Growing up, I heavily struggled with skin issues. Acne, pigmentation, and oily skin ruled my face and I had a hard time managing it. Fast forward to my late teens, my skin got better and I finally felt like my issues were under control. I still struggled with some acne and dryness here and there, but not as much as before. If anything, I worked to heal any scarring I had left from intense acne and kept my routine simple with cleansers, exfoliants, SPF, and powder foundation.

Now, as a present-day 30-something-year-old woman, I’ve found that my relationship with skin care products has strengthened as I’ve worked to figure out what works best for my skin. My new issue is trying to ensure my skin is strong and healthy enough to look its best for the rest of my lifetime.

Living in the desert, moisturizers and serums have become my skin BFFs to help hydrate my skin from the dry air. However, my skin still has some pigmentation and a little bit of redness and has transformed into what once was oily skin to combo skin. Also, fine lines have made their appearance on my face. Although I embrace aging, my curiosity about what products or procedures could help alleviate them has grown more and more. I am not one to judge anyone who wants fillers or botox, but for my skin, I prefer to try other methods. I recently became curious about laser treatments, as they have recently made headlines as one of the best ways to heal skin, particularly the Halo laser treatment.

Luckily, Custom Glow is one of four medical centers here in Las Vegas that offers this treatment and I was able to try the Halo laser treatment myself to see what all the hype was about!

The 411 on BBL and Halo Laser Treatments

I’m not going to lie, the sound of lasers on my face didn’t sound pleasant, and if I’m honest, it still doesn’t. 😂 Even though I did hours of research, what was most helpful was Custom Glow’s team really helped me understand what laser procedure options they offered, how the technology worked with the skin, and what to expect afterward. They also explained side effects, and tips on what products to use and avoid during the healing phase.

I was connected with Dr. Meg, who is the doctor at Custom Glow. She gave me the low down on it all and answered all of my questions without a problem!

I’ve never had any sort of laser treatment on my face before, so I’m a bit nervous! I was considering the Halo resurfacing laser treatment or the BBL Hero laser treatment. Can you tell us more about them?

So Halo and BBL are both amazing treatment options but we have to understand what they treat first. Halo uses two types of lasers, one which is ablative and cuts into the skin precisely and another which penetrates below the dermis. BBL is a laser that uses broadband light rapidly and targets various issues such as hyperpigmentation, blood vessels, acne scars, etc. It does this by targeting darker colors while filtering past our normal skin color. Between the two, the Halo treatment is definitely more aggressive as it has ablative capabilities.

Aside from potential peeling or redness, are there any side effects after receiving either treatment?
BBL has little to no downtime meaning mild redness, and darkening of sunspots, which later flake off. Also, makeup can be worn immediately after which is nice if you’re out and about a lot. In some cases, it can make pigmentations worse if there are hormonal causes of darkening, such as melasma. Some people may have very sensitive skin and could have lasting redness and worst case scenario, blistering.

Halo will require 5-7 days of downtime. I just recently had the procedure done and I can say the results are fantastic! But I was grateful I did not have to leave my house for 4 days. The reason for the downtime is it causes two levels of change in the skin so we see redness and something called MENDs, which stands for Micro Epidermic Necrotic Debris. MENDs look like pinpoint scabs. Immediately after this treatment, the skin will feel very hot for about 1-2 hours similar to a bad sunburn. The skin starts to heal and the redness slowly fades and the MENDS begin to appear. This laser is safe for all skin types as it is not targeting melanin as BBL does.

Would there be any pain at all?
Mild discomfort may happen for some parts of the BBL treatment. The best way to describe it is it’s as if there are light rubber band snaps on your face. There is mild to moderate discomfort with Halo after the anesthetic has begun. Cooling is utilized throughout the procedure for patient comfort. Halo has significantly more discomfort for the first 2 hours immediately after treatment due to the dermis being heated. Using thermal water after treatment is key to helping cool down the face!

Aside from the laser treatment itself, are there any products used during the procedure? If so, what are they?

Halo uses a topical Lidocaine numbing cream for 45 minutes to 1 hour before treatment so it’s as comfortable as possible. BBL has little to no pain but does require ultrasound jelly on the skin for the laser to glide over the skin and evenly distribute light.

Is there any aftercare that would be necessary after either treatment?

Sunscreen every day if any exposure is anticipated for both treatments. Halo requires a gentle face wash followed by a hydrating moisturizer 2 times per day starting 24 hours after treatment. I also recommend some sort of thermal water spray for skin comfort.

