Dr. Shereene Idriss outlines four mistakes to avoid with laser treatments: getting a diagnosis of the actual problem, not committing to a set number of sessions upfront, expecting one laser to fix everything, and risking post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation if your skin isn't prepped or settings aren't conservative.
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If you're about to spend thousands of dollars on a laser treatment, stop. These are 4 mistakes that I absolutely want you to avoid, especially the last one if you are prone to hyperpigmentation. Before you touch your face, I'm Dr. Idriss, and this is what I would want you to know before you spend thousands of dollars touching your face. When you ask, what are we treating? And the answer you get is the name of the laser, I would probably run because that's not the answer you're looking for. And if someone can't explain to you what they're treating and how in plain English, I wouldn't let them treat my face. Because ultimately you have to diagnose the problem first in order to understand how a machine is going to fix it. If someone tells you you need 6 sessions before they've ever even treated you, I would pause. Because how the hell do you know that you even need 6 sessions yet? And unless we're talking about something like laser hair removal where we know we're going to need multiple sessions, I personally would much rather treat you, see how you respond, and then decide how you want to proceed. Now here is where I would be careful. If somebody tells you that their laser can target your wrinkles, your redness, your pigmentation, and even tighten your skin, I'd skeptical. There is no single laser that is best for everything, and honestly, I trust somebody more when they tell me what a laser can't do. And this one I really want you to hear, especially if you tend to pigment, because the wrong laser can leave you with way more pigment than what you walked in with. Are you prepping your skin? And ask your provider, are you being conservative with my settings? Because you should be okay to get more treatments at a more conservative setting than try to get one treatment that might blast your face off, especially if you have a history of dark marks And especially if you have a history of melasma. So if you know someone who's about to book a laser treatment, send them this.
