Hi all! As mentioned in my last blog post, here is the vlog from my short getaway to Johor last month. I flew from Sepang Airport to Johor Bahru and then took the bus to Desaru where I stayed for a night in Four Point Sheraton before heading to JB (in an AirBnB) for another night.
Desaru Beach is quite a view with the long stretch of wide beach and almost nobody compared to Port Dickson. I'd say its a great place to really chill and relax 😌
Since we just have 24 hours in JB, my friends and I managed to cover only a handful of places such as Danga Bay, Tan Hooi Nee Street and Johor Premium Outlet. Nevertheless it was quite fun and we fell in love with Souper Tang. They have a few branches in JB but very few in KL (apparently they closed off a few branches) 🙃
JB feels abit like a combination of several states of Malaysia really. IMO KL is so much more happening. Still, it's great exploring!
Hello!! November came and gone just like that and already we are a few days before the new year!
This video appears short but that's because in November I was also getting my face done. See my last video on my laser & subcision at Nexus Clinic. That is actually the third of my three-parts videos on my mini Skincare Series. Do check out the other two!
Besides that, I also did a short Cuti Cuti Malaysia. The video on the latter coming up soon so wait for it!!
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In the vlog I shared some of the Shopee hauls for the month. You can see the timestamp from about 5:23 in the video above. Just for your convenience, here are the obligatory affiliate links for y'all:
Btw, I was keeping the foldable umbrella back into my tote bag the other day and someone came up to ask where I got it from HAHA! It's a really sleek umbrella, I have to say *wink
Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I seriously hope so. I remember saying that the last year when I did subcision but apparently I've forgot about it. Giving myself a huge eyeballs roll and smack on my face. By now I probably already went for laser like 4 times and subcision 1 time. So with this latest one, in total 7 facial laser/subcision? Yikes!
This time I went to Nexus Clinic with the intention of removing a scarring. I have been at Nexus back in 2015 for a mole removal. Initially I wanted a small treatment but they suggested a full face. And I actually agreed. Because I was like yeah, the scars are still obvious and since I'm there might as well.
What I didn't know is that I signed up for BOTH subcision AND fractional C02 laser. Unlike what I did in Ting Skin Clinic, they poke a hole only once on each side of my face. Thankfully they have like a super strong numbing cream. The needle is phobia-inducing. Not fun. Then comes the laser. I thought no biggie, I've done this before should be OK right? It was so painful I was shaking under the covers, squeezing the stress ball and tearing up. Mind you, this is the only time I get a stress ball. When the doc ask if it's OK, I stuttered at my reply. Dafuq.
That's why they have like a massaging thingy on your forehead and another nurse was massaging my arm. I must've jolted a lot. That when the numbing cream was still in effect. The pain was terrible a few hours later I can barely talk or gargle my mouth.
Post-Treatment & Care
Day 1 (Same day): Bled a bit on my right side. Stinging pain all over and swelling on cheeks & forehead. I couldn't wash my face bc it hurts so I dabbed tissue after wetting my face with the antimicrobial spray.
Day 2: My face swelled and hurt in the morning. The It's still the weekend so I moisturise as often as I can. There is bleeding and some yellow liquid (I suspect
Day 3-4: There are minor bruising on the parts where the needle went in. Yes, it still hurt slightly.
Day 5-6: More of the dry skin either flakes away or gets removed from me washing my face. The bruises are still there.
Day 7-8: The bruise appears minimal _ like I've burst-some-pimples-and-they're-recovering minimal. At least I felt more ok going out looking like that.
My Verdict
I do find the service here. They took their time throughout the process. They also apply the same antimicrobial spray and moisturiser post treatment. Would recommend if you don't feel like waiting on queue and you want to pay by card. The cons is probably the pain from the fractional C02 laser.
On the other hand, I think their subcision is less painful than when I first did in Ting Skin Clinic. That's my personal opinion lar, someone need to validate by going to both and share their experience LOL. Perhaps the pain from the laser actually made it seems less worst. One thing I noticed, the inside of my mouth felt swollen and I think this is from the needle!
The downtime or 'ugly days' are usually less than a week based on my past experiences at Ting Skin Specialist. So I can tell they really went all in this time...
