Let me preface this review by saying this is my fi...

Let me preface this review by saying this is my first ever online review. My excellent experience with Refresh Dermatology and Dr. Suneel Chilukuri has compelled me to do so.

To give you some background, for the last 15+ years I have been afflicted with a stubborn skin condition called rosacea. For those of you who do not know, rosacea is a mild to severe facial redness usually located on the cheeks, nose and sometimes neck (think President Bill Clinton and Prince William) that is prone to painful, burning flair-ups. Though there is no cure, it is most often treated with a dermatologist by controlling these flair-ups with topical creams/ointments and oral antibiotics. Thankfully the condition is not life threatening, however it is extremely uncomfortable both physically and mentally-- physically because of the pain and mentally because I always felt self-conscious often catching myself looking away from whomever was speaking to me.

Through a recommendation of a friend and some additional online research, I sought another opinion from Dr. Chilukuri. He suggested using an IPL (intense pulse light) specifically the ICON MaxG and MaxY photo facial. This technology he said will greatly minimize the redness and in many cases, make the redness unnoticeable. Though it may not be a panacea, he was quite convinced that this treatment would greatly help my rosacea. I certainly was interested, so I set up a treatment date.

I arrived about an hour before our scheduled appointment time so that Dr. Chilukuri could apply topical anesthetic to my face and neck to greatly reduce the pain during the procedure. At the appointment time, the technicians under the direction of Dr. Chilukuri, applied the IPL to my skin for about 15 minutes. I felt minimal and certainly tolerable discomfort. The best analogy I can make for what I felt was similar to popping a rubber band against your skin. Following the procedure I was noticeably red with some swollenness, but I was assured by Dr. Chilukuri s staff that this was quite normal and expected. I was given several topical creams to apply to my face twice a day with instruction to call the office if I had any concerns.

By the next day, though still swollen on my face and neck, the redness from the procedure was greatly lessened. By day three, the swelling was gone and the redness was probably on a scale similar to a bad rosacea flair-up. From that day on, the redness slowly lessened and by the two-week mark, if I stared long enough, I could faintly see some redness on the areas that had been affected by rosacea in the past.

As I write this review, just past three weeks since the procedure, I cannot see any redness whatsoever. It is absolutely amazing. My topical ointments and antibiotics that were used to control my rosacea in the past, have now been placed to the back of my medicine cabinet. The only thing I apply to my skin and neck are a nightly moisturizer and a daily sunscreen.

I cannot express in words how happy and life changing this treatment has been for me. In the past when I got up in the morning and looked at myself in the mirror, I would ask myself, how bad is my skin going to look today. Now I look at myself with great confidence and can only smile.

For those individuals frustrated with their ongoing battles with rosacea, please contact Refresh Dermatology to schedule a consultation visit with Dr. Chilukuri. He will be honest and upfront with you and tell you whether the IPL will help this skin condition. Consider my review a testament to the success of this treatment.