Amazing faces quiche 2- hold onto your purse strings!

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New thread!

I have after much thought I have finally had my face lazered. OMG the pain was incredible imagine a boiling hot elastic band being pinged at your face for about 25 mins. After it felt like a really bad dose of sunburn on face. BUT this morning i look odd. All my really dark freckles are now really really dark - apparently very normal as the laser breaks down the pigmentation below the surface and it takes 3/4 days to come to the surface and exfoliate off. Couple of freckles look like they have "shattered" really looking forward to seeing the results - other than that skin wise the lady that did the treatment was very impressed with my current routine and only suggested a retinol which will improve the pigmentation from a deeper level. Will see how er are getting on in a week or two.

The course is for three treatments - not sure I can cope with three lots of the pain, but can't have the next one till I am full recovered - 4/6 weeks - will reserve judgement.

Can I ask what type of laser treatment you had plumstone? I'm coming up to the end of roaccutane treatment for acne and have a lot of ice pick and boxcar scarring that I'd like to get rid of so would be very interested to hear how you find the healing process and any products you find help with it.

I will keep you all informed - it the results are worth it I will reconsider a second treatment,

It was IPL Wife - I have four or five red veins on my cheeks and had them done years ago not nearly as sore, and only a small area - but the results were amazing - they totally vanished within 5 days and have never returned.

Got home last night, and did my double cleanse (oil and cetaphil) a Nip & Fab dragon's blood pad and then nivea followed by sleep mask, woke up this morning and it looked like someone had brown felt tip penned in my freckles, however over the course of the day there has been change!

Other than the sun burn feeling last night, I cannot feel anything, and although my colleagues are too nice to say anything I think I look a bit odd - I am hoping for "you look really good" comments as opposed to "OMG What have you done" Friends in RL could go either way!!!!!!!!

The clinic take before and after pics which I quite liked, and they were all great, and very thorough re health and background - also very close to work so could go after work - not sure I'd do it in my lunch hour - it is only an hour but I was quite burny after for a couple of hours

So I moved up to retin a 0.05. I got this one on eBay as my GP won't move me up a strength.

4 days in a row and I still have no red peeling skin.

Is there a chance the retin A from Thailand sellers on ebay are fake? is there a way to tell?

I got no side effects from 0.025 and I know that was real, so maybe my skin just tolerates it really well.

Ooo I have some salactol for my DS verrucas it has 16% Salicylic acid and 16% lactic acid. I wonder if I could dilute it and swipe it on my face

I've now been doing decent skin care for a few weeks now and thought I'd give a progress update. I've gone from waving a wet wipe vaguely in the direction of my face to a proper regime. My face didn't quite know what hit it at first.

I had problems with spots / acne and dark scars resulting from the same. I follow a combination of CH/Sam Bunting and Kundry regime.

Morning:
Cleanse with LRP Dermotological gel
Acid tone with nip and fab radiance pads
Indeed Lab Pepita Bright cream (to reduce dark scars)
Vitamin C serum
Oil free moisturizer
LRP facial SPF cream

PM:
Cleanse with LRP gel and cetaphil
Acid tone with LRP Effaclar Duo
Aesop control gel
Indeed Lab Pepita Bright cream
LRP Redermic C cream
Clarins lotus oil (few drop)

I've also started taking fish oil and trying to cut down on sugar. I don't eat many sweet things but I do have sugar in my tea when I am stressed.

I have also used once the No 7 Glyceric (sp??) peel. This is only a 10% one. It was fine (I was worried that my face would fall off!).

In short there has been a notable effect. I currently have NO spots on my face and just one on my neck. The dark scars are fading (I know that this will take time). My skin feels quite smooth. I am using noticeably less make up.

I built up to the current regime. I think what finally cleared the spots was using both types of acid - when I was just using the effaclar duo (AM and PM) the spots reduced but did not completely go away.

Basically yes,it's salicylic acid.

U2 I also hVe 0.05 and had no peeling but am seeing results , just think I must be tolerating it really well ! ( used redermic r for a while prior to stepping up which I think helped :)

Oh it the one in the blue and white box .. Janssen . Has a very comprehensive leaflet in English included so I'm sure it's genuine:)

My box is blue and white but the leaflets are not English. It's from Janssen as well.

Forget I said that.. the box is sitting beside me now and I forgot to turn the leaflet around, which is in English!

Oops ;) I have another tube on the way then might go up to 0.1 as I seem to have rhino hide !

Apparently research shows that there is no need to go up to 0.1 as it is no better than the lower strengths. I will probably move up as well, even if apparently there is no need to.

I have a rhino hide as well.. I am also using acids in the morning and my skin just looks lovely.

Here if you want to read the study

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7544967

That's interesting ! ... Strangely on some sites the 0.1 is significantly cheaper !

I suppose the 0.05 and 0.025 strengths are easier to use and therefore more popular than the 0.1 so that's why they're more expensive.

My peeling from using the 0.025 is nearly finished, it's leaving lovely glowy skin behind.

I have a bloody sore spot coming!

Move onto retin 0.5 and got a spot!

Now, it could be the retin or just a coincidence. With the retin 0.25 I didn't get any breakouts, I just stopped getting acne.

I am wondering if I should ditch the 0.5 and go back to the 0.25 or just give it some time? I don't want to go back to spots. My 0.25 also has an antibiotic gel in it. I wanted the higher strength though.

Great idea to review products now we're all a few weeks in! Ok so I have oily/combo skin, spot prone, enlarged pores..

products I am loving:

Lush Ultrabland cleanser
Garnier Micellar water
Timeless Vitamin C serum
Bravura Calendula glycolic AHA
Paula's Choice 2% BHA
Tretinoin 0.025%
LRP Effaclar Duo
Biore watery Essence sun cream spf 50

products that didnt cut the mustard

Liquid Gold
Vichy liftActiv moisturiser with retinol

I have a niacinamide serum coming from Korea and I'm excited to try and some sheet masks.

My skin is looking clear, almost completely spot free, and my pores look nice and tight. I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere! I know my skin now and I know what ingredients I want in my products. I'm getting ingredient savvy the longer I follow 'the routine' and the more I read. Honestly, between the Asian Skincare thread and this one, I am thoroughly enjoying this. It's actually given me a little boost