I had Microdermabrasion two years ago and ever since I have been flushing really badly triggered by the slightest bit of heat. I also have lots of little broken capilaries. The company I had the treatment with 'The Harley Medical Group' in London denies all responsibility and I have had no compensation from them. I would like to know if anyone has had a similar experience to me as most people seem to have had positive results from the treatment?
I had microdermabrasion over 2 years ago for some mild acne that had just started. It totally distroyed my face. It left my whole face all red and full of veins and completely covered with zits. Its horrible. Im 26. I use to have nice skin. never wore makeup. Now i feel almost disfigured. Its so embarrassing! I have had about 8 IPL treatments for the redness and it has helped, but there is still redness. I am allergic to all the antibiotics they give for acne so i cant take anything. I am on yaz to see if the breakouts are hormone related, i think it might be doing something, but it has been 3 months on it and i am still breaking out. I am so depressed and i regret it everyday and cry about it. I just want my life back. I hate the people who did this to me. I can no longer use most products on my face because they irritate my skin. I also have very light skin like you mentioned. You people are lucky that your dermatologists understand and try to help. I have seen 2 and they both said "I dont think the microdermabrasion caused this" Its infuriating!!!! I know if caused this. What else would have?!! It wasnt red before having it done. I dont knwo what to do anymore. I am thinking of trying the vbeam for the redness, but i dont have a lot of money adn i have already spent so much time and money on this. Its ruining my life and i cant deal with it anymore. Im sick of trying new dermatologists. I live in a small town and have to drive at least 2 hours for any dermatologist. This sucks.
Hi Sarah,
sorry to hear that you are so frustrated and depressed by your experience I know exactly how you feel but you will see improvements over time. Apparently it takes 7 years for the skin to fully regenerate. You should try roaccutane low dosage for your spots it really worked for me. Your skin will be so clear, you just need to moisturise a lot. I have just had my second pulsed dye laser treatment, I'm having 4 in total. I haven't really noticed any difference yet but I only had it last friday. I will let you know if I see any improvements, probably notice it after 3rd as intensity increases every time. I know that when you feel your skin is uncontrollable and reactive it can make you depressed. I am thinking of going on Remeron, an anti depressant. Its supposed to be alot milder than most with less side effects and positive side effects. It can increase sex drive whereas most anti depressants decrease it. It can improve your sleep whereas some make you have insomnia. It also helps reduce facial flushing, which is something I suffer some quite badly since Microdermabrasion. I don't know if you do, but its worth a try.
The yag laser is supposed to be really good for redness, targets deeper more effective, less down time, just a question of saving the money. I'm giving the pulsed dye laser a go first, fingers crossed, hope this helps.
Katie
Hi. Im hoping not to go on accutane since i seem to react strongly to medications. Im on yaz right now to see if hormones are causing my breakouts and oily skin. It seems to be helping, but im on my 4th pack and still breaking out a bit, but its much better. I have had about 8 IPL treatments for the terrible redness that the microdermabrasion caused. It was BAD! Veins everywhere and whole face of redness. Can i ask what Pulse dye light you are having? Is it the vbeam? I am thinking of having that done after new years since the IPL's seem to not be giving me much results anymore. They improved it a lot but i still am red and flush all the time, even when i smile. There are way less veins, but an all over redness/pinkness to my face now. Im just so mad that this happened. I dont want to regret that stupid microdermabrasion for the rest of my life every time i look in the mirror. I hate wearing makeup on my skin. I cry when i have to put it on cause i dont even know how to cover this. It has made my life so much harder and more stressful. I dont even want to go anywhere anymore. I dont like being on medication so i dont wanna be on antidepressants. I just really want to fix my skin so i can be happy again. I really appreciate you telling me about your axperience. I am very nervous about getting the vbeam, so if you could tell me what PDL you are getting and your experience with it. Did it make you bruise? How long was recovery and what is recovery like? The vbeam i plan on getting is $700 a treatment, so i am nervous that it wont be worth it or that it will ruin my face. Thanks so much
If you were on a low dose of roaccutane you wouldn't really react badly to it. I felt scared about going on it but it really is an amazing drug. People with bad acne would be be put on something like 60mg a day but if you have sensitive skin and some acne it would be like 60mg a week which is what I am on. It also has anti inflammatory properties so if you get red patches, irritation, it calms it down, very fast acting literally 3 weeks and you'll notice improvements. I tried anti biotics they take ages to work and in my case they didn't work at all just gave me thrush and itchy face, horrible.