Are patients typically free to go about their day after either treatment or is it recommended to stay out of the sun and be home for a certain amount of hours?
After BBL, we ask patients to try and avoid direct sun exposure for 2 weeks (this is to prevent possible hyperpigmentation issues). No drinking alcohol, using hot tubs, saunas or strenuously working out for at least 2 days after treatment. For Halo, I would say you probably won’t want to leave the house for at least 3-4 days depending on the intensity of treatment we do. Also no drinking alcohol, using hot tubs, saunas or strenuously working out for at least 2 days after treatment. SUNBLOCK SUNBLOCK SUNBLOCK!

Are patients able to put make-up on the same day after their treatment?
Only with BBL, no HALO. No makeup with Halo until peeling is complete.

Would I have to avoid using specific products on my face before treatment?
Retinol products should be avoided for a few days before treatment. They should also be avoided about 1 week after BBL treatment and until the skin has fully healed after the Halo treatment. I recommend using vitamin C serum every morning after both treatments and utilizing sunscreen every day.

How long do results last?
With BBL, results generally last 4 months but it is recommended to have seasonal “maintenance” treatments to treat any new issues and to help promote collagen reorganization leading to tighter and brighter skin. Once pigmentation issues are treated, they won’t come back but new ones may appear due to previous sun exposure which is why we recommend maintenance treatments.

Halo continues to improve over 6 months but immediate results are seen once the skin is healed. The non-ablative laser that penetrated into the dermis causes controlled cell damage leading to improvement in skin texture over time. One treatment per year is great, but 2-3 treatments are recommended until the desired results are achieved.

My Experience - Day of Treatment

After speaking with Dr. Meg, my final decision was to book a Halo resurfacing laser treatment with Custom Glow. I thought it would really help with some of the acne scarring and pigmentation my skin was still holding onto.

Leading up to the day of my procedure, I took Dr. Meg’s advice and made sure to stop using any products with retinol in it. I also made sure to book my procedure during a week I didn’t have any social plans so that I could stay home and let my skin heal.

Before my treatment, Dr. Meg walked me through some paperwork I had to sign. Then we walked into the medical space and she put a topical Lidocaine cream on my face to numb it and let it set for 45-mins to an hour. After that, Dr. Meg removed the excess and put eye shields on my eyes before rolling the laser on my face. I was a little nervous because I’d never done any sort of laser treatment before and I couldn’t see since my eyes were covered. But Dr. Meg talked me through every step that was taken and that made me feel very comfortable during the procedure.

She started with the right side of my face, which didn’t hurt at all. When moving to the left side of my face, I definitely felt it more. According to Dr. Meg, this is common in patients as the left side is heavily exposed to the sun when driving. She then did another pass on my entire face and that’s when I felt pain on both sides of my face. To finish off the treatment, she spritzed my face a couple of times with a thermal water spray from Avene.

Afterward, my face felt hot and I basically looked like I had hives on my face. There was minimal bleeding. However, the redness and some bleeding are actually part of the Halo laser treatment process. The pictures below were taken at 3:19 PM. By about 4:32 PM, my face cooled down and I was officially on my Halo glow healing journey.

Before leaving, Custom Glow also gave me a little care package which included a brown zip pouch with two Alastin skin care products to help me along my healing journey. One is an ultra-nourishing moisturizer and the other is a tinted pro mineral sunscreen.

My healing Process (Day 2 through 7)

The next morning, my face felt crusty and dry, but that was to be expected. I got up and remembered all of Dr. Meg’s orders to give my skin its best chance to heal well.

• I was only able to wash my face with a Cetaphil cleanser morning and night, while also spritzing my face with any sort of hydrating water on an as-needed basis. I used the plump + juicy vegan collagen spray-on serum from Kosas throughout the day to help with hydration.

• No vigorous workouts until healing was complete. I could do light exercises like walking on the treadmill and such, but no intense exercises.

• When sleeping, I was asked to sleep upright and could not sleep on my side. This helped ensure my skin was not rubbing up against my sheets. Also, I was advised to change my pillowcase cover after receiving the treatment so my head could sleep on a clean sheet.

• I could not rub or pick at the scabbing on my skin. I had to let the scabbing come off on its own.

Below are pictures of my journey over the next 6 days after receiving the treatment. By day 6, all of the scabbing had come off my face and my skin was fully healed!

The Results

After letting my skin heal, I found that it…

• Felt tighter!

• Has smaller pores and produces less oil!!!

• Looked brighter!

• Has more of an even skin tone!

• Has a smoother look overall!

Before & after - left side

Before & after - Right Side

To book your own facial laser treatment, check out Custom Glow in Las Vegas ! You can also reach out to them on Instagram for any questions you may have about treatments or to book.

Shout-out to the Custom Glow team for this awesome experience! Ya’ll are the best 😃