The Very-Little-Downtime, Turn-Back-the-Clock, Expensive-But-Efficacious Facial Laser Treatment I Swear By

Honestly, it’s impressive. And that’s coming from someone who has tried a lot of things.

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When it comes to cosmetic treatments and procedures, I’ve got a real Goldilocks complex. I want results, but I don’t want too much downtime. I can tolerate a fair amount of pain, but if a treatment requires laughing gas to get through it, that’s a step too far for me. And while I’m comfortable spending a not-insignificant sum of money on things I think are worth it—and yes, visibly more radiant, even, and bouncy skin falls into that category for me—I also have pretty high expectations from things I decide to invest in.

So when I say to A) start saving now and B) schedule a series of CoolPeel laser treatments ASAP? Trust me. I mean it.

Okay, I’m curious. Why this laser? And what other laser treatments have you done?

Let’s start with the second part: other lasers.

I started experimenting with lasers in 2016, first with Skin Laundry, where I did a handful of rounds of its then-signature 15-minute Laser & Light facials, which featured a combo of Nd:YAG Laser and IPL (now it’s just YAG) that left my skin feeling super clean and bright. At the time, I was still shooting a fair amount of on-camera stuff, and the combo of hot lights, heavy makeup, and acne-prone skin meant keeping it clear was hard, and this seemed to help. There was absolutely no downtime, but I also wanted more results, so I kept experimenting.

In late 2016, a few months before my wedding, I invested in several rounds of the Clear + Brilliant laser at Dr. Raj Kanodia’s office, which I loved. I’d schedule it late on a Friday afternoon because it was definitely much spicier than the treatment at Skin Laundry.

For each appointment, I was given numbing cream all over my face and then was very bright red after the treatment. Like, looked-like-I-had-a-crazy-sunburn bright red. Though this wasn’t technically required, I’d spend the rest of the weekend makeup-free, just to ensure I was taking proper care of it. Usually, my skin was quite red that first afternoon, faded to a light pink by evening, and was 100% my normal color the next morning.

The Clear + Brilliant uses fractional non-ablative laser technology to stimulate your body’s own collagen and elastin production, and the result is new, healthy, smooth skin. It’s great for buffing out fine lines, evening out texture, and making some dark spots like acne scars less noticeable. So yes, it’s basically like baby Fraxel, and after your skin fully recovers—it looks fine but feels sandpapery for the better part of a week—it’s radiant

So long story long: Yes, I’d done some super-baby, basically no-downtime lasers in the past. But while I loved my results, I hadn’t tackled lasers in almost six years due to the usual: pregnancy, breastfeeding, second pregnancy, breastfeeding, and then the pandemic.

So why didn’t you go back to the Clear + Brilliant since you liked it so much?

Well, I did at first. Last year, I made an appointment for one at a well-known and -liked medispa that was founded by a physician’s assistant who had worked with a famous celebrity dermatologist. It was the first aesthetic thing I had done for my skin besides the one time I got Botox between pregnancies circa late 2018. I was so excited.

When I arrived, I learned that to get the Clear + Brilliant treatment I had booked, I must go through a full evaluation with photographs. Totally fine; process is process. But then I received unsolicited feedback from the practitioner that I needed $8400 in treatments “to start.” And I needed them today. Despite having come in just for the laser. Treatments I had not asked for, on parts of my face that were not bothering me until this practitioner started focusing on them.

Again: I had not asked for that evaluation, nor was I in the mood for the unrequested upsell, but most of all, I kept wondering why they hadn’t offered me any pre-laser numbing cream? I finally asked for it and was told that it wasn’t necessary for the Clear + Brilliant. So my main takeaway from that day was that my face needs a ton of work and I’m a pain baby. Cool cool cool. Just the reintroduction into cosmetic dermatology after a five-year hiatus that I wanted!

Finally, it was time for the Clear + Brilliant laser without numbing cream, and while it is absolutely doable, it was definitely uncomfortable for me. I kept thinking, It doesn’t have to be like this. So basically, the whole process and situation were a distinct bummer, and to add insult to injury, I didn’t think the treatment did much this time around! (And no, I never went back to this establishment.)

Maybe they couldn’t do it on a high enough setting because I was literally crying? Or maybe my older, post-pandemic, post–two kids skin is just a tougher client than my pre-wedding, low-stress, sleep-in, party-girl skin? Honestly, I dropped the ball on investigating further; I just felt like the time had passed for me and the Clear + Brilliant. We were dunzo.

Dear lord, that’s a lot of backstory. Okay, so how did you end up doing the CoolPeel? And can you keep it shorter?

Fine.