I used to be on Yaz didn't really do anything for me. Sounds like you spots could be hormonal mine are. Always worse around my period. If you want to go natural try evening primrose oil capsules, good for regulating hormones.
Pulsed dye was cynergy laser think it is v beam. Haven't experienced any bruising. Each session intensity goes up so I might get some on my next one. You're face is basically red, hot and inflammed for two days after then it all goes back to how it was before. Can take up to 3 months to notice full results. I haven't noticed anything yet but only just had second one.
About that Remeron anti depressant its milder than others and helps flushing, it can't really control flushing that much unless you take some sort of medication. Anti depressants will probably help you deal with it mentally, make you happier and help flushing. Its not an SSRI which are crap more like valium, but I'm sure any dermatologist would recommend it.
can i ask what you r getting the laser for? Is it visible blood vessels, all over redness or what? I had IPL and it seemed to help with mostly the visible vessels, but im still left with a lot of redness.
I will probably consider accutane if the yaz doesnt clear me up all the way. It scares me a lot, but i need to have nice skin again. I really hope that the vbeam can help the redness. Im really nervous. My dermatologist says that if you go the bruising intensity it is more effective, but im scared of burning or scarring adn i cant afford to experiment with different intensities until i get to the bruising intensity. I have to save a bunch to have the 1 vbeam as it is and then i will have to save again. But i will pay what it takes to get my skin back. I hate this.
you are veyr helpful. Thanks
Also what were your breakouts like? My skin is very oily with a lot of little clogged pores and then some larger zits.
Hi - I am interested in Katies remarks. I too have had a stressful patch in which I felt my skin had suffered. I was silly enough to got for a microdem though I wasnt completely convinced I needed one. I went to the harley medical group too and I am badly burnt!! I do not have problems as severe as your interms of redness but I feel like I have shaved skin i.e. its too yellow/pale/not attractive at all. Its really ruined my complexion. ANy product I use causes irritating yellow break outs and none of my problem areas was addressed. I am annoyed as I had asked for advice and at the least a practitioner at the centre should provide reliable information on the procedure and honest judgements. You carry your face. I have been in severe depression because of my skin. I dont know what/if anything at all can be done to address the problem. I would be interested in taking action against the group.
If you can get them to give you a refund say you're not happy with the results that is the first step to getting proper compensation. Then go via a solicitor or 'no win no fee' company. Having proof of them giving you a refund is evidence that they have admitted liability and your case will be alot stronger. Harley Medical will do their best to deny all responsibility but if you keep going on at them writing a letter of complaint and gain a refund taking them to court will be easier. I tried to gain compensation with a no win no fee solicitor via 'The citizen's advice' unfortunately there is very little evidence to suggest (in there words) that Microdermabrasion is capable of causing skin complaints such as Rosacea. I know that there is evidence, for example type in Rosacea into Wikipedia and you will find that one of the causes is Microdermabrasion.
Microdermabrasion is very stressful for the skin especially on the face which is finer and thinner. It removes the protective top layer of your skin which sheds off after treatment leaving it more vulnerable to external factors such as heat, cold etc and sensitising it. It sounds like your skin has become a bit infected as the new layers of skin are exposed. Treat it gently, don't put anything harsh on it and protect it from the sun as its defences will be down. Most importantly go to a dermatologist. They may be able to clear it up.
I want to bring this to the attention of the public. So I need people who have had distressing side effects to come forward so there is more evidence.
