Facial Mole Laser Removal with Seoul Cosmetic Surgery & Banobagi

Hi guys! Today’s post is about my experience having 4 facial moles removed, courtesy Banobagi with cosmetic surgery concierge service, Seoul Cosmetic Surgery (a sponsored treatment in return for honest review). I’ve had some fantastic experiences with Seoul Cosmetic Surgery, and at no extra cost to the client, would urge any foreigner seeking dermatology/surgical procedures in Seoul to get in touch with them. Love Mona and Dean, and they’ve been incredible with me! Onto treatment details….

Why laser removal?

There are various ways to remove moles. Laser removal is really only appropriate for smaller, flat moles that do no not need a biopsy. In the past I had a mole that needed a biopsy after strange changes and bleeding, and that had to be cut out surgically. This time the doctor looked at my moles, and decided laser removal would be fine. Laser removal is quick, zero downtime, and not too painful. There is a chance of scarring as with any removal method. Of course, you should always consult with a licensed medical professional regarding any kind of moles and mole treatment. Always get them checked!

Also a quick note, I wasn’t ashamed of my moles, and I’m not trying to encourage removal. It’s a personal choice, and completely up to the individual as to whether it’s something they’re interested in doing.

My Experience

I honestly could not have predicted how quick this process would be! I had a doctor consultation to check the moles, and then the selected moles were highlighted with a pen on my face. I opted for three smaller moles and one slightly larger. I was whisked away and after a cleansing facial, numbing cream was applied to all four moles. After about a 30 minute wait, I was led through for the two lasers.

The first laser was CO2 laser which is very common for mole removal. It stimulates the skin with heat and blitzes away the mole pigmentation. The second laser used was Erbium: Yag, and is more advanced because the doctor can adjust the heat level to minimize skin damage. This laser is basically a resurfacing tool. Using both together should be more effective for removal.

The lasers were somewhat painful in my opinion, but they literally were only on each mole for about 5 seconds. It was like a burning sensation, but just so fast it was very doable, even for me with my low pain threshold. You can smell burning, which of course isn’t pleasant.

Aftercare

The laser part of the treatment, carried out by the doctor, lasted about 5 minutes. The esthetician applied very small, transparent, healing patches to each mole removal area after the treatment. I was instructed to change these daily for the following 7 days to protect the areas from sun and infection. This was a very easy process and not any hassle. The patches were visible on my face, but didn’t stand out. Being in Korea, it’s very normal to walk around with these patches or pimple patches, however I feel like I’d have been slightly more conscious of them had I been wearing them back home. Still though, not a huge deal.

Here’s a photo of how the moles looked the day after the treatments (there was no pain, they look a lot angrier than they felt):

And here’s after removing the patches for the final time, 9 days after the treatments:

I was quite shocked by how red and sore the areas still looked 9 days later. However as soon as they had some air, they scabbed over and began to heal very quickly, within the next couple of days. It was possible to cover them with sunscreen and makeup so they weren’t very noticeable day to day. The sunscreen is SO important to avoid scarring and skin damage.

One more time…

Although I was happy with the treatment of the smaller moles, which were only still slightly pigmented because of the healing, I felt that my larger mole still looked very visible 6 weeks later. Banobagi were more than happy to do another session on that one, so I headed back to the clinic!

Here is what my mole looked like before the second session (the larger brown mole in the middle of my cheek), 6 weeks after the initial treatment. It was definitely less pigmented and smaller, but still obviously there:

I had the laser treatments again on the one mole, plus some lovely cooling facial treatments too:

Final Thoughts & Results

I’m going to be honest, I was a bit confused at first. It was hard to tell what was scarring/pigmentation, and what was still mole pigmentation. I felt like although the moles were definitely faded and size reduced, they weren’t completely gone. However now, nearly 4 months after the first treatment, and 2.5 months after the top up, I can really see that my moles are almost gone. I think because of my skin tone and type, I had lingering pigmentation after the removals, despite wearing lots of sunscreen and being very careful. Here is a comparison of the moles over the course of time…

Before any treatments, the three main moles I wanted treated (you can’t really see the fourth tiny one on photos so I’ve focussed on showing you these three):

6 weeks after first treatment of the three moles:

12 days after second treatment of the larger mole (no further work on the other two):

Now, 4 months after the first treatment of all three, and 2.5 months after second treatment on larger mole:

My final thoughts are that in Korea, at an estimated 22,000KRW per mole at Banobagi (roughly $20 or £15)(not including the other facial treatments or consultation), it’s definitely worth it, even if you just want your moles to look less noticeable. It’s so affordable, quick, and as long as you don’t mind wearing pimple patches and sunscreen, very little aftercare.

Now, my moles are barely noticeable (less noticeable IRL than in the photos, actually). I will note that the darker hair that grew out of the larger mole still grows (TMI?). Whilst I’m happy with my current results, if I’d had time before I left Seoul, I’d have had a second session on the two smaller moles, and a final third session on my larger. They’re still slightly visible. Over the past month the pigmentation has greatly reduced, and I think that’s been helped by my daily use of Vitamin C serum too. I’m going to continue with this and see if any more pigmentation can be reduced with products.

If you’re able to access this treatment at the affordable price of Banobagi, I would totally recommend it! Like I said, the moles are far less noticeable and I think the care, advice, and ease of the treatments was great. Thanks again to Bano and Seoul Cosmetic Surgery for their continued support. Even these tiny procedures scare me, and Mona and Dean from SCS really guide me and ensure I’m fully aware of everything.

What do you think of my process and results? Are you interested in this kind of treatment?