PDA

View Full Version : Did I Go Too Far?



MartinTC
08-19-2012, 11:06 PM
Hello,

I have suffered with acne since high school, and while not severe (i.e. cystic), it has always been something that has annoyed me. Part of the reason it has been such a persistent problem is that I use to have an irresistible urge to pick at any blemish, no matter how minor. I forced myself to stop doing this recently, after a particularly bad breakout a couple of months ago. Having turned this new leaf, I wanted to do something about the numerous blemishes which had been left behind, e.g. speed up the fading process. So my friend recommended to me a salicylic acid peel (20%). So I ordered some from Amazon and began the program indicated by the instructions which came with the bottle (once a week for 6 weeks).

Needless to say, after the first treatment my skin was seriously inflamed, red everywhere, and broke out almost immediately afterward. I calmly ignored this, believing that this was typical when first starting such a treatment, and cleaned my face mildly and applied moisturizing sunscreen daily. After a few days, the redness subsided and the skin began to peel. I noticed some visible improvements even after this one treatment, so after seven days went by, I decided to go for round 2.

Well, round 2 was even worse as far as inflaming my skin is concerned. I suspect this was because I had much "newer" skin this time around, subsequent to the peeling. In any case, I proceeded to cleanse my skin gently and apply moisturizer with SPF on a daily basis. However, the redness took far longer to subside, and while it is mostly gone now, my skin has been left in a somewhat disastrous state.

I attached some pictures detailing a few of my concerns (NOTE: I took these pictures immediately after cleansing my face, so my skin is quite dry; I didn't want to mask/minimize some of my concerns by applying a moisturizer before taking the pictures)

First of all, after the skin peeled, I was left with some unpleasant isolated spots (particularly on the left side of my nose) where the skin peeled further relative to the surrounding skin. This is one of my chief concerns, because while it is slowly blending back into the tone of the surrounding skin, I'm afraid that it may scar, or take months to blend completely.

640
641

Secondly, on both my right and left cheeks (near my sideburn area), the salicylic acid seems to have excessively pronounced the existing blemishes in that area. This is also the area where I had a new breakout from the first time using the peel, and I think upon applying it a second time after seven days, it aggravated the healing process. I too am also afraid that these blemishes are going to scar, or at least take far longer than a usual blemish to fade to the point where they are not immediately noticeable.

639
642

Thirdly, particularly on the sides of my nose and cheecks, the peel seems to have "highlighted" some blemishes and faded out others. Specifically, the older blemishes responded very well to the treatment, while the newer ones (i.e. the ones which resulted from the the breakout prompting me to begin this process in the first place) did not. You can see what I am talking about in the previous pictures.

Basically, I just want to know if there's anything else I can do to speed along the healing process. Also, I'm extremely nervous about potentially scaring/long-term blemishes. These blemishes (and the excessive peeling by the nose) are much worse than anything I have experienced in the past; as the title indicates, did I go too far with this stuff and cause irreparable damage?

In any case, on the whole I am fairly pleased with how my skin looks now after just a couple of peels, but these isolated areas totally overwhelm that positive feeling and have made me totally regret using this stuff.

Thanks!

pepsimax
08-20-2012, 02:58 AM
Hello Martin and welcome to Dermatalk.
I am not an expert but I can tell you that with anything, a quick fix is never the answer and more likely to cause further problems. So adapting your skincare routine to help prevent further outbreaks should be the first thing to do then when your skin is stable you can consider treatments like peels.
Regarding peels, Salicylic Acid is quite strong and may cause hyperpigmentation on those with darker skin types. 20% Salicylic acid equals about 50% Glycolic acid so what you used first time is very strong. Lactic acid is the milder of the three and is recommended for people with sensitive skin. Its recommended you start with 5% or 10% Glycolic acid or 10/20% Lactic Acid. If you try and do too much too soon you will only cause more damage. You need to adopt a good skincare routine for the peel to have the most effect and more importantly sunscreen is vital when using peels.
I would advise you to buy a milder peel and wait about a month for your skin to completely recover before you use it. You will notice a huge difference after a few treatments if used as directed.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.

y34963
08-20-2012, 06:21 AM
I totally agree with you. Great advice. Peels have to be done very carefully.

skinlover
08-23-2012, 10:08 AM
Very interesting subject. Whilst this has been unpleasant for you, it has been valuable to others in that we can learn from this.

Good luck with further treatments.

L.