What Have You Done To Your Skin? Diary of A Factor 4 Treatment

Diary of a Factor4 treatment – Part 1 of 2.

Have you ever looked at your skin and wished you could turn back the clock, even just a few years? Have you wished that you could bring back the soft, healthy skin you thought you’d have forever? Well, me too, so I decided to see if it was possible.

While I have worn SPF 30+ religiously, years of sporadic skin care routines and lack of regular maintenance seemed to have finally caught up with me. My skin was looking dull, pores and lines were becoming more visible and, no matter how regularly I exfoliated, my skin tone looked blotchy.

Determined to find a solution, I spent months talking to friends and researching treatments around the world, just to see what was on offer.

My research took me on a journey from home skin needling and smoothies to Fraxel laser and chemical peels. While I flirted with the idea of Fraxel, I have to admit it was the downtime, more so than the cost, which made me put it on the back burner (so to speak).

However, it was a conversation with a friend (with beautiful skin) that lead me to reconsider a treatment called Factor4. “Why would you go through Fraxel when there is Factor4?” she asked. Like many others it seems, I thought Factor4 was the domain of high profile celebrities only (think Kim Kardashian and Bar Rafaeli); inaccessible to us mere mortals. I had no idea it was available and being practised successfully here in Melbourne.

To many, Factor4 is another name for the ‘Vampire Facial’ but according to my research through the Skin and Injecting Clinic in Melbourne, under the Direction of Dr Bryan Mendelson, it is incredibly effective at rejuvenating skin; delivering tone, texture, brightness and elasticity with minimal downtime. Here’s why…

Factor4, an autologous conditioning serum (ACS), is a highly concentrated and super-rich blood serum, extracted from the patient’s blood, which contains four times more growth factors. When used in conjunction with Medical Skin Needling (also known as CIT or Collagen Induction Therapy), the area is treated with the body’s own potent growth factors. The result is faster healing and less down time.

In a nutshell, a combination of Factor4 and Medical Skin Needling, is powerful. The treatment can seem extreme as occasionally patients do bleed, (hence the Vampire facial moniker) but this is not felt and is more like a controlled exfoliation than anything violent.

So, aside from a little blood, what did I have to lose? I booked an appointment with Natasha Laouta, Dermal Clinician at the Skin & Injecting Clinic immediately.

PRE-TREATMENT

I’m told that I will need four treatments, no more than two weeks apart, and will also need to prepare my skin with a home dermal rolling along with Vitamin rich oil A & C for at least a month before we begin. The commitment doesn’t put me off, in fact, I am excited by the opportunity of seeing this unfold gradually. As part of the Factort4 package, I am handed a skin care kit (including dermal roller) and off I go to have my blood extracted.

FIRST FACTOR 4 TREATMENT

Four weeks later, I arrive for my first Factor4 treatment. I’ll admit I am nervous and tell Natasha so as she applies numbing cream over my face.

Having a fair and sensitive skin, which is now bright red in response to the numbing cream, I seek reassurance that I will be able to carry on as normal the next day. “Absolutely,” she says as she hands me a pre-arranged mineral makeup bag. I’m told that most of the redness will go down after a few hours, and while I’ll still be a little swollen and flaky, the makeup will help me get through the day.

After an hour, the numbing cream is removed and Natasha shows me a vile full of yellow liquid and explains that this is the substance, extracted from my blood, that will provide the powerful healing. To be applied to my skin during the Medical Skin Needling, I have four of these (three now in freezer storage) to get me through the treatments.

With my skin cleaned meticulously, we begin. Due to the hour spent covered in numbing cream, I can feel little more than slight scratching on my skin. Natasha works thoroughly across my face, concentrating on problem areas (fine lines and stretched pores) and applying the serum as she goes. I don’t bleed at all and once complete, I spend twenty glorious minutes under the warmth of the Low-level light therapy (LLLT) Healite II unit which aims to assist recovery, and a rich application of Environ Vitamin Oil containing A, C & E completes the session.

Before I know it, I am done and as I prepare to leave I grab a quick look in the mirror. My face is bright red and hot, and I look like I have a terrible sunburn. Thank goodness for the mineral make-up (BB Cream, powder and blush) provided as part of the treatment as I know I’ll be able to cover up tomorrow if I need to.

Fortunately, it is winter, and I am leave in the dark, but I do have a family dinner to go to, and while I am comfortable admitting what I have done, their reactions to my face are going to be interesting.

As I walk through the door of my mother’s house, all eyes land on me, and there is a collective gasp from the family. “What have you done to your skin?” my Mother asks, very concerned. I explain the procedure, and aside from offers of a cold press and comparisons to a lasered Samantha from Sex in the City, there isn’t too much fuss and they lose interest.

At home, I follow the skincare instructions carefully before jumping into bed for some cuartive sleep (on my back of course). I am very excited to see the changes ahead.

POST FIRST TREATMENT

On waking, the first thing I do is touch my face. My skin feels tight and slightly rough to the touch which is incredible considering how much oil I had put on it the night before.

I can’t wait to see what I’ll be dealing with today, so I head to the bathroom and inspect every inch of my skin. I’m pleased, and incredibly surprised, to see the redness has calmed down a lot. It’s still very blotchy and dry but with help from the skincare and mineral makeup provided, I think I can get away with it.

Day two and day three I continue to follow the skincare routine religiously. I am still slightly red and a little swollen without makeup, but I know things are improving. The one improvement I do notice is that my skin is starting to feel incredibly soft.

By day four I’m in a routine of skincare and mineral make-up and to be honest, I’m not sure I can see much of an improvement. That was until I was talking to a colleague at work. Mid conversation he interrupts me and asks, ‘what have you done to your skin?’ I am slightly worried that I am flaking but when he adds, ‘your skin looks amazing! Have you had a facial or something?’ I get flushed with excitement.

If this is the result after just one session, I can’t wait to get through the next three!

      Treatment #1 Before                  Treatment #2 After

Visit: https://bmendelson.com.au/factor-4/ for more information.

Article Source: http://www.the-page.com.au/beauty/5224/

NB: Part 2 with further before and after shots to follow.