacing, Day Eight

The acne breakout is getting out of control. This is war!

Some of the white specs in the photo are flakes of skin, but most are whiteheads. Here's what I'm going to do: (1) raise my omega 3:6 intake ratio, (2) continue with zinc gluconate, so that I'm getting 100% to 170% RDA of zinc per day, (3) continue using medicated talcum powder, (4) knock out almost all carbohydrates, and even my beloved coconut cream, (5) eat more steamed fibrous veggies, (6) pull out the benzoyl peroxide for the worst offenders, (7) continue getting monofat from almonds for energy, and (8) start taking 800IU of vitamin D3 in order to support immune activity.

Losing the wrinkles made me look younger. And now that I have acne, perhaps I could pass for a teenager! (But that wasn't what I had in mind...)

Laser Resurfacing, Day Seven

A few weeks ago, I was eating lunch with my friends when I suddenly splattered avocado on my shirt. Of course, this had to be a brand new shirt. I was just getting up to dart to the restroom, when one of them told me to try talcum powder. Now, talcum powder is basically hydrated magnesium silicate, which has no detergent quality whatsoever. So I was a bit puzzled. But I gave it a try.

After I dusted it onto the oily avocado stain, the stain was still visible and green. I thanked her politely and made for the restroom, in order to try soap. But when I started washing the shirt, I noticed how easily the avocado stain flaked off. Apparently, the talcum powder had a great affinity for oil! A few minutes of rubbing later, and this "impossible" stain had vanished.

Yesterday, I came across some talcum powder in the grocery store. I figured I should buy some, as it's much cheaper than purchasing new shirts every few weeks. But I happened to notice that this was "medicated" talcum powder. Concerned that the medication might dampen its stain-lifting capability, I had a look at the ingredients: talcum powder, zinc oxide, fragrance, and chlorhexidine hydrochloride. How convenient: it turns out that this oil-lifting substance has been supplemented with zinc (which helps to repair skin, although zinc oxide is not an ideal form) and chlorhexidine hydrochloride, a disinfectant analogous to chlorhexidine gluconate, which kills acne bacteria.

Conceptually, it made sense: First of all, I needed an oil absorber to help lift the dead skins cells out my follicles, allowing them to function properly again. Secondly, I needed a disinfectant to kill the bacteria which aggravated the condition. And finally, I needed zinc to assist with the repair process, which is very difficult to acquire in the diet, unless one is willing to risk eating shellfish that might live in polluted water. Granted, my zinc gluconate supplement should be taking care of this requirement, but it's potentially advantageous to have zinc delivered directly to the front lines.

Last night, I kept this powder on my face for about 15 minutes. When I rinsed it off, I noticed how several whiteheads simply flaked off -- just like the avocado! This morning, the level of inflammation had visibly subsided to a lighter shade of pink, probably due to a combination of the continuing healing process, the zinc supplementation, and, logically, a severe reduction in the bacterial population:

As you can see, my acne severity has moderated since yesterday. And here's how I look as I type this. I'll continue to apply this powder as long as it remains effective:

By the way, I have cut out carrots and potatoes in order to reduce inflammation. But I have still been eating a few handfuls of blueberries or cherries daily.

Laser Resurfacing, Day Six

Last night, I started to break out badly with acne. I had maybe 20 whiteheads, with most of those being on my forehead, and a few on my cheeks. Perhaps this somehow relates to the fact that my forehead was least willing to peel, i.e. maybe I forced the peel a day too early, before the underlying skin had sufficiently repaired itself. On the other hand, Wikipedia says that acne can be caused by dead skin cells blocking the hair follicles in the skin. Obviously, I have plenty of dead skin cells to accomplish that.

The other likely contributor to my breakout is carbohydrate consumption. While I'm normally on a low-carb diet, I started eating carrots and potatoes around the time of my laser treatment. The reason was that, in my boredom being stuck at home, I started reading the "Blue Zones", a book about centenarians and their lifestyle. It indicates that many of these long-lived people eat high-glycemic foods -- even bread. The problem, of course, is that while they then proceed to burn it off in their daily activities, I wasn't exactly doing that, being confined to my chair. No doubt, this caused my blood sugar to spike out of control, resulting in all manner of inflammation, most obviously manifesting on my face. Oops.

So now, I'm going to avoid carbohydrates, take a modest zinc gluconate supplement (which Wikipedia says should be helpful), and increase my fish oil intake.

But realistically, I know that diet is only a part of the problem. Indeed, if I can just get over this acne outbreak and allow my skin to heal, then I may be able to return to my higher-carbohydrate diet (which I'd like to do, as the purple potatoes are a cheap source of anthocyanin). I know that the main cause is simply the epidermal chaos which has ensued from laser burns. With that in mind, I tried my sunburn remedy last night: topical turmeric.

Turmeric is a powerful antiinflammatory. Now, I do want some inflammation, as it's part of the healing process. But sometimes it can get out of hand, as in this case. According to Wikipedia, acne is only partly an inflammatory process; it also involves noninflammatory processes involving bacterial infection and follicular blockage. But I figured that if I could at least remedy the inflammatory component of the affliction, then I could make substantial progress toward a cure.

Here's how my turmeric remedy works. By the way, it works wonders for sunburn; in my experience, it accelerates healing faster than aloe: Put a tablespoon of turmeric in a bowl. Wet the face thoroughly. Pat the turmeric onto your face. Do not moisten the turmeric itself, as it will tend to clot on your face, leaving areas uncovered. The turmeric layer you deposit will thus be moist at the bottom, where it adheres to your face, and dry and dusty on top. (Try not to inhale it. While I suspect that it would be good for your lungs, I have evidence to support that.) Leave it on for 30 minutes, or if possible, 2 hours. Here's what I looked like:

I should have taken a photo of the acne before I applied the turmeric. It was much redder and angrier. Also, before applying the turmeric, I popped all the pimples with a sterile needle, while frequently washing the affected areas with liquid soap. I've read that puncturing whiteheads can promote acne scars, but I used a tiny needle to make invisibly small incisions in them, so I presume that the possibility of scarring is not significant.

That was last night. Here's what I look like this morning. While the redness is subdued, the acne bumps are still visible. Hopefully the dietary changes will improve them in a couple weeks:

By the way, I stopped using my prescription moisturizer, as I think it was contributing to my clogged follicles. (It has a consistency similar to Vaseline.) It's supposed to help rebuild collagen, which sounds like a good idea, so I'd like to restart it if I can get the acne under control.

Finally, I've also noticed that my baseline heart rate is floating around 61, whereas it's normally 47. This can happen when one has a fever, for example. But I certainly don't feel that I have one. Perhaps it's a response to the inflammatory process on my face; somehow, hormonal signalling has told my heart that I'm fighting an infection. It might also relate to my moderate nasal infection, which of course has nothing to do with my laser resurfacing. I'll have to wait a few days and see what happens.