Two of our team members tried HALO Hybrid Fractional Laser for the first time and documented their experience and before and afters. Read along to hear about their journey and all the juicy details.

Sarah and Sam our the behind-the-scenes marketing gals, so naturally our techs used them as HALO guinea pigs. We knew they would tell us the real honest truth and not hold back. 

Sarah's HALO experience

Sam's HALO experience

Photos are untouched and taken in the same location in natural light. No makeup was worn aside from mascara. 

What skin concerns were you wanting to target with HALO? 

There were 3 areas I really wanted to tackle. I have some old, deep acne scarring from about 6 years ago when I was struggling with moderate-severe adult acne. I’ve since been able to control the acne and get rid of most of the scars, but there is a cluster on my right cheek where I can still see red dots and very mild ice-pick scarring. I have had Laser Genesis treatments in the past to help decrease the redness of the spots and it has definitely helped but I wondered if HALO would clear up the redness more aggressively. 

There is also one annoying sun spot on my left cheek that I could not wait to part with and some small capillaries around my nose.  

What was the treatment itself like?

I went all in and opted for a BBL Forever Young treatment immediately before HALO. If I was going to do it I wanted to do it all. In training we learned that pairing a HALO with a BBL can make results more dramatic and decrease the chance of swelling afterwards. I really want that sun spot gone. 

So Giulia did a BBL Forever Young on me, that took about 20 minutes. She popped some numbing cream on me and I waited about 45 minutes for my face and neck to numb. Sarah and I went to grab tea in the Fort while I waited.

Once I was all numb Giulia wiped off the numbing cream and started the HALO treatment. I could feel the HALO hand piece roll over my skin and it felt a little scratchy. You kind of hear the machine crackle as it goes along. When she was done one side of my face I was handed a handheld fan to keep the treated side cool. When she moved on to my forehead Sarah handed me a cold towel to keep the bottom half of my face cool. 

The whole treatment took about 30 minutes. Afterwards my face was very warm. 

How much did it really hurt?

In all honesty I didn’t find the treatment painful at all. There were areas around my cheek bones that were more sensitive after multiple passes and there were some areas by my hairline that weren’t as numb. I don’t think I cringed the entire time, I didn’t sweat or flinch much. When a treatment is uncomfortable I always get clammy and I felt none of that during or after HALO.

For me, I actually prefer the entire experience of HALO more than the BBL Forever Young. I don’t find either treatment overly uncomfortable, but BBL is a little bit more snappy (like a rubber band snapping on your skin) and I prefer the sensation of heat over snapping. 

Did you use anything to make it comfortable? 

Just the fan and cold towel which I used during the treatment and for about 5 minutes after. I was still pretty numb for awhile after the treatment. I had a glass of wine when I got home (not technically recommended lol).

What did it feel like immediately after the treatment? 

It was warm and tight. As the numbing wore off over the next couple of hours it became very hot. Like the worst sunburn you’ve ever experienced. At about 2 hours after the treatment the heat turns off and I felt a little warm for the rest of the night. I was able to sleep fine and I woke up the next day mildly swollen (you'll see in the photo above).

When were you able to wear makeup again?

I had my treatment on a Thursday and on Saturday we had a family dinner I put on mineral powered makeup for. I probably would have been comfortable to put makeup on Friday. 

Were you comfortable to go out in public the day after the treatment? 

I was comfortable, yes. I looked very sunburnt the next day, especially around my cheek bones. I saw lots of people the next day and nobody noticed enough to ask me about it.  

How did you prepare for the treatment? 

I hadn’t used retinol for a few days prior. That’s about it! 

What products did you use afterwards? 

Only the Avene products recommended through the clinic. It was a very gentle cleanser and cream. I had no discomfort using these products afterwards. I used them for about 3 days and actually enjoyed the simplicity of only having to use two products as opposed to my regular extensive skin care regime lol. I used ZO’s dual action scrub about 4 days after. This is probably too strong of a product to use this soon but my skin was very rough and I am impatient. It didn't sting at all. 

When did you start your products again? 

About 5 or 6 days after my HALO. I was very careful with reintroducing my nightly retinol (daily power defence was fine). Retinol I started using after day 8 and only reintroduced it every 3 days or so. 

Have you noticed any results? 

My old red acne scarring looks nearly completely clear. The sun spot is a lot less apparent. The small capillaries around my nose have completely cleared. 

Would you recommend this treatment to a friend? 

I would recommend HALO to a friend and here’s why. I’ve tried quite a few treatments and HALO almost feels like a fast track kind of treatment. The results I got from one HALO probably would have taken other treatments multiple times to get to that level. Yes, it’s not a cheap treatment. If you are serious about getting results and you have some major pigmentation or textural issues, I feel like HALO could save you money overall as opposed to having 4-6 other less expensive treatments.

Would you have another HALO treatment again? 

I would do HALO once or twice a year for anti-aging benefits. I really didn’t find it that uncomfortable, I was fine with the minimal downtime, and my skin is obviously more bright and clear...so yeah I’d do it again.

Interested in getting a HALO Hybrid Fractional Laser? Book online here.