There's a new technology in town people! Revival Clinic is the first user in Malaysia for Pico Plus laser. And it's nearing Chinese New Year, so we all want beautiful skin =)
But first, what is a Pico laser? It is the first of a new generation of aesthetic lasers that don't rely solely on heat to burn or melt away unwanted tattoo ink or melanin, the pigment that causes dark spots in your skin. Photo therapy and laser therapy are effective for an initial period, but there is also post-inflammatory hypo and hyper pigmentation (PIH), caused by too much heat or thermal energy in the skin in the surrounding area.
Instead Pico engineers used cutting edge physics and medical science to help practitioners treat patients in a new way. Instead of building up heat, Pico delivers energy so rapidly (in a trillionths of a second) that tiny particles that make up pigment and tattoo ink vibrate and shatter, without burning surrounding tissue. It delivers energy so rapidly that it converts to pressure instead of heat. This pressure scatters the pigment which gets flushed by the body. This is an advancement in laser therapy that minimizes damage to surrounding tissue, and reduces PIH as well.
Less heat means less tissue damage and discomfort. Even more impressively, Pico's revolutionary technology is designed to harness the body's natural healing processes to restore youthful skin in ways never before possible. Pico effectively converts the laser energy into gentle pressure waves that activate Cell Signaling, the body's natural communication processes and one of the most exciting discoveries in recent history.
The technology has been studied for tattoo pigment and birthmark removal. It’s a novel technique for pigmented skin disorders and now it can also reduce melasma, freckles, coloured spots, acne scars, tighten pores, rejuvenate skin and whiten fine hairs in your skin so that skin is radiant and glowing. It also improves overall skin tone and texture of skin.
There are many types of brands for Pico laser. Revival Clinic is using Pico Plus where it has a special hand piece called Dual Focused Dots. It has a strong photo mechanical disruption as making Laser Induced Optical Breakdown in the dermis while leaving the epidermis intact.
Dr Chew attended to me and she's a very young, pretty and knowledgeable doctor. She explained to me about Pico Plus laser and listened to my concerns. Well, my skin concern always boils down to my open pores due to my oily skin. So she mentioned that Pico Plus laser can treat my open pores using the laser for a desired damage to my skin to activate the Cell Signaling to fasten the process to 'cure' the pores and tighten it, in lay man terms hehe Not only that, this Pico Plus laser will also rejuvenate my skin and all these with a fast down time.
First, let's tour Revival Clinic. It's quite a spacious place I must say.
Consultation room.
More consultation room.
Waiting area for friends and family.
I did a facial first for my skin and thereafter did the laser.
The therapist first prepped me for removal of makeup.
Then the therapist started washing my face. All products used are Revival Clinic's own house brand so you know it's good!
Once face is cleansed, we headed to the photo room to take a 3D photo for them to analyse my skin so that the doctor will know what concerns to focus on when she lasers my skin.
The photo props.
Then it's time for face scrub followed by a face massage.
Smells so good and my therapist hands were so soft and smooth! She was very gentle which I really love.
Then it's time for the LED light mask. This LED light mask is a light therapy to penetrate skin at different depths and cause various reactions in your skin, such as fighting acne-causing bacteria, plumping skin and reducing wrinkles. Depending what skin type you are combatting, the colour differs. For me, my oily combination skin is suitable with the pink light so pink panther it is!
Hi there hehe
After that, a numbing cream is applied and I have to wait for 30 minutes before it takes effect. The bed was comfy and the music was very serenading so rest awhile before the laser starts.
After 30 minutes, the cream is removed and I can feel my senses are numbed. It felt a bit weird because this is the first time I had numbing cream on and to not feel my face was weird HAHA
Eye mask on and it's time for the laser.
Dr Chew explained that there are a few types of settings of the laser- some is to remove pigments, rejuvenate skin, acne scars, etc. The doctor will customise the setting of Pico Plus based on every individual's skin needs. For me, she will be using 2 different types of settings, which is one to tighten my pores and another to rejuvenate skin.
There were some electricity sound and the light on my skin felt like some ants bite tingling sensation. Dr Chew talked to me throughout the entire process so she made me feel comfortable and to distract me.
It was not very painful and was very bearable. There's some smoke smell but it's normal so nothing to worry about. If it's too painful, let the doctor know and she will decrease the intensity so communicate with your doctor.
Some parts are a bit more painful than others like upper lips and under eyes. The procedure was quite fast. It only took 15-20 minutes to be done. It was very bearable actually. Afterall, no pain no gain right?