The V beam is for overal background redness on nose, cheeks, forehead and chin caused by Microderabrasion. It is also to help reduce the duration and likelihood of flushing which happens alot since M. It reminds me of how red my face went after the Micro and the anxiety feelings associated with the rising heat. It can be mentally traumatising for people not just physically.
My derm says that my barrier function had been damaged so laser should help make it more stable. I have noticed a bit less redness which is good. Hope this helps.
Hi _ thank you so much for the advice. I dont know how a compensation will really rectify the matter. I am upset at myself for going through with it inspite of my better judgement. I cant imagien what more can be done to rectify this. I do think the group should advised me against it as I did not have severe problems such as acne etc. I am very upset at this.
I would be happy to be of support in terms of exposing this further. It really is no good.
I will speak to a dermatologist too.
Hi,
i have asian skin, got dermabrasion done for my deep acne scars three years back. the scars were deep so the doc went a little too deep and ruined my skin. my skin looks like two huge discoloured patches on both my cheeks with fine demarcations. the texture of my skin has been ruined.. with sagging skin enlarged pores and wrinkles, also the scars have increased:S.
the worst thing is after three years , i dont know may be cause of facial products that i normally use. my skin literally started to melt!:( its like transparent plastic, my pores started to increase in size and skin sagged, and all the wrinkles started to increase:S.. i started using oils to hydrate it, and started gyming. only staoped it dere.. but it i dont understand if i stop using these oils would it go back to melting again?...
Hi,
i have asian skin, got dermabrasion done for my deep acne scars three years back. the scars were deep so the doc went a little too deep and ruined my skin. my skin looks like two huge discoloured patches on both my cheeks with fine demarcations. the texture of my skin has been ruined.. with sagging skin enlarged pores and wrinkles, also the scars have increased:S.
the worst thing is after three years , i dont know may be cause of facial products that i normally use. my skin literally started to melt!:( its like transparent plastic, my pores started to increase in size and skin sagged, and all the wrinkles started to increase:S.. i started using oils to hydrate it, and started gyming. only staoped it dere.. but it i dont understand if i stop using these oils would it go back to melting again?...
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I am very against microderabrasion. I would like to know if you had any other reactions? And any pictures of the result so I can exam it and hopefully teach others of the damage it really does cause.
Well I had the treatment to help treat mild acne as it claimed to remove dead skin cells which block up your pores and cause spots revealing new skin. Instead it highly irritated my skin and infected my skin with more bacteria as it was exposed and I developed angry inflammed spots on my cheeks where as before my acne only affected my 't' zone. My skin started to flake off, which is normal after the treatment but then I developed semi permanent patches of transparent skin where you could see all these really tiny blood vessels and sensitised areas of skin. I had no tolerance to heat what so ever for the first year after and had to sleep with the window open even in winter. I couldn't and still can't use skin products that I would normally use as they can trigger a soreness and inflammation. Being in cold weather is really uncomfortable my cheeks go red and sting. Eating hot food can trigger a flush. I basically now have rosacea symptoms. The dermatologist says the flushing will eventually calm down in a couple of years but I don't think people realise how stressful this is for me as it feels like I have a sauna in my face.
I think part of the reason I have had such a bad reaction is because I have porcalin skin and a delicate, transparent structure. People with pale skin should definately avoid this treatment. The nurse who performed the treatment didn't even do a patch test. They really don't care or have any dermatological qualifications. Even so the treatment claimed to be 'medical microdermabrasion' it is all just a front so they can get you to part with your money.
I can post you some pictures in the weekend.
i had the exact same problem :( i went for microdermabrasion april 3rd because i wanted to shrink my pores and get rid of a few black heads in my t zone. i have very white skin and i am 28 yeasrs old. i never had a problem with redness or acne or broken blood vessels until i had this treatment. it is my deepest regret. i went from having such a mild problem to having a severe one. after my treatment my face turned bright red and stayed that way for a month. if it is warm or i am very active i flush and my face turns beat red as well. i also have been breaking out with alot of acne , red bumps and white heads. the folds over by nose break out with red raised bumps and the skin in that area flakes off . my face is constantly itchy and irrataed even though it has been over a month and a half. also, the right side of my face looks like i have broken blood vessles and some days it looks like i have roacea. i know exactly what you are going though.
