It’s time for the final phase: Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), aka the strongest laser they’ve got. I’m a little scared — Shamban calls it an “intense procedure,” and says “absolutely no contact with the sun,” for the entire weekend, unless I want to know what it feels like for a vampire to burn. However, she says my skin will look the best it ever has seven to 10 days after this final treatment. That’s all I need to hear.

Shannon Sher, the tech assistant, applies a topical levulinic amino acid all over my skin. Over the next hour, the damaged skin cells absorb the medication. Then, I stick my head into the PDT machine to expose the treated skin to the blue laser light — this destroys the scarred cells while leaving the healthy cells untouched, Shamban says.

I think it’s going to hurt, but it doesn’t. I just feel a bit of tingling, and there’s some swelling afterwards. But right away, I notice a huge difference. My skin looks super tan and glowing. When Ben sees me, he asks, “Did you go on an overnight trip to Cabo without me?” This makes my day, and I don’t even care that I’m stuck at home for the rest of the weekend. I spend it on the couch with Ben, watching all three “Lord of the Rings” movies. But I’ll be honest — most of the time I’m not even paying attention to the screen. I just keep thinking of what my skin will look like in a week …