Thankfully I didn't take package because I don't think I want to put myself through this again. It really, really hurts! I'm really praying this is the last!!
One advice for youngsters or just anyone: Keep your itchy fingers off your face. It'll save you time, money and the pain to get clear skin again. Instead, get proper acne products, there are so many options and good ones these days!
Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This post was written back in July 2022. It took a long time to post it and my almost full (ok, it is full) phone memory to finally get it out hahaha.
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It wasn't plan. I was there for a post one-month laser surgery checkup. While most of my face seems smoother, the deeper scars have remain.
I didn't captured the whole process and regretted a bit because I'm curious. But I could tell it was super bleedy just from the vid I manage to take and from how bloody the gauze I had to hold while pressing my face (more on that soon!)
This time I left home early and arrived at 915AM only to be told I'm 59 in line and to return at 3PM WTF.. Again I had many hours to kill. The fam was around KL so I hung out with them for several hours and on my own later bc I'm too lazy to go home and come out again. Which is why when I went to the clinic and the doc suggested subcision I was like, "why not since I'm out". Like I already spent 6 hours waiting and 20k steps. Sunk cost effect decision WTF.
I was later told by the nurse that if I've decided to do either laser/subcision, they could put me up the line and I didn't have to wait. That's a tip for y'all.
So like usual, the nurse applied cream anaesthetic and then had me wait while the numbing takes effect. Then right before the procedure, the doc inject anaesthetic and this works instantly. I could tell from how my skin felt frozen in place. That was the part captured in the video. Even before the suncision procedure started it's bloody already lol.
I actually didn't feel much pain on the right side when he was working on it. But my left side OMG they made me flinch with pain. They hurt so much but only at the points worked on unlike laser where my whole face felt like burning. The pain went on for the next hour or so. Btw, I think the whole procedure was 15-20minutes but I was lying down putting pressure on my face with my palms.
Think like the famous painting "The Scream" except that I was screaming internally. Won't say its the worst pain I've felt but it wasn't pleasant and so I'm not sure I'd recommend to everyone unless you really want to look pretty lah.
Conclusion, if you have deep, moon craters-is scars, this may be a better procedure and then the CO2 fractional laser if you want a flawless finish. Also it hurt for less the time than doing laser. After 3 laser and 1 subcision procedures, I think I have done enough HAHAHA (2023 Me: No, you went through another one...). Oklah the pain is worth it but I just don't feel like going through it again.
This post is rather short but if you have any qs, feel free to comment in this post or on my Ytube channel and I'll try to answer them!
Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This post was written back in June 2022. It took a long time to post it and my almost full (ok, it is full) phone memory to finally get it out hahaha.
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This is TOTALLY NOT a sponsored post. The clinic is my choice simply because I've done two similar procedures a few years prior and several skin consultations because my skin condition wasn't the nicest. Still isn't, damn adult acnes and mask-cnes!
TL;DR: This works for me. It hurts then I had an ugly one week. I feel prettier now (It wasn't an insecurity but rather vanity). You're most welcome.
The thought of getting another laser surgery popped up during the lockdown. I think I was checking myself out in the mirror too often (out of boredom) and decided I really want another laser. After my second sesh a few years back, I was satisfied bc there were quite some improvement. Yeah, you can imagine how bad the scarring is from my itchy fingers. With Covid19, I was concerned about getting exposed to the virus so this got dragged on until after awhile when things fully opened up. It got delayed bc I kept making contents for fun LOL
The night before I was still contemplating and then decided to just YOLO as soon as I woke up (that really happened). It was a moody morning and I thought there would be fewer people who turned up. I was so wrong! There was a wait even at the entrance when I arrived at 10am and I was told my turned would be at the end of the day at 5pm (=A=) So I went around KL (walked to LaLaport LOL) and home before coming out again.
The procedure
A quick consultation with Dr Ting (I presumed) and he suggested I do needling which would be better for deeper scars like mine. I told him I've done laser in this clinic twice before and so we proceeded with that. Soon the assistant-nurse-doc-staff-idk assist with applying the numbing cream. I think I waited for the cream to take affect about 15mins before being ushered to the procedure room. Then it's another 15-20minutes of the laser.