After that disastrous day, on the recommendation of a few friends who I adore and trust, I went to see a board-certified dermatologist you’ve probably heard me yammer about on Instagram: Dr. Nancy Samolitis of Facile. I wasn’t specifically looking for a laser treatment; I was mostly just searching for something to help my neck, and CoolPeel was part of her recommended protocol.

(Why my neck? Between losing a bunch of weight post-babies and spending the better part of two years working from my phone, I just felt like my neck could use a little attention.)

When I went in, we decided to do a series of CoolPeel laser treatments on my face, neck, and chest, along with some other things like Botox. CoolPeel is a fractional ablative Tetra CO2 laser that makes teeny-tiny holes in your skin, which in turn tells your body to send in the collagen and elastin to fix it and gives your skin some tightening action at the same time. Yes: It handles fine lines and evens out your skin, and you get a dash of tightening on top of it.

So how did it feel comparatively?

Thankfully, this one involves numbing cream (and you are not shamed for wanting it, which is nice). Even with the numbing cream, it’s still a smidge spicy, but nothing major, and Dr. Sam lets you shoot cold air at your face via a fancy hose during the process.

As with my original Clear + Brilliant treatments, you numb for about 40 minutes, and the laser takes about 15 minutes. Unlike the Clear + Brilliant, your skin does feel quite a bit spicier after the numbing cream wears off, kind of like you’re standing in front of a blasting heater after you’ve been at the beach all day sans sunscreen?

After it was over, I was slathered in some sort of salve and told not to take a shower or exercise for 24 hours. Makeup was a no-no for at least 24 hours too, as were skin products that contain any active ingredients. I was told to moisturize with something super gentle like La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5 Soothing Therapeutic Multi Purpose Cream ($16), which I would suggest having on hand, and to wear sunscreen like it was my job.

Dr. Sam also gave me a small spray bottle of hypochlorous acid to spritz on my face the next day, which I did religiously, multiple times a day, for at least three days. Apparently it has a long history of helping post-surgical wounds heal, as it prevents bacterial infections and helps reduce inflammation. It also keeps you from breaking out after getting a laser, which was delightful news in my book.

So how’d I look? Red.

Day 1: I looked like I was wearing a bright-red dickey. Plus, of course, my face was extremely rouged, like I’d gotten a bad sun or windburn. Apparently I get redder and stay redder than most patients, so your experience might be less than mine. That said, I am not kidding when I say I was RED red. Skin felt a little tender that night, but nothing that made me nervous.

This is about an hour after my first CoolPeel laser treatment. I was not kidding when I said I looked red!

Day 2: Woke up, washed face, sprayed with hypochlorous acid, and applied my La Roche balm everywhere the laser touched. Skipped my morning workout per instructions and went makeup-free all day. When I did exercise a full 24 hours after my treatment, my skin felt prickly, but shower was fine. Could you put on makeup and go to a dinner party that is in low light? Yes, for sure. Would I schedule a high-stakes first date the day after the CoolPeel laser? Absolutely not.

This was legit 10 minutes after I woke up. So now at this point it's technically Day 2, but really about 14 hours after the first CoolPeel treatment. My skin is slathered in lotion, FWIW.

Days 3–5: Kept the same routine as above, mostly. Skin texture started feeling (and then looking) rough, red was mostly faded, but certain places looked a little… almost dirty? Like a patch on my left orbital bone, right below my eye, and my chest. My neck was the least impacted; she just went right back to normal!

This is 12 hours after the previous photo, so technically about 48 hours after my first round of CoolPeel laser. No makeup besides mascara, and no filter for any photos in this story.

Days 5–10: Skin just gets better and better every day. I think in a perfect world, I would schedule a CoolPeel treatment two or three weeks before a big event. You’ll be fully healed before that but still in peak glow. My skin looked truly amazing on day 10.

This is at Day 13, with makeup, but still no filter.

So that’s it? One and done?

Not exactly. Dr. Sam recommended doing three rounds of CoolPeel, each one about a month apart from the previous one, and then once every six months or year after that for maintenance.

Were rounds two and three the exact same as the first time?

Again, not exactly. The process and pain levels were exactly the same for the subsequent rounds—which is to say, chill and minor, respectively—but we went a little more intense the second and third times, and my skin reacted a little more, but again, nothing major.

The second time, I had some hive-like blotches on my neck, plus a few on my chest, a few hours after my treatment. None on my face, though. The next morning, I had some swelling under my eyes, but again, pretty minor, and that lasted about 24 hours. And while I was perhaps a little redder the second and third times, my skin didn’t feel as sensitive or tender. According to Dr. Sam, I also have more of a reaction than most folks, so it could just be me.