i have an appointment with a dermatologist on the 14th hopefully he can help me get my skin back to normal.i am praying for that.
i would like to add that a week after my microdermabrasion i went back to the medical facility where i had it done and showed them my face. at that time my face was broken out so bad and extremely inflamed. i showed them what they had done to me and they gave me a full refund for the prcedure of the micro and the the clinical facial they preformed they even refunded me the money for all the over priced products they sold me . my refund totaled 478 dollars. but i still am not satisfied with that. it has been the worst month of my life and with what it is going to cost to see the dermatolgist. just 250 to see the doctor thats witout any medications . i will take it further if there is evidence that the machine wasnt properly sterilized or if the women performing the procedure isnt properly certified as she claims to be. i purposely went to a medical facility to have a professional preform the procedure.
It is really hard to prove that a company has ruined your skin. They are backed up by amazing lawyers and paper work. Basically no matter how experienced or qualified a company claims to be you should NEVER let someone perform a procedure on your skin unless they are a dermatologist! They can assess your skin type/ sensitivity etc. Harley Medical Group in London and many other so called 'medical' practices are only out for one thing: YOUR MONEY.
I tried to take them to court about what they did to my skin but my solicitor said you need a report from an unbiased dermatologist who specialises in the legal field. I couldn't afford it at the time and as a general summary I was told that there was barely any evidence of any one ever having any problems with Microdermabrasion so my case was very weak. Also the compensation, if I won the case was estimated at max only 2 thousand English pounds and the cost of the report was over £1,000. So as you can see there was a high risk of losing and if I won it wouldn't have gained me much.
This is why I posted my story because I wanted to see if any one else had the same experience. Did you know that practically ANYONE can perform treatments on your face with no qualifications in dermatology? I want to change the law because it is unregulated across the whole world. For example if you were getting a breast enlargement you would expect to be treated by a surgeon not some jack of all trades! Why expect any different for your skin?
You are lucky they gave you your money back. I went back to see them a month after I had the treeatment and they completely denied all responsibility and said it was normal to have 'colour' in your face. At the time the room was quite cool so I couldn't show them that I flush all the time in warm places ever since. In regards to 'colour' my skin was very white too and I now have permanent rosy cheeks which go bright red in a matter of minutes when I go somewhere warm! I felt like completely helpless and like I was in a nightmare where no one believed me!
Your derm will probably tell you that your 'barrier function' has been weakened from the treatment. Avoid all triggers if you can like heat etc. Apply a gentle moisturiser and don't put anything harsh on your skin as this will irritate it further. There is no quick way of getting rid of redness. Takes a long long time. I'm still dealing with it after two years. Your derm will probably put you on a course of ant-biotics to clear infection.
You're right about the equipment possibly being uncleaned. Microdermabrasion strips the top protective layer of skin making it more vulnerable to infection and less protected from environmental triggers ie cold heat etc. The setting could have been too high also that's what my derm said.
thank you so much for your response. i have been seriously depressed over this whole situation and my heart goes out to you for having a bad experiance with microdermabraision and i am sorry that the medical facility that performed your procedure did not refund your money.
with my situation after i had the procedure i called the medical facility within a week and showed them what had occurred. i also showed them that i had been to a general doctor and was diagnosised with a contact dermatititis from the procedure and i showed them my precribstion for atarax (i hope i spelled that right)for my skin rash. they didnt try to deny that there was a problem and they appologised and refunded my money. which is admitting wrong doing because if they didnt think they caused the problem the never would have given me back the money. i think that the girl that preformed the micro knew she did something wrong to begin with because after my treatment she was pileing make up on my skin. i told her it burned and to wash it off my face and she did and i couldnt belive how red my face was.
