Apart from asking Dr. Terence Tan of Halley Medical Aesthetics to fix my stubborn fats problem with CoolSculpting (thighs and knee fat), I also consulted him about two issues I’ve had for years with my face.

• Dark under-eye circles

Without makeup, I think I can be friends with the panda. And even with makeup, I have problems covering the dark under-eye circles with concealer. The problem is if I put too much concealer, it’d get cakey over time and it really just doesn’t look good and it feels uncomfortable. So most of the time, I just go with less coverage and live with the dark eye circles than have cakey makeup on.

• Visible veins on the face

I have many visible veins on the face and it’s a genetic condition: my mum has it, I have it, and my children have it too. Mine are really obvious, especially nearer to the jawline and similar to my dark eye rings, I can’t really cover the veins. If I don’t put makeup or put on very light makeup, my face would appear reddish.

I had mentioned the second issue with Dr. Terence Tan in passing because I never thought that the visible veins issue could be rectified. I was wrong!

Dr. Terence Tan proposed two different laser treatments for the dark eye rings and the visible veins.

For the dark eye rings, he suggested doing Fraxel® DUAL Laser Eye Treatment.

What is Fraxel? | The Fraxel® DUAL laser treatment uses patented fractional laser technology to target aging and sun damaged skin. It combines a 1927 treatment mode to address tone, texture, and superficial forms of aging and the 1550 treatment mode, which penetrates deep into the dermis (very deep layers of skin) to address wrinkles or acne scarring. The benefit of a Fraxel® DUAL laser treatment is that it repairs and restores the skin without the need for invasive surgery and very minimal downtime is needed for healing.

Dr. Terence Tan explained that our skin is damaged by unavoidable exposure to the sun, air pollution, stress, fatigue and smoking, among other life and age-related challenges. The Fraxel® DUAL laser treats the damaged skin by resurfacing the skin, providing treatment for pigmentation, skin tone, fine lines, acne scarring, and poor skin texture. It is more effective and less invasive than older laser types and is FDA-approved.

How it works | It produces thousands of tiny deep laser columns or channels into the skin and allows the doctor to treat the areas of concern. It treats only a fraction of skin at a time without damaging surrounding tissue. That is why healing time is greatly reduced with the Fraxel® DUAL laser compared to the traditional laser.

For the visible veins, he suggested the Long Pulsed Laser Vein Removal.

What is Long Pulsed Laser Vein Removal? | The long pulsed laser is used as it can accurately focus on small spots with very high energy. The aim is to target the specific problematic spot without harming the surrounding tissue.

How it works | The energy from the laser is absorbed by the blood in the vein, converted into heat, and the vein walls are subsequently destroyed. The process is safe as other healthy veins supply blood to the treated area and the body’s immune system clears away the dead tissue just as with a bruise.

As with my previous experiences with Dr. Terence Tan, he was very candid and thorough in his explanations of what I would expect. On the day of the treatment, he went through the processes with me again and made sure that I had no further questions before we proceeded with the treatment.

Before both treatments, numbing cream was applied to the areas to be treated.

We started with visible vein removal first.

After Dr. Terence Tan zapped away some of the most visible veins, he asked me to take a look. It was truly magical! 😀

Subsequently, he continued with the treatment and I knew I was in good hands.

After the visible veins were removed, we went ahead with the Fraxel DUAL laser for the dark eye rings.

Along with the laser therapy, another hand piece called the Zimmer Cryo Cooling device was used to provide a constant stream of cooling air to cool and provide comfort on the face.

After the treatment, Dr. Terence Tan got me to marvel at his work with the lasers.

Before I left the clinic, I applied some makeup to cover the redness (yes, it’s safe to do so).

You must be wondering how I felt during the process. I’d say the process was really bearable (we may have different tolerance of discomfort). There are pulses so it’s not totally uncomfortable throughout. Childbirth through C-section has been the most painful for me, and these laser treatments don’t even come close. The discomfort is more like a sudden stinging sensation. I inhaled deeply through the nose and exhaled really slowly through the mouth throughout the treatment and I think that helped me too. Anyway, the results are really worth it. 😀

Here’s a video of the process:

Downtime

The redness and swelling lasted for about two days as what Dr. Terence Tan had briefed me.

This is how I looked the next day (with only eye makeup). I look like I have natural blusher on, but it was actually a bit swollen. The treated areas felt a bit warm, slightly numb but there was no stinging sensation. A bit more like a sunburn.

After I applied makeup, I managed to cover up most of the redness. But I think from certain angles I could still see the slight swelling. However, people who don’t know me won’t be able to tell that my cheeks are a bit swollen. 😛 I didn’t smile for the photos so you can see the under-eye area more closely.

The swelling subsided by the third day!:

Just in time too! Because we were out to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! 😀 No red or swollen face. Only smooth and even skin tone! 😀

With the treatments, I’ve come to put on less makeup. Sometimes if I’m not going far, I even go without makeup! I will need more sessions to improve the dark eye rings, but this is sufficient for now. There should be some improvements even with one treatment but I’ll have to wait for my review session with the doctor. Despite that, I think I’ve shaved a few years off my age because the Fraxel DUAL laser treatment actually got rid of some of my fine lines under the eyes as well! Overall, I’m really pleased with the results, and the treatment was totally worth it.

The Laser Vein Removal Treatment (per large area) is $350 while the Fraxel DUAL Laser Eye Treatment is $340 at Halley Medical Aesthetics.

 

 

Halley Medical Aesthetics

277 Orchard Road #03-15
Orchard Gateway, Singapore 238858
T: 6737 8233 | www.halley.com.sg

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