The start of the session was OK but it did hurt in the area closer to my ears. Idk if its because they applied lesser numbing cream or the skin there are much sensitive. At the end of the session the prickling heat got to me and I started fidgeting from the pain. Didn't help I was shivering from the cold too.
Soon it's another round of quick consultation for the doc to see the result before I leave. I was prescribed a cream and told to come for another appointment in the following month.
Day 1
Right after I left, my face felt throbbing, hot and prickly. IDK if its bc I've been out and about the whole day (my phone showed I've walked at least 26,000 steps), I felt super tired and didn't want to talk bc it was hard opening my mouth. I also had some minor headache.
It's been years since I had the last two laser and I don't remember if they were this bad.
Washing my face was a bit painful. But I noticed the pain calmed down either from the cool water or my beauty routine. I also applied the cream they've prescribed. Tho awhile later, the throbbing returned (T___T)
Day 2
Aside from the first wash in the morning which stings abit, the pain has pretty much subside. Throughout the day I noticed (mostly) plasma and blood oozing out. Had to wipe and re-wash my face. The tiny dots have darkened making my face looks like I've gotten a bad sunburn. The skin felt taut so opening my mouth feels troublesome but otherwise all I'd good.
If you have face masks with soothing ingredients such as aloe vera or cucumber or royal jelly, it'll be nice to apply them on the first two days when the skin is still sensitive. IMO it'll feel good. I won't want to use a lemon extract masks or anything abrasive or scrubs.
Day 3
The pain and plasma-blood secretion has subside by now. I could wash my face without the stinging feel. The dots are still dark, dry and scaly but I noticed some spots are almost my normal skin color.
By midday, some if the 'spots' fell off. I try not to scrape them off and let them do naturally. I applied toner and the prescribed cream a few times throughout the day since I feel my skin is dry.
By the end of the day, my face was so oily I was using so many blotting papers and my hands felt oily wtf. This is quite unusual for me. Also, tons of spots & dry skin started flaking.
At night, there were more flakes and so I thought I could remove them while washing my face with my silicone facial brush-tip (the Innisfree one). It wasn't until after I got out did I check the mirror and found that my skin was so red like raw meat! I was worried I've scrubbed too soon. The redness lasted all night. Would recommend you wash face without using silicone scrubs.
Also my skin got super oily, I think from the cream and the skin natural reaction bc it was dry.
Day 4-6
I woke up with less but still noticeable redness but the skin has slightly darker. I think they've dried and will become dry scabs. Skin was dry until I slather cream and then it's oily again wtf. I just let it be.
At night I applied masks but removed it in less than 5 minutes because I felt some stinging sensation on my chin. Wasn't sure if that's something to do with the ingredients of the masks but I didn't check.
From this day onwards, my skin looks flushed and people can't tell that just a few days ago I just had laser. There were still some parts near the side of my forehead that didnt shed off by themselves. I see them on my silicone tips while washing my face.
Day 7
By the end of the week, I look like normal again. I'm always impressed how the recovery time or rather 'ugly days' are short. In fact, I didn't remember ever doing the procedure after the week because I was so consumed with things to do!
Conclusion
While I do think there were differences for the smaller pores that isn't too visible now, some scars are still noticeable but I mask up most of the time anyways. In fact by the time I returned to office, I don't think my colleagues notice any differences. I didn't get to ask them because I came down with a terrible flu and had to wfh. These days it's better to wfh if there are any sickness... *sigh*
At this point, the result is ah-okay but I'm unsure if I'd see more change in the coming days or weeks. I'm not too eager with the idea of subjecting myself to pain (I've became weak wtf) but idk if I'll give in to another procedure during the follow up session in a few weeks. Even so, I've not have laser sessions arranged right after the other and don't know if that will make my skin more sensitive. Also like at how many sesh is too many?
If you haven't watch my vid, here it is! I put in effort to share with y'all. Please like, comment and subscribe. Yes, you can drop me a question about the laser procedure if you have!
Hello! Konnichiwa!
I'm Vivien, a fun-size Malaysian blogger now based in Kuala Lumpur.
I write about Personal Lifestyle, Reviews, Food, Shopping & Travel and everything in between! If you like what I'm posting, don't forget to leave comments or follow my blog~!(Ov<)-☆