i had my procedure done at a medical facility it is the same facility that i had my breast augmentation. the women who preformed the micro states herself to a certified clinical astetitain (excuse my spelling) . i believe she is not certified in anything and will try to prove wrong doing since i already have the refunded money as proof and i have doctors records of the incident. personally the money i would get from a lawsuit does not matter if i was to be rewarded any compensation at all (which like you said probably wouldnt be much of anything at all )but if i can stop this woman from ruining someones elses skin i will try. because if i can save just one person from going to her it will be worth it.
thank you so much for your advice on how to deal with the redness. i hope the dermatologist that i am going to will be able to precribe an antibiotic that will stop the break outs, they are so itchy and uncomfortable and embarrassing. i pray that i can get my skin back to normal. thank you so much for your help.
No problem I hope your skin gets better. My dermatologist is going to perform pulsed dye laser on my skin as it is the only way to get rid of the broken blood vessels, background redness and reduce flushing symptoms caused by microdermabrasion. From what you have told me your symptoms seem very similar to mine. So maybe suggest this to your derm as lots of people with rosacea symptoms get positive results.
The itchy skin does it come off in little flakes? I have that also ever since. It sounds like a fungal infection called seb dermatitis. There is no cure but the inflammation and redness can be treated with a topical cream called 'Daktacort' if you get diognosed with it ask for it, it will really help. Seb derm is itchy, flaky skin around the sides of nose and mouth, on forehead and eyebrows.
When I had the microdermabrasion the nurse stopped the treatment early as my skin started burning up, went bright red and stung. I was pretty horrified, even she said I reacted to it quite badly. It was the worst £95 I have ever spent.
It may be hard for you to prove that they did anything wrong as she has a certificate so seems covered. It may not have happened to anyone else so far. People with a darker skin tone or thicker skin probably wouldn't have any negative side effects but I truely believe that a proper assessment of your skin and patch test should be made and only by a derm.
At least you know now not to put anything harsh on your skin. Treat it very gently and try to keep your skin regime very minimal. Avoid perfumed products, any time of acids or products with alcohol.
All the best
Katie
well, i went to the dermatologist and i found out what part of the problem is. i was diagnosised with impetigo. its a staph infection of the skin and its highly contagious. i had been controlling that part of my problem since one week after the micro dermabraision by using neosporin. i got it to go away but it came back. i had no idea what it was , but thought it might be bacterial so used the neosporin on it. yesterday the doc said it was impetigo. he precrscibed me a cream for it. as for the rest of my face he wants to wait to clear up the staph first before helping me with the other problems.
you were right about the seb dermatitis. i have that to amongst other things that i havent been able to get any answers for (the doc wants to take care of things one thing at a time but at $225 a visit i dont think i can afford to do things one step at a time), but cant treat it yet because of the staff. the staff is disgusting. i have red pimples that itch that get all crusty and yellow and it spreads. if i didnt put the neopsorin on it it would have spread all over my face and if i wasnt diligent about not touching or scratching it , i could have spread all over my whole body. the doc said that the impetigo should clear up within 3 days from using the ointment. and omg it was expensive $115.00 for a tube of it. if it doesnt clear up or if it clears up and comes back i have to go back right away because staff can be resistent to medications.
as for the seb dermatitis i was looking up holistic cures.. there is no cure but it can be controlled. i found online that others have recommended olive oil. they say it helps stop the triggers such as yeast from causing the face to itch and flake. im going to try that first after the staff goes away.
this has been a total nightmare. and still havent gotten a full assesment of my skin or its problems.
I don't mean to be insulting to America but your health care is rubbish and very expensive. In England prescriptions no matter how big or small cost the same amount £6.50 we also have the NHS a free health service. At times you have to have a while to see a consultant (two months max for a derm) but you don't have to pay extortionate amounts of money for medication or appointments. I know that Canada offers a similar system. Maybe you should consider moving there for a while so you can move things on a bit quicker.
Regarding seb derm, type it into Wikipedia it offers many potential treatments for it. Certain B vitamins can really help like Riboflavin, that's what I take.
The dakacort ointment I suggested would really help you though gets rid of the itchness and flakiness, reduces redness and is very gentle. Give it ago and you'll be suprised.