As for the minor swelling, it could have been a number of things on my side, but also, I’m just a sweller in general. (When I had my impacted wisdom teeth removed in high school, I looked like a full-on chipmunk for ages after the procedure, which was a blast.)

How do you feel about the results, and would you truly recommend?

Honestly, I really loved everything about the CoolPeel. Yes, there is a little downtime if you’re vain like I am, but it’s not substantial, and the results were definitely worth it.

My skin overall looks more even, tauter, and just happier all around. My horizontal tech-neck lines—which weren’t severe to start with, I should caveat—have significantly disappeared. The glow that happens in weeks two to four? Substantial.

Is this safe for everyone?

No. You definitely should check with your board-certified dermatologist before embarking on any laser treatment, as it can cause hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation, depending on your skin type. CO2 lasers can also trigger cold sores if you get them (your doctor can prescribe a prophylactic antiviral medicine FYI) and in some cases rosacea. You cannot get the laser if you’ve been on Accutane in the past year or if you’ve had other laser treatments or chemical peels in the month prior.

Friends who have done this laser without the hypochlorous acid spray have also said they experienced breakouts after the laser, which makes sense, as it is disrupting your skin barrier.

And this probably goes without saying, but skip if pregnant or breastfeeding.

And are there any protocols to follow before/after getting a CoolPeel?

I followed all of Dr. Sam’s advice before my treatment: Drink lots of water in the days leading up to it, no sun exposure for weeks prior to the appointment, no acids or retinols the week leading up to your appointment, and no spray tans.

Afterward, it’s important to really take care of your skin: no makeup for 24 to 48 hours post-laser and no exercise for at least 24 hours after because trust me when I say sweat will sting. Use that hypochlorous acid spray like it’s your job, avoid sun exposure, and be diligent about sunscreen (especially in the weeks after the treatment, but also kind of always because what’s the point of spending this money and time to just wreck it again?). Only use mild skincare products—meaning: no active ingredients—until you’re fully healed. But most of all, talk to your dermatologist about the pros/cons/risks/benefits, and follow their advice and instructions!

If your dermatologist doesn’t have hypochlorous acid spray on hand, Tower 28 Beauty’s SOS Daily Rescue Spray ($12) might be helpful, as it is a similar product (but ask your derm before using!). For face wash, I used Facile Skin’s Bare Necessity Gel Cleanser ($26), as it’s super gentle. After, I used La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast Baume B5 Soothing Therapeutic Multi Purpose Cream ($16) as a moisturizer, and Vanicream’s Moisturizing Cream ($9) when I ran out of the La Roche.

So would you recommend? For real.

Absolutely. I went in knowing that my skin reacts well to lasers and was lucky enough that this was the case with CoolPeel too. The downtime for me is pretty minor, and the results are definitely worth it. In fact, it’s one of the best things I have ever done for my skin, so if you’re an appropriate candidate for this treatment, I recommend with no reservations. Again, I very much urge you to find a board-certified dermatologist to do this, preferably someone who has a lot of experience with this specific laser, as it’s much more powerful and nuanced than the Clear + Brilliant.

So why are you telling us about this now?

Well it’s almost the end of summer, and that means you’re hopefully not going to be in the sun as much in the upcoming months. Fall and winter are great times to do laser treatments, so I would figure out your provider and get on their schedule now. My suggestion would be to have your first round of CoolPeel on October 1st, followed by November 1st, and December 1st, if your holdiay party schedule allows.

Okay, I’m bracing myself: How much is it?

Well that’s the wild thing. The price very much depends on where you are located. At Facile, It’s $800 per session, per area, which is not insignificant, but not much more than a single Clear + Brilliant treatment. (They usually run around $500, and they usually suggest a series of four to six treatments, versus the three or four suggested rounds of CoolPeel.)

Hmmm. Not ready for this level of commitment. What else could I do?

Honestly, while you can certainly see results from prescription topicals (the Retin-As of this world), lasers work much faster than any cream ever can. That said, aside from the prescription route, there are some amazing resurfacing products out there. I will sing about Shani Dardin’s Retinol Reform ($88) until the cows come home. It’s efficacious, but also super gentle. I’m biased, but I also think Versed’s Press Restart Gentle Retinol Serum ($22) is pretty amazing too.

As always, thank you for being here, and thank you for sticking around. If you have any questions or concerns, or want me to touch on any topics in particular, I’m all ears. Leave a comment on Hi Everyone’s Bulletin or DM me on Instagram—I’m @hillarykerr—my inbox is always open!

This is me, 10 days after my second round of CoolPeel. No filter, light makeup, and feeling pretty okay about my decision to laser.