(Me moments after I woke up. This is not a good photo. Please accept my apologies.)I am now 36 hours into my SkinMedica Rejuvenize chemical peel. When I went to bed last night, around 11pm, I had a tiny little bit of skin that had started to peel. When I woke up this morning, I ran to the bathroom with the anticipation associated with Christmas to see if the peeling had begun. Sadly, it hadn't. I was starting to wonder if I was actually going to peel (I am totally impatient, I know.) Not quite yet awake, I yawned. And like an egg, my face cracked around my mouth.
(The aftermath of the yawn. And no Loxy, when my face peels it isn't going to reveal that I am actually Samantha Morton. I am not really a Pre-Cog.)I was immediately tempted to peel back the bit of skin, but I heard Madeleine's reminder in my ear, "Don't peel the skin, it might scar." This not peeling the skin thing is going to be seriously hard.
I did however, take a shower and after being in the steam of the shower for five minutes, I did gently roll the pads of my fingers over my face, which removed a bit of the skin. Thank goodness that is allowed, otherwise not peeling anything would make me nuts.
Now, to answer the big questions that everyone is emailing me about:
1. This medical-grade peel from SkinMedica is a cocktail of Salicylic Acid, Lactic Acid, Resorcinol, Panthenol and Isoceteth-20 and .3% Retinoic Acid.
2. The cost of the peel from La Papillon is $220 for one peel. If you purchase them in a package of three, you save 15% and the cost comes down to $187 each.
3. The actual salon visit is very quick. You can be in and out in less than 30 minutes. Peeling won't begin for 24-48 hours. The amount of peeling is said to be dramatic.
4. The level of results you will see will depend on the condition of your skin. You should see dramatic improvements after one peel, however, more damaged skin will need additional peels to get the desired results. Here is a before after picture of a woman with significant acne scarring after 3 treatments with the Rejuvenize Peel.
I will be sure to update this later today. As of now, my skin feels very tight, on the dry side and still feels as if I have been in the sun too long.
10:45 am update: I was sitting in a meeting and was pretty positive more peeling began, mid-meeting, while talking. A quick mirror check reveals that yes, my chin is peeling. Good thing the snowpocalypse is coming and I am heading home soon. This might start to get embarrassing...
(Me when I woke up, 60 hours post peel. Yes, I slept in the same shirt as the night before.
Don't act like you don't.)
It has now been 60 hours since I got a Rejuvenize Peel from
La Papillon Spa and I am heading into the serious peel portion of this program. Although similar to the snow that I kept waiting for with bated breath yesterday afternoon, nothing
that dramatic has started to happen. However, Loxy keeps coming over and looking at me, saying, "
Hold still. I swear I see a Pre-Cog under there*. Let me get that", as he reaches over to pull on my face. Then I turn and yell, "
LOXY! I can't predict pre-crime. This isn't Minority Report. We won't have access to that cool computer screen and I won't solve any redballs." If I didn't know better, I would be bothered that my husband apparently secretly wishes I lived in a
goo-filled bathtub and had special powers.
However, I am starting to peel. And I am not good at
not picking at the peeling skin. Madeleine is trying to be a great coach, texting and tweeting me not to pick at my skin. A Gouldylox reader gave me the perfect suggestion to put lotion and socks on my hands, to save me from myself. (One also suggested duct taping oven mitts to my hands, which I am likely to do.) I do think they are totally on to something and I am planning on giving myself several paraffin treatments so I can't pick at my skin. Although honestly, I am not sure socks, paraffin-ed fingers or oven mitts can stop me. I am trying though.
When I went in for the peel, Madeleine, owner of La Papillon Spa, had mentioned that I could wear a little mineral blush if I couldn't manage being face-naked. However, she warned that as "chunks" of skin come off, my blush may look a little odd. Almost as if I randomly forgot to apply it to a section of my face. I am fine with being sans makeup. But it does make me wonder, though. What about sunscreen? I am vigilant about wearing sunscreen. Is that flaking off with the top layer of my skin as well? I am already breaking my new skin? Concerned that was the case and not wanting to damage my new skin, I decided the best thing to do was this:
cover my face like my name is Blanket Jackson.
The people at CVS thought I was insane (or there to steal lip gloss). People in cars thought I was nuts, with my oversized sun glasses and my sparkle wrap covering my peeling face (the car dancing and singing probably didn't help). Oh well.
Tomorrow, I will just carry sunscreen with me and apply and reapply. That assumes I set foot outside or open a curtain. Neither are likely.
As for my punim, my chin and nose area are starting to peel more. I don't feel as tight as I did previously, but probably because my face "cracked" when I yawned at the 36 hour mark. It still feels very tender, especially after I wash it.
