|REVIEW| Skin Gym Laser Clinic Series: 1 Introduction & Carbon Peel

WELCOME TO THE FIRST POST
Hello guys! From the name I hope you can tell I am about to do a series of posts for Skin Gym Laser Clinic! The reason I'm doing this is because I understand that a lot of you would be more keen on learning the actual improvement laser can give to our skin after a few treatments. And I figured that a review of just one treatment is never accurate. So today, I'll do a simple introduction of the clinic, show you some before pictures of my skin and explain about the first laser I did.

The registration counter.

SAVIOUR FROM HEAVEN?
If you have seen my face in my previous reviews and compared it to my face in the past few months, you'd realise that I'm getting more acnes. I'm blaming it on my hormonal changes and I totally ran out of ideas of how I can treat them because none of the topical creams and oilments works! 😭 At the moment of extreme desperation (I was about to start work and I wanted to look my best), thank goodness I discovered Skin Gym Laser Centre.

The interior of the clinic.

Behind the seating area were some racks with the products that Skin Gym carries.

ALL ABOUT LASERS
From its name, you can tell it's all about lasers. Honestly, I am terrified to subject my skin to laser lights. Or else I would've done it ages ago to combat the oily nose I have (which I'm now controlling with the W.Lab and Althea powder)! Luckily, I was met with a really patient doctor and the friendly staff members at Skin Gym definitely helped soothe my first-timer nervousness. I just couldn't thank Dr. Yap enough, for patiently answering all my questions and giving me the boost of confidence to take the first step.

THE LASERS PRESCRIBED
On my first visit, Dr Yap looked at my skin condition and gave me a brief analysis. With that, he recommended me to do a Carbon Peel for once a month and in between, the Q-Switched Laser Treatments. So today, I am going to introduce to you these two types of laser and give you an early look into my skin condition before I went for the laser.

CARBON PEEL
As it uses spectra lotion that consists of carbon, it is also known as Spectra Peel. Some even call it the Hollywood Laser Peel or the China Doll Peel as it gives a porcelain doll like finish to the skin (we'll find out soon). This treatment aims to leave the skin invigorated with reduced pore size, promotes uniform skin colouration and aids acne and oily skin. Before I went into the treatment room, Dr. Yap warned me that if my skin is particularly sensitive, I MIGHT get redness but it wouldn't last long until it subsides. Knowing that my skin isn't the most sensitive type, I wasn't too worried.

The cubicle I was brought into.

SO WHAT HAPPENS?
Inside the treatment area, I was told to lie on the treatment bed in the cubicle next to a resting lounge and was covered with a blanket in case I was cold. One of the staff members attended me and started cleansing my face super gently right after sanitising his hand at the basin. A curtain was pulled up beforehand to separate the cubicle I was in from the rest of the resting lounge. I was so glad to find that they have a rack under the bed to let me store my belongings. I hate having to leave my bag on the floor!

A hairnet was used to cover the top of my head.

The staff member carefully cleansed my skin without irritating my angry pimple on the chin.

REST FOR A BIT
After my face was thoroughly cleansed, a carbon lotion was applied on my face and allowed to dry. I was told to wait in the waiting/resting lounge for around 15 minutes. In the lounge, there was a TV running some K-dramas 😍, some really comfortable sofas and water for the guests. In case you want to check out what's on your skin, there's also a mirror on the same side of the wall as the TV. After 15 minutes, the carbon lotion was dried, the staff member came to inform me it's time for the laser.

Applying the carbon lotion.

The waiting/resting lounge.

The TV showing K-dramas and the mirror.

Water which you can help yourself with.

TIME TO LASER IT
Now comes the interesting part. Dr. Yap came into the cubicle right after I lay down on the treatment bed. He kept me informed of each step of the process while he was at it. In the beginning, the carbon lotion was heated using the laser so that it could penetrate into my pores. This was the scariest part. The heat was not unbearable but it was scary. It felt like my skin was being 'swept' by fire, if that makes any sense. It didn't hurt, it just felt hot. The heat was intense especially when Dr. Yap gave more attention to my troubled chin area. If you're particularly sensitive to weird noises, there was also a constant din from the machine that sounded something like wood knocking on wood.

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Me nervously waiting.

An eye shield was used to protect my eyes from the laser beam. And yes, THAT's the laser machine.

Zooming in, can you see the red dot? That's the laser beam.

SECOND LASER ON ITS WAY
When I thought it was finally done, little did I know there was a second and a third laser settings waiting for me. 😭 Anything for flawless skin! The second laser setting was used to vapourise the carbon and take away the outer layer of dead skin cells, basically exfoliation. Due to the heat emitted by the laser beam, the growth of connective tissue, i.e. collagen, increases (no wonder my skin felt a bit tight after the treatment!). In return, my pores would shrink and I would be 'rewarded' with cleaner pores and a more even skin tone. This one came with a suction noise as the vaporised carbon was sucked away by another machine.

The white tube is the suction tube, to suck away the vaporised carbon. Dr. Yap started from my forehead.

Here's the second laser beam, all the carbon was vaporised by it.

