Why did I think a quick laser session would be enough
I really thought the CO2 laser would be the end of it. I had this nagging scar on my cheek—nothing major, just a relic from a clumsy attempt at dealing with a breakout years ago. I went to this clinic in Gangnam, which felt a bit like walking into a spaceship, very white and very quiet. The whole thing felt like a transaction. You pay your money, you sit in the chair for twenty minutes, and then you’re supposed to walk out with ‘new skin.’ The cost was around 200,000 won for the session, which felt like a lot for what was basically a glorified burn, but I convinced myself it was an investment. I remember the smell of burning skin during the procedure, a very distinct, unpleasant scent that stays with you for a while even after you leave. The nurse told me it would heal in a week, maybe two. I’m now staring at my reflection four weeks later, and there’s still this weird, shiny red circle where the scar used to be.
The reality of waiting and wondering
Is it supposed to be this red? I keep touching it, which I know I shouldn’t do. It feels smooth, flatter than it was, but the color is just… loud. It’s like a spotlight on my face. Every time I see it in the bathroom mirror, I wonder if I actually made the right choice or if I just replaced a textured scar with a pigmented one. I asked someone at work about it, and they didn’t even notice until I pointed it out, which was both comforting and annoying. It’s like, I’m obsessing over this one millimeter of skin, and the world is just moving on. I read somewhere that post-inflammatory erythema is a thing, but waiting for it to fade feels like watching paint dry, only the paint is on your own face.
Trying to manage the aftermath at home
After the initial annoyance set in, I started looking into things to slap on my face. I tried some topical creams, maybe even an azelaic acid gel I picked up from a nearby pharmacy, thinking it might calm the redness down. Some forums mentioned that these things take months, not weeks. I hate the word ‘months’ when it comes to my own skin. It feels like a chore I didn’t sign up for. I’ve been wearing a bit of concealer, which is a disaster because it always cakes up around that specific spot by midday. It’s just this constant, low-level friction. You try to fix one thing, and now you have a new, slightly different thing to manage. I miss when I just had the scar and could ignore it, instead of constantly checking if it’s changing color under the fluorescent lights at the office.
Is it a recurrence or just healing
I keep looking at pictures online of people who had similar procedures, and their results look so seamless. It makes me feel like I did something wrong. Did I sleep on that side of my face too much? Did I go out in the sun without enough protection? The uncertainty is the most irritating part. I’m not sure if this red circle is a sign that the 켈로이드 (keloid) tissue is trying to come back or if my skin is just particularly bad at healing. The clinic staff were nice, but the follow-up felt like I was being herded through a gate. They told me to ‘come back if it persists,’ which is easy to say when you aren’t the one looking at it every morning. I haven’t gone back yet. I’m just waiting, which feels like the most passive and unhelpful way to handle a problem, yet here I am.
Maybe it just needs more time
I catch myself thinking about other options sometimes. Maybe I should have looked into something like Juvelook or one of those newer collagen boosters, but then I stop myself. Do I really want to go back into that office, pay more, and deal with another round of ‘it’ll heal soon’? I’m tired of the process. For now, I’ve stopped applying random ointments and just let it be. It’s slightly less red than it was two weeks ago, or maybe I’m just getting used to seeing it there. It’s not a tragedy, but it’s a constant, quiet reminder that skin isn’t just something you can edit like a photo. It has its own schedule, and it clearly doesn’t care about my patience.
It’s interesting how the concealer exacerbates it – I’ve definitely experienced that with other persistent marks; they just highlight themselves more when you try to cover them.
The CO2 laser feeling like a transaction is so relatable; it’s almost disappointing how much emphasis gets put on the ‘fix’ rather than the ongoing care.
That feeling of being stuck in this close-up observation is really something. It’s fascinating how much attention our minds give to such small changes, almost like a mini-crisis.