<<<EDIT: 7/27/09>>> please scroll down
Thank you for all your nice comments everyone! I was really debating whether to post up pictures of my skin or not, because well..they're not very flattering lol. But I do believe that a picture is worth a thousand words so of course before and after pics are a must! For those of you who purchased the peels (not just glycolic, any peels you've tried) please post here with your experience.
I personally have only tried the glycolic peel, but if you've used any other ones, please please post here to share your thoughts and I will edit my previous post to include your reviews. I think this thread could become a very helpful place for soompiers looking to try facial peels.
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Not sure if others have talked about these products already. I'm not an expert on skin care or anything, so I apologize if I get something wrong. This is just to share what I've learned.
I used to have really bad acne, I guess from my naturally oily skin and the teenage hormones...lol. My skin isn't PERFECT now, but I'm a lot happier with its condition.
To treat my acne, I've used a variety of acne medications like Clearasil, Neutrogena, Clean & Clear, etc. AND prescribed medications. They all have salycic acid in it, which helps dry pimples, but when exposed to sunlight, the skin in the treated area gets darkened. Even though I wore sunscreen, I got a lot of blemishes and dark spots, which believe it or not are MORE DIFFICULT to get rid off than pimples! I'm still struggling with them now (ugh)
. It's good to let your face breath, always covering your pores up with chemicals or make-up is very unhealthy for the skin.
I changed my skin care routine when I realized that although the medications I was using helped reduce break outs, it left me with a lot of blemishes and scarring that were potentially irreversible. And when you use strong chemicals, your face becomes dependent on it, so if you stop using it, your break outs return.
ROUTINE 1:
QUOTE
1. Stop wearing make-up (I know you hear this a lot, but I promise it will help!)
2. Keep hair out of face. Hair can be oily and dirty, so wear a headband and tie your hair up whenever you can
3. Washed my pillowcase frequently, face produces oil overnight which deposits onto the pillowcase and trust me, you don't want that on your face again
4. I made a mixture of SEA SALT + WATER. I washed my face with cold water, then took a cotton pad, dipped it in the salt water, wiped it over my face (scrubbed) and then rinsed with cold water again. I don't know if you've noticed, but after going to the beach, your skin becomes tight and very nice looking, the salt in the water is really good for your face! It helps dry pimples, and is a natural healing element~
5. Sunscreen, any type is fine, it's always good to use sunscreen!
2. Keep hair out of face. Hair can be oily and dirty, so wear a headband and tie your hair up whenever you can
3. Washed my pillowcase frequently, face produces oil overnight which deposits onto the pillowcase and trust me, you don't want that on your face again
4. I made a mixture of SEA SALT + WATER. I washed my face with cold water, then took a cotton pad, dipped it in the salt water, wiped it over my face (scrubbed) and then rinsed with cold water again. I don't know if you've noticed, but after going to the beach, your skin becomes tight and very nice looking, the salt in the water is really good for your face! It helps dry pimples, and is a natural healing element~
5. Sunscreen, any type is fine, it's always good to use sunscreen!
That was my routine or a good few months and I immediately saw results. I kept at it until I felt that my face was calming down. The good thing about this routine is that it's CHEAP, you know your face isn't dependent on any chemicals, and it's natural.
I started using products again after my skin settled down, here's my routine now:
ROUTINE 2:
Face Wash
1. Main thing about the face is that dead skin accumulates, so exfoliate. My skin isn't too sensitive, so I love to scrub it! People don't do this everyday, but I do... plus you want to get rid of the dirt clogged in your pores, right?. Using a face cloth or sponge isn't very hygienic since SOOO MUCH GERMS accumulate on it, I use this:
These are cloths that have soap already on them, you use it once and then throw it away! I know there are other brands out there that make disposable face wash cloths, but the thing I love about Olay is that the cloths have a textured side and a smooth side, I exfoliate with one side then finish off with the smooth side <3. ANDD the entire face cloth is really big (they give you a lot) so I usually cut it in 1/2 for when I wear make-up and need more soap to get it off, or 1/4 for mornings when I wake up.
I don't dry my face off with a towel, like I said about germs, I use a paper towel.
Moisturizer
2. I tried La Mer, because everyone seemed to love it, but I didn't really like it. First of all, VERY expensive and not good for my oily skin, but if you have dry skin, nothing's better!
I use Erno Laszlo pHelityl Lotion SPF 15 everyday. It's not that expensive, and skin absorbs it so well. There's no glossy or oily finish that usually happens with a lot of other moisturizer. My skin gets dry during the winter and this totally does the job, it hydrates my skin, but doesn't make it oily (even in the summer). A bottle lasts a VERY long time, I'm going on the 9th month of using it now and I use it on my face and neck.
Okay so this is may be the most important part about the post, the product that I use to get rid of scars/blemishes and shrink large pores...Makeup Artist's Choice (MUAC) 50% Glycolic Skin Peel.
http://www.makeupartistschoice.com/product...its-272-20.html
This type of skin treatment is more intense so I don't recommend that you start out with the 50% and you should DEFINITELY be extra careful when using it (test on an area first to make sure you're not allergic, etc.)
- They come in 30% lowest to highest being 70%. It's basically what its name says; it's a peel. This is a very serious treatment, use only if you want to reduce scars/blemishes/acne/shrink large pores, THIS WILL DO THE JOB! I LOVEEE IT! Like I said before, my skin isn't very sensitive, so I'm fine using this, my skin doesn't get red or anything. But my friends have used it and depending on your skin type, some will peel more than others or get more red.
- You shouldn't go out into the sunlight immediately after using this because your skin will be very sensitive
- I got the sample size, and it seriously lasts FOREVER, very generous amount. The glycolic acid doesn't run out that fast, but the pH prep does, so instead of ordering another pH prep, which costs a lot, I just substituted it with Witch Hazel (which does the same thing as the prep)
- I included a link to the MUAC site, so you can read more about the peel, but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask me. The peel seriously helped me so much and it costs a lot less than if I were to use Accutane or something (which works really well for severe acne, but is too hardcore for me, and wayy too expensive)
That was a long post! I don't really use any other face products, maybe a few masks here and there, but I keep my routine pretty simple. Since my skin is more pimple free now, I do wear make up once in awhile, but it's at a point where I'd be okay w/o foundation. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me and I hope this helps!
<<<EDIT: 7/19/09>>>
- Okay this is probably not the most attractive thing to share, and I'm a bit embarrassed...but I want to show you guys how my skin has progressed. I tried to find old pictures of when I had acne and document how my skin has changed over time. I don't have the old pictures of when my skin was super bad, but these are about a year old, and a few months apart (going from left to right, right being more recent). I'm not wearing any make-up in the pictures, so you can pretty much see everything ><; lots of blemishes, scarring, uneven skin tone, etc. The most left picture was after I've been using the salt water regimen for a few months, so you can imagine how bad my skin was before that.
- Last picture is the most recent one, taken like 2 minutes ago lol! I'm about to head to bed and just thought I'd show you how my skin looks now. My previous recent picture was actually very recent, but since I took it on my cell phone, the quality isn't that great. You can see in this new one that I do still have some scarring on my forehead and unevenness that needs to be taken care of ^^; anything but perfect...but definitely better than what it used to be.
Posted 17 July 2009 - 03:01 PM
D
I've had them for about 2 years now and I can't wear tank tops...
