I'm Still Standing...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (Part One)

As you know friends, I subjected myself to a deep chemical peel this morning. The end product is that my acne scars are supposed to smooth out a lot (about 25% improvement with first peel, and much more with second peel) and the peel also has the additional consequences of tightening up skin and smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles. At 29, my only reason for doing it is to get rid of the acne scars that I consider to be my one major insecurity in life. However, you won't see me complaining about the anti-aging side benefits ;).

My mission, in sharing the details about my chemical peel journey, is to educate those of you who are suffering from post-acne scars like me and considering skin improvement options, to entertain those of you with naturally beautiful skin, and to keep  a photo journal of my skin's progress for myself.

I can think of about a billion things I'd rather show you (or anyone for that matter) then pics of my acne and acne scars, but it wouldn't be fair for me to just show you the after pics and pics with makeup on. Those do not truly reflect the skin that I have and am so bothered by that I would basically go through a controlled acid burn to fix.

So, without further ado...here are a couple before pics...

 (Left cheek)

(Right cheek)

As the pics evidence, I have acne scars and redness. The scars are mostly the product of stress-induced adult acne (primarily caused by my mom's passing and the stupid California Bar Exam prep) and the allergic reactions that I had to the nickel in chocolate. While my acne is mostly under control (thanks to my great derm), the scars needed some extra help. 

The Chemical Peel Procedure

The type of peel I had done is a "TCA" Chemical Peel. The process is quite simple. I lay down while my derm first uses an alcohol/disinfecting wipe all over my face to remove makeup, lotions, and natural oils off my face. The next step is about 15 minutes of rubbing wipes with acid on them all over my face. At some points, the derm would emphasize certain areas that hadn't "frosted" yet. Frosting is the whitening of the skin that is the immediate byproduct of the TCA peel.

In all honestly, the peel burned like a b$%^h.  At the 75% done mark, my breathing exercises, a fan, and Dr. Love's hand holding could no longer control the pain and I totally started tearing up and lightly crying. I mean, not audible crying, but streams of tears down my face...I just thank God that I didn't pee myself.

When it was done, I was able to rinse my face off with cool water and apply Vaseline all over it.  It is now 2.5 hours post-procedure, and the burning/tingling sensation is finally wearing off. Immediately after the procedure, my face was all white (Geisha looking), pretty swollen, and on fire. Right now, it is more pinkish, still swollen, but only tingling.

And now a few post-procedure pics:

 (An hour after chemical peel procedure...burning and swollen, but ok enough to take a pic)

(Two hours after chemical peel procedure...swollen but in good spirits)

I'm going to spend the rest of my day catching up on some trash tv (Real Housewives of New York City [love those cray cray ladies], The Bachelorette, and starting the second book in the Fifty Shades trilogy [scandalous!]). 

Have a great weekend and "speak" with you all soon! If you have any further questions about the chemical peel, drop me a comment and I will be happy to share my new-found knowledge with you! 

x