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10 hours ago, dazzed said:From what I gather of your personality, you seem like a really rational, problem-solving type of person. Until now, there was no mention of the indignities you have had to face. Hearing about your painful experiences is really moving considering I have been subjected to the same kinds of cruel comments. I can't even list them all, but when I think about them it still cuts so deeply. I've had complete strangers say the cruelest comments to me, point me out to their friends and then laughing among each other, getting stares of disgust.
The fact that you've come this far and no longer receive the same kinds of comments is proof of your success. You've achieved something that is incredibly difficult to do, which is getting well above the benchmark of50% improvement in scarring (probably more than 80%).
Something I want to impart on anyone taking this journey... You should know when you've achieved enough improvement and when to stop. I started out with terrible scarring as well. I had deep, deep rolling scars and significant fat loss in my cheeks.After years of trial and error I really managed to achieve what I would consider 80-90% improvement. The improvement even stunned me because of where I had started out.
But I became obsessed with more improvement and did some procedures that I totally regret which undid a lot of the improvement I had. In my case, it was a disastrous dermabrasion. I've been trying to get back to my peak ever since, but I know I'll never achieve that level of improvement again. This is why it is so important to have people you trust give you honest feedback, and to not become obsessed with more and more improvement. There is a point where if you cross it, you could end up worse off. You have to know when to move on, at least for a while.
The one situation that broke me was watching 3 girls in an airport checkin counter line mocking a guy for his acne scarring that was worse than mine. The guy overheard everything and you could see him break as he quicklywalked out. And it's not just acne scarring; any type of facial deformity makes a person the punching bag who others will take their own insecurities out on.
For me I'm doing 1 last filler and I'm done. I wish I could do 1 more phenol peel, but I have goals that are being hindered by treatment downtime, and at this point my skin has become less of a priority.
On 8/1/2019 at 9:21 AM, SquawkingStars said:I've had just a few quick thoughts from following your journey so attentively:
1) You're still in the middle of a long healing process. We followers should giveyour skin a full 6 months to recover before making any final improvement estimates.
2) If anyoneislooking for some way to camouflage redness on textured skin, a powder-base is the best way to go. Liquid or gel foundations and moisturizers accentuate scars by emphasizing the scar's walls. A powder mattifies (removes shininess), so scarring is a bit less noticeable from all angles. There are finepowder-bases at the drugstore, but the BareMinerals Matte Foundation has been great in my experience.
3) Thank you for addressing the emotional scarring as well as the physical - for many here, it seems like the emotional burden is just as heavy as the actual imperfection.
Best!
What would you recommend to try for somethingpowder-based?
You seriously look amazing from the start of your journey until now. Interesting to note you wish you could the phenol again. Would you just do certain areas, or the full face again? Thank you so much for sharing all aspects of your journey. It can be such a cruel world;I know we all have had such heartbreakingwords said to us over something we had no control over. But your journey has given me suchhope! Practical question-did you do vinegar soaks starting on day 2 on the non green mask areas? And how long did you continue? Did you do vinegar soaks on your whole face when the mask came off and then immediately apply aquaphor?Ive read instructions and it just said if you had a neck peel only so Im confused.
11 hours ago, f93d said:For me I'm doing 1 last filler and I'm done. I wish I could do 1 more phenol peel, but I have goals that are being hindered by treatment downtime, and at this point my skin has become less of a priority.
@f93d I think that would be very wise. Your skin has come so far and this last treatment was super aggressive, and you need lots of time to fully gauge the final result. You're approaching this very methodically and rationally. With scar treatments, you will get diminishing returns and there is a point where, like you have observed, it will not improve any more.
The goal should be to minimize the scarring as much as possible to where it no longer draws unwanted attention. Which I think you have achieved as you have noted yourself. I wished I realized this, but when you fall down this rabbit hole it can be easy to become obssessed.
I agree with your plan to dominor procedures from here on out like fillers to maintain, and maybe luckily more improvement.
I'm also surprised that you would consider doing another Phenol peel given the brutal downtime.
@cautiouslyhopeful I know exactly what you mean. Asian families will have no problem criticizing you, but then won't help you treat the problem. And if you ask them to help youdo something about it, then you're criticized for being superficial? I'm not surprised there are so many members on this forum with Asian backgrounds because of this backwards mentality.
DISCLAIMER TO ALL: The "best" products are wholly dependent on the individual, the wearing circumstance, and the powder's ingredients. I have personal experience with these suggestions, but urge you toconsiderproducts not from the list. Please attempt a patch-test of any product you choose until you are familiar with your skin's reaction.
"THE BIG 3" - Common Ingredients
1) Talc - This ingredient is the most familiaras it's present in baby powder and almost all powder-based makeup (blush, eye shadow, etc.) It is used to absorb large amounts of sebum, making it ideal for those with oily skin. Talc is generally well tolerated as it sits of the surface of the skin; it does not enter the pore, so clogging the skin only becomes an issue if not properly removed. However, applying talc powders to open wounds has demonstrated the possibility for the wearer to develop pockets of skin inflammation (granulomas). For this reason, I do not suggest talc powdersfor those who have open, active, deep-set acne.