It also feels dry and I really want to add my
Peptide Extreme Cream (I can't say that without sounding like a Monster Truck announcer in my head) to aid the dryness, but I picture my face like a paper-mâché project in reverse. I don't want to gunk up the works with moisturizer, so I will try to leave it alone.
Update 10am: I went outside to help Loxy shovel and rake the roof. (Which is different from "raising" the roof.) I was slathered in sunscreen, a hat and a scarf and the cold air and occasional snow blowing on my face made my punim feel instantly chapped, raw and sore. Needless to say, I finished up quickly and came inside. I think my skin is heading into the "chunks falling off, red and sore" phase I keep hearing about.
*This is a
Pre-Cog. It's from the super movie, Minority Report, which is the film that makes me not dislike Tom Cruise immensely.
Yesterday was a learning day for this chemical-peel newbie. Before I get into what I look like at the 84 hour mark, let me share with you, the lessons I learned in hours 60-72.
1. If you must rake your roof to remove some of the snow, be prepared for the combination of blistering cold and snow that blows back on your face to sting. In fact, be prepared for feeling like you instantly obtained the mother of all chapped faces.
2. Don't watch Season 4, episode 5 of Friday Night Lights. Unless you're a cyborg, you are going to cry. CRYING REALLY HURTS. It hurts worse than snow-blowback.
3. And finally, never, ever wear one of these.
Loxy felt bad for how much my face hurt in the snow and decided he didn't want me to be in pain when we had to go our for the second round of shoveling. So he thoughtfully dug out his face masks from when he did the Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride in 2000. At first, it felt nice - all warm and soft on my extremely tender skin. Then I started to breathe outside. Which means the face mask gets moist (I hate that word, too). And it gets cold. So now there is damp, cold piece of fabric pressed against my face. Like a trooper, I dealt with it for about 20 minutes, and then I came inside and collapsed. I almost considered taking ibuprofen at that point, but since I need to report on what it is like to go through this quasi-medical procedure, wimping out seemed like a cheat.
(Me at the 72 hour point.)4. Anything you put on your face is going to hurt. My skin is super dry on a good day and with this going on, it is screaming for something to make it not be so ungodly dry. So instead of the SkinMedica cleanser I am supposed to use, I opted for Cetaphil, the most gentle cleanser ever made on the face of the earth (CereVe is also tied for #1)*. Even that hurt.
But what did make my skin feel wonderful was getting in the shower and allowing the steam to do it's job. I assume that it would not be a good thing to steam my face often (I have a doohickey for that, which I am tempted to use) as it would irritate my skin. But wow, that shower felt great. Then I got to do the thing where I gently roll my fingers over my skin and remove the peeling skin again. It made tons of little skin balls.
(This is me happy, showing off my skin balls. They may be hard to see, but there are tons of little white skin balls on my face. Click on the photo, you will be able to see them then.)I know, it's gross. But honestly, for the past 4 days all I have talked about is how my skin is falling off, so I think we are past that by now. Anyway, taking a hot shower felt so fantastic that I actually got out of the shower for the second time having forgotten to rinse out my conditioner. What can I say? Skin balls are mind blowing.
I ended my day by succumbing and putting on a little
Jan Marini Peptide Extreme. Somehow, that didn't hurt at all. Probably because my skin was all loose and open from the steam. My face still feels like it might crack if I smile, but it feels SO MUCH BETTER than it did before. Of course, now that I found that JMPE is the one thing that doesn't hurt, I am also out of it. And snowed in, so I can't go buy more.
(Double click on this photo if you really want to see just how much my face is peeling.)Oh yeah- here is me at the 84 hour point when I woke up this morning. My chin was the first to peel and now the second layer of my chin is starting to go. Yeah! I wonder if
La Papillon has any Peptide Extreme in stock and is open tomorrow? Surely I can leave my house tomorrow...
*Ranked scientifically and solely by me.
(My degree of peeling 72 hours after the chemical peel was applied.)
This morning, I decided to battle the snow that still hasn't been plowed from my street (or around my office) and go into work. I also wore makeup for the first time in 6 days. I still have some dryness, specifically around my nasolabial folds, but it's nothing too obvious. I opted to use Kate Sommerville Quench as a hydrator, Jan Marini's AntiOxidant SPF 30 as my sunscreen and Stila's One Step Makeup as my foundation.
I have obvious melasma on my forehead and cheeks. My skin has an overall darker yellow-ish tone to it in some areas. I had seen some improvement with topical creams and basic spa peels, but still had a lot of melasma to contend with, especially on my forehead, cheeks and chin.