The after laser effect. I was a bit shocked honestly that my skin turned out this red haha. But then, my skin is very sensitive so every time after facial when there's blackhead removal, my skin will also be this red. But this is a different kind of red. I was warned before but the redness felt like broken capillaries on my skin which I have never seen before in my life because this is my very first procedure. However, doctor said it will take 1-2 days downtime so I felt more relieved and not to worry so much. Luckily, it's a long holiday with Thaipusam so I was not seeing anyone that weekend hehe
Then a soothing cream is applied followed by a face mask.
Some people will experience stronger redness while some may also experience itchiness for the initial few days. Some may not experience any redness if the setting is focused more on rejuvenation. So it's really dependent on the individual. Some will even have acne popped out like the very own Dr Chew when she did the laser.
The clinic will give 2 types of cream, one is a moisturising soothing cream while the other is for itch. I religiously applied the clinic's soothing cream a few days after the laser. I did not really experience much itch or acne popping out, just the redness.
So the Pico Plus is designed to cause a 'desired injury'. When cells in our body are injured, they communicate by releasing a natural protein to signal a healing response to other healthy cells. Pico Plus laser stimulates this natural process by using high density of light energy. In doing so, the cells’ inflammatory healing response is initiated, and new collagen and elastin are created in return. My skin would then be healed and rejuvenated!
It only took 2 days for my redness to subside. This is considered a low to zero downtime depending on the individual. Better than other lasers where it will take longer than that.
Here's a sequence of my skin.
Top left- Right after the laser
Top right- 1 day after
Down left- Redness slowly healing
Down right- 3 days after laser (skin was glowing and brighter!)
Before and 6 days after! Love love my skin condition after that <3
I find my blackhead drop off quite easily too hehe Just a little scrub and you can feel the oil seed coming off. That sense of satisfaction!
Revival Clinic has also generously given me to try their house brand products. And I have been using them to also enhance my skin condition.
Revival rejuvenating cleanser.
It is a soap-free gel cleanser. Ingredients include Rose Hip Seed Oil which is naturally rich in essential fatty acids, Vitamin E and Vitamin A. It revitalizes and promotes skin recovery, helps to sooth dry, irritated and dehydrated skin.
The pleasant Rose aroma from the Rose Hip Seed Oil was very calming. Love the scent and I literally need just one pump to cleanse the entire face. A pump goes a long way. Some people like a clean effect after cleansing and some like a moisturising effect. This one definitely has the clean effect but not drying.
Revival Advancing Skin Renewal Essence.
Alcohol free toner to soothe skin.
Love that it's a spray toner and all you need is to spray on face. I didn't use a cotton pad and I find it super convenient. It spritzes out a generous amount as well. My husband also loves spray toner because we are lazy like that haha
Revival Aqua Hydrator.
Acts as a moisturiser to hydrate and soothe skin.
This was super fast absorbing! It disappears within seconds which I absolutely love haha. So it does not leave any sticky or oily feeling.
Revival Antioxidant UV Protection.
This is the sunblock which is very essential for daily use.
The texture is very lightweight. It does not leave a white cast and is fast absorbing too. I am pleased to say that because of my frequent usage of sunblock since an early age (high school), Doctor told me that she didn't see any sun spots or pigmentation due to sun exposure without sunscreen. YAY! All these years of slapping on sunblock has definitely done good for my skin. So people, remember, always protect your skin with a good sunblock!
My skin right after laser and on the right is with Revival Sunblock and blusher only after 6 days when my skin has completely healed. Look at the difference.
All pictures above are with NO filter edit because I really want to show an honest review of the laser. I really felt my skin has become brighter and glowing. In that sense, the laser did whiten my fine hairs on my face and also realised it had lighten my acne scars. In terms of my pores, I guess it is not magic where it can shrink my pore after 1 session. I will need a few sessions for that.
But for now, with my skin behaving so well, I can just go out with just sunblock, blusher and lipstick! No foundation, concealer or powder needed baybeh. CNY, here I come with good skin hehe
Revival Clinic also did a follow up call on me after a week which was very nice and asked me how was my skin and was concerned if everything was fine. Love their after treatment service *thumbs up* All the staffs were very helpful and nice and if you have any questions for the doctor, she will reply you very patiently *double thumbs up*
Now, why not give Pico Plus Laser a try?
Revival Clinic is very efficient in replying so if you have any questions, do reach out to them in the following pages:
FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/revivalclinic.aesthetic/
Instagram: @revivalclinic.aesthetic
Website:
http://revivalclinic.com.my/
Address: 33-G, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla BF31/BF, Kota Kemuning
Shah Alam, Malaysia 40460
Thank you Revival Clinic for making my skin Chinese New Year ready hehe!
