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In the past, I have written about some products that have helped me solve some skincare issues. They have worked, cleared things up, and then a new problem typically pops up. I had stellar skin back in the summer of 2018. I decided to visit my general dermatologist to pick up something to work on some dark acne scars that had popped up. It worked, the scars went away, but it caused another problem. Stubborn bumps that will never. go. away.
Alas, thus far in my life, I have not had ideal skin. I have tiny skin colored bumps on my cheeks and forehead, inconsistent and blotchy skin tone, and pimples pretty constantly. All I really want is to have consistent texture and tone to my skin, no more bumps, and maybe to not have to wear so much cover-up all the time. I have officially thrown up the white flag and today I had my first appointment with a cosmetic dermatologist.
This is different than your typical skin checking dermatologist that looks for signs of skin cancer, etc. (who you should be visiting yearly, by the way, for annual checks). This type of dermatologist provides services such as chemical peels, botox, microdermabrasion, microneedling, fillers, laser treatments, and more. These dermatologists have the same schooling and degree as those who check moles and spots on your skin, they just provide different services.
Today I went for my initial consultation with Dr. Sciara, in which she evaluated my current skin status, asked a ton of questions about my current skincare regimen, answered any and all of my questions, and determined a direction for my skincare journey. I had no idea what I would be getting done but I am really excited to start this process and understand more about my skin. I wanted to keep you in the loop with what I am doing, hopefully take some before & after pictures along the way, and share any tips I pick up.
My first appointment lasted about 2 hours and it was all encompassing. We reviewed a lot of what was going on on my face and she diagnosed what the bumps are; deep white heads related to my overarching acne issue. She gave me a brand new morning and night routine with some samples and prescriptions to try out at first. We want to see how my skin reacts before diving in head first. She believes that within 2-3 months all my problems will just floaaaatttt away. 🙂
We also did my first glycolic peel; 1 out of 6 in the series. The peel takes 5 minutes total. She basically put a lotion/serum on my face, applied with a cotton ball, for 3 minutes. It tingled and burned very slightly, but not painful at all. And I got to hold a mini fan by my face just for fun and distraction. After 3 minutes, I headed to the sink and splashed my face with water for 2 minutes to clear all the acid off. The nurse and doctor stood around me coaching me as I splashed my face and I never felt so self conscious of my face splashing skills (you ever like fill up your hands with water and then separate them before you actually reach your face so all the water falls out and none of it actually gets on your face? Ok yea that happened a lot. And this time there were witnesses). Then we applied a calming lotion and sunscreen and I was off! I can’t wait to start my new regimen and see how the peels work on my skin. I will explain more about what I am using over Instagram stories.
I think this series will relate to a lot of you, because I myself have wanted to read about this type of process from someone who does not have picture perfect, no makeup skin. Can anyone relate? Reviews on fancy products always discourage me, because we are not all starting at the same place. One moisturizer did not magically turn me into a glowing goddess. I have to try pretty hard at this and I am sure a lot of you do too. Please drop any questions or topics of interests that I can cover through this blog series. I plan to share it all!
xoxo,
jojo
P.S. Also, not to be dramatic, but I feel like a big weight was lifted off me today when I finally gave my issue over to a professional. No more mixing and matching products to figure it out myself. News flash, I have no idea what I’m doing. When she said to me, oh this is easy we will fix this right up, I could’ve hugged her.