Katie
dont worry you are not insulting america. you have only stated the facts. we have over priced doctors and medications. health insurance is another over priced market the hmos want 1,000 a month to get full coverage for my husband and my self. we decided against it and pay by appointment when we get sick. other health insurance plans are cheaper but have too much fine print about what they actually cover and out of pocket costs are still high almost as bad as if you had no health coverage at all.its horriable. hopefuly the new president fixes this.
it sounds like England really makes an effort to make health care affordable and available for everyone. a two month wait to see a specialist over there doesnt sound so bad. i was a cash pay and still had to wait over 3 weeks to see a skin specialist. even thoguh i told the secratary that my face was itching and oozing and what ever i had was spreading. she didnt care and told me 3 weeks was the soonest appointment. she told me to see a regular doctor if it was so bad. but the regular doctor only thought i had a contact dermatitis and i didnt feel like spending another $80 to see that doctor that already misdignosed me and gave me a precsipition for the atarax which was just an more expensive version of benadryl.. i really wonder about the credentials of most doctors here. there are so many specialist and regular doctors are like a jack of all trades so they only know a little bit about everything and misdiagnose problems. sometimes i think they do it on purpose so you have to keep comming back and they get to charge you more. and if they dont do it on purpose then it means they are incompentant, either or, its not good.
i already see a difference with the impetigo. its seems to be going away. i made this go away before with neosporin but it came back i am hoping that after using this precribtion creme it will never return. so my fingers are crossed. as for the rest of my face the seb dermatitis still is itchy but not as bad and i have had less flaking. (i stopped using my face wash for a few days because it seemed to make it worse and i have been taking vitimins for two weeks now) my skin isnt as red but i can still see muted red patches under the skin almost as though they are just waiting for me to get aggravated or hot so my skin can flush like roeacea again.
thank you i will take your advice about the seb dermatis. i need all the help i can get. i dont understand why the dermatoligist couldnt just give me the prescribtion for the seb dermatitis, he told me about the face wash and lotion that he precribes for that . i could have waited till the staff healed and then filled that precription and i asked him as much but he wanted to wait till next visist probably so i could pay 225 more dollars just to see him.:(
oh and please keep me informed about the pulse dye laser treatment you are going to get. i wish you well and hope that everything goes smoothly for you. my name is jamie, by the way and i just want you to know how much i appreciate all your advice. thank you.
Hi Jamie,
I'm glad your impetigo is clearing up I don't think its that hard to treat in terms of skin conditions and will go away hopefully for good. My sister had it when she was about 10, all scabby and itchy but it went away pretty quickly. However people with cold sores are more suceptible to it.
You say you have stopped using your face wash because it seems to irritate your skin? Check out the ingredients, if it has 'sodium lauryl sulfate' don't use it again. I learnt this a year ago. It can exacerbate seb dermatitis and strips the protective oil from your skin. I was told to use 'Cetaphil' a very gentle face cleanser to help my acne by my dermatits but if anything it irritated my skin further as it contains sodium lauryl sulfate. So if avoid this product. Try something like Avene face wash it contains mineral water and minimal additives.
It must be very stressful for you dealing with the American health service. You must literally feel scared to get ill. Hopefully things will change like you said.
I will let you know about the laser. After they have cleared up your acne it may be a possible option for you. I will let you know how it goes.
P.s If you really want to clear up your acne quickly and cost effectively. Ask for a low dose of Accutane over the course of 9 months. It has completely cleared up all my spots. Miracle drug! They will try to put you on a ton of anti-biotics first. Which for most people doesn't do a thing as most humans who eat meat have built up a resistance, due to livestock being pumped with antibiotics themselves. They may try to scare you off taking Accutane from the potential risk of deformity in unborn children, but just don't get pregnant and take birth control. At a low dose you won't get anything like the side effects of a high dose. At most dry skin.
Hope this helps
Katie
I have a ton of broken veins and red spots all over my face I can't get rid of any lawsuits out there I want to join ML