Almost done vaporising.

WHAT ABOUT THE THIRD?
The last one felt the most comfortable and was the least scary. Again with the wood-on-wood knocking noise, which was in no way uncomfortable to me, the thin laser beam swept my skin lightly. It felt like someone was sweeping my face with an incredibly thin, soft but rigid bristle (almost like the hard bristle of a broom?). It only felt a little bit warm. It was during this that I could finally relax and enjoy.

Can you see the laser beam? This was the last laser.

IT FINALLY ENDED!
The whole treatment ended after around 30 minutes with Dr. Yap asking me how I felt about it. All I could think about that time was the burnt smell on my face. The smell lasted almost the entire day (my appointment was at 11.30am). Fortunately, when I woke up the next morning, it was gone. Just tell your boyfie/husband/kid not to kiss you during the day haha!

Right after treatment. Just realised my right cheek looks slightly paler than the rest of my skin.

My skin was cleansed again.

READY FOR EVERYTHING
Another awesome point about this Carbon Peel treatment was that there was no downtime. Other than having to put on sunscreen (better a broad spectrum one), which I do every day, I can immediately resume normal activities unlike with some other laser treatments. Oh! During consultation, Dr. Yap also informed me if I had any pimple brewing underneath, the laser treatment would cause it surface much more quickly than usual as it speeds up the process. This was less of a worry for me because I rather they came out then than later when I start going to work!

WHAT DID I SEE IMMEDIATELY?
We all know it usually takes a few times for such treatment to actually show effects. But like I said, right after the first treatment my skin already felt tighter, thanks to the increased collagen production. But that's not even the best part. What lit up my day was the apparent absence of oil droplets on my nose after five hours (my nose usually oils up around 30 minutes after cleansing) although Dr. Yap did mention the effect needs regular treatment to maintain as it isn't permanent. It'd be horrifying if it is, wouldn't it? He also told me to regularly moisturise my skin as Carbon Peel may cause it to become drier than it was and practise a good skincare routine to ensure that the effect is more long-lasting.

Showing you some main changes below:

Here's my skin before treatment. I only have some minor redness around the nose and a few cystic acnes on my chin. There are also a few tiny pimples which are not obvious to the eyes immediately.

Day 1: The cystic acne has subsided a lot, skin looks a lot less red and this is without makeup.

Day 4: Cystic acne has totally died down but some new pimples that were previously brewing underneath have surfaced. All redness that was previously present has subsided tremendously.

Note: This is after one treatment and results may vary for every individual.

I TOTALLY FORGOT
After receiving a few enquiries from some of you, I realised I have totally missed out the price information! So here's an update. If you're looking at trying out one session of Carbon Peel Laser, it'll cost you RM500. So naturally it's more logical to go for the packages since one session may not be sufficient to show desired results. There are two packages for this laser (with Q-Swtiched) and the concept is, the more you sign up for, the cheaper it will be per laser.

Rejuvenation Program B - roughly RM105 per laser
Total: RM1988 inclusive of GST (Valid for 6 months)
 Contains:
16 x Q-Switched Laser Treatment
16 x Hydrating Face Mask
3 x Carbon Shining Peel Laser Treatment (what I had above)
You'll also receive a FREE luminous age-defying lifting cream OR a luminous white radiance cream.

Rejuvenation Program C - roughly RM72 per laser
Total: RM3988 inclusive of GST (Valid for 12 months)
Contains:
50 x Q-Switched Laser Treatment
50 x Hydrating Face Mask
6 x Carbon Shining Peel Laser Treatment (what I had above)
You'll also receive a FREE luminous age-defying lifting cream OR a luminous white radiance cream.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT?
In the next post, I will most likely talk about the Q-switched laser and explain to you what it is. Stay tuned if you want to learn more about its effect and whether you are a candidate for it. Just follow me on Bloglovin' using the button on the right → and on Instagram (@yanrula) for more regular updates (usually in my Instagram stories). In the mean time, if you want to try out the Carbon Peel laser, you can find the clinic's location and contact below.

WHERE TO FIND SKIN GYM LASER CLINIC?

SS2 Branch

Address:
1, Jalan ss2/72, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

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Business Days:

Every day

Business Hours:

Monday - Friday 11:00am - 8:00pm

Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday 10:00am - 7:00pm

Phone Number:

+60 11-1133 8088

Despite it being in SS2, you really don't have worry about carpark. They have a private parking area for patients and if you're lucky you might even be able to park in the covered area.

Johor Branch

Address:

104, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

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Business Days: 

Tuesday - Sunday, closed on Monday

Business Hours:

10am - 8pm

 Phone Number:

+6010-8822811 / +607-5623630

I highly encourage you to book your appointment in advance to avoid disappointment.

Email:

contact@skingym.com.sg

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Thank you for reading, see you in the next post!

I post new contents on skincare every Tuesday and Friday. Follow me on Bloglovin' so you won't miss it when my next review is up!

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I was invited to try their services in exchange for an honest review. As usual, all thoughts are mine and 100% honest with all pictures taken by me and my mum (thanks mum!).

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