Hi guys, I'm posting this hoping someone will have a similar story to share, since what happened to me is hardly to be found on the internet and even my dermatologist doesn't know what to say about the prognosis. She just said to wait and see, and, as you can imagine, it's agony for me.
I did a TCA peel with an inexperienced cosmetologist. Previously I had done 35% TCA peels at my dermatologist's with a lot of success (very good results), and then this friend of a friend offered to do it for a lot less money and I agreed, impatient to get rid of my last remaining scars.
She dabbed on too much 35% TCA. I frosted, then told her to please rinse it with water, so the entire process did not take too long (I think max two minutes). She rinsed my face with gauze and was not gentle with it. She put some sort of calming mask afterwards.
1. The frost lasted for a while (can't say how much, but after applying water I was still white)
2. After my cheeks became purple, they remained purple up until now (3 days passed)
3. I have a nasty looking burn, but it seems to be superficial. It's not tight, doesn't hurt, it's only sensitive to the touch in some places. It's very slowly becoming darker and harder. The skin was soft for the past two days.
Has anyone had a similar experience? My derm said that because the cosmetologist applied to much (dabbed with her fingers), that could be counted as 50-60% strength.
It's only the third day I don't know what to do with myself. The wait is too long.
I'd say you need to be in close communication with your dermatologist to check for signs of impending hypertrophic scarring. Anything above 35% is considered pretty strong. If it's only been 3 days, you might not have peeled at all. From what I've read, increasing redness and thickening may be an sign of impending scarring. Cordran tape, which is medical tape that has topical steroids on it, can be applied to the area to ease inflammation and prevent scarring. At the end of the day, you need to be in the care of your dermatologist for sure.
Thanks for the reply!
If it's only been 3 days, you might not have peeled at all.
No, haven't started to peel at all and the "crust" is forming slowly only now, the third day. The redness has been there since the end of the frosting.
I'm in close communication with my derm and she gave me a burn cream, so I'm hoping for the best.
Small update for anyone interested: as more time passes, I'm becoming more confident this is superficial. The redness darkened a lot, crusted, thinned and began to crack a little bit. In the small areas between the cracks I can see light skin (slightly pink) underneath. The area is still a little warm.
I'm guessing that in the following two days it will be truth time, so I'll keep you posted.