2) Cornstarch - The gentlest of the trio, this is considered by many to be a great starting base for those new to makeup. Cornstarch seems to be enjoyed by those with either oily and drier skin. Rarely found as a stand alone ingredient. Note that the cornstarch in makeup has been PRE-TREATED for skin - this is not basic powder from the grocery store! REGULAR CORNSTARCH CAN FEED FUNGUS AND BACTERIA.
3) Silica - The ingredient to use if you love an airbrushed finish. Like talc, silica has amazing oil-absorbing abilities, so those with oilyskinmay gravitate towards it. It also is believed to sit atop the skin for those prone to acne. Because of its light scattering effect, silica seems to "blur" pores and fine lines away, but will also cause a flash-back if under harsh light. Flash-back is the dreaded white cast/"cocaine face" that occurs when a mildly reflective surface bounces light back towards the flash. I highly discourage wearing a silica-based foundation or powder to an event that will include any kind of professional or flash photography.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
FOR THOSE WHO NEED A DRUGSTORE OPTION WITH COLOR --> Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (TALC) - This product is a cheap (<$5 USD) and user-friendly pressed powder. Use with a brush. Only 6 shades with the majority having a pink or red undertone.
FOR THOSE WHO NEED A DRUGSTORE OPTION WITHOUT COLOR--> Coty Airspun (TALC) - A cult classic! CA is finely milled, so you can avoid a lot of powder clumping on the skin. Also has little issue with flash-back. Downside is that this product can only be bought on online and has a strong fragrance that dissipates in a few minutes. I would not recommend this product for those with darker skin (NC45 and up), the translucent shade will make you look washed out and chalky.
FOR THOSE WHO NEED AN EXTENDEDSHADE RANGE --> Maybelline Fit Me! Matte and Poreless (TALC) - Good for long-lasting oil control, glides well into the skin, and comes in a compact with a sponge and mirror. The Fit Me!line is constantly being expanded to include new shades and skin undertones. Can look over-powdered if you go in to heavy-handed, so you'll need to practice with this product before heading somewhere important.
FORK-BEAUTY FANS--> Inisfree No Sebum Blur Powder (TALC AND SILICA) - This will help you achieve matte skin all day, and this is coming from someone whose skin becomes oily within an hour of washing their face. It's to be expected from a product that contains the two "drying" bases. Can be worn alone or on top of a liquid foundation. Unfortunately, only comes in one color, so product can look too dark or light depending on wearer.
FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO SPLURGE --> Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (TALC AND CORNSTARCH) - For many, this powder is considered to be a holy grail. Great wearability, truly translucent only all skin tones, but expensive and only comes in two shades. Will not provide good color correction for redness.
FOR THOSE THAT NEED COVERAGE --> MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation (TALC AND SILICA) - Any issue you have with redness, uneven tone, or active pimples can be neutralized with ease with this powder. I've found it to be medium-to-full coverage,photo-friendly, and great at absorbing oil. It's definitely on the expensiveside and if purchased, it will need to be experimented with as itcan cake easily. Also, since it is a thicker powder, you will need to be VERY precise with the color you select or you will look orange (sorry olive undertones, this foundation is not great for us).
FOR THOSE WITH DARK SKIN --> BlackUp Matte Definition Foundation - This brand caters exclusively to dark skin of both red and yellow undertones. It has fine coverage, but seems to need reapplication throughout the day. Drawbacks include limited information about the product (not made of any of the three common ingredients) and must be purchased online.
FOR THOSE THAT WANT A GOOD FINISHING POWDER --> MakeUp ForEver Ultra HD Microfinishing Loose Powder (SILICA) - This powder is beautiful and one of my personal favorites! It is transparent for every skin tone, will blur even the nastiest of pores, soaks up oil, and feels weightless on the skin. Note that I labeled it as a finishing powder; you are meant to use this product SPARINGLY. It will produce an awful flashback if you pack your face with it, so avoid if you're going to be around flash photography.
MY OVERALL FAVORITE --> Bare Minerals Loose Powder Matte Foundation (SILICA) - The product is a good basic foundation that satisfies all my requirements for abase. It offers good coverage for active pimples and redness, never breaks me out, is easy for beginners to work with, sops up most of my oil, and lasts a long time since little product is needed for each use. No issue with flashback because silica is not a predominate ingredient.This foundation is pricey and needs to be reapplied. If you purchase, you'll need to adjust to the product's heaviness and practicea way to buff it into the skin.
If anyone has other makeup-related questions, feel free to PM me!
@SquawkingStarsThanks.Wasn't sure what I was doing - I followed thisfrom Wayne Goss.
Ended up getting the foundation, a brush, and setting spray.
It worked great and didn't accent the scars further.
I think it took off 3 - 4 weeks of healing appearance-wise. I still need to trial and practicea bit, a little cakey in some parts, but this type of coverage is necessary for reducing the redness significantly.
This was my first experience purchasing higher coverage makeup - getting color matched, trying a bunch of different foundations to see which color matched best.It's surprisingly easy and comfortable at Sephora. Lots of male clientele.
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On 8/3/2019 at 1:09 PM, Smile7 said:You seriously look amazing from the start of your journey until now. Interesting to note you wish you could the phenol again. Would you just do certain areas, or the full face again? Thank you so much for sharing all aspects of your journey. It can be such a cruel world;I know we all have had such heartbreakingwords said to us over something we had no control over. But your journey has given me suchhope! Practical question-did you do vinegar soaks starting on day 2 on the non green mask areas? And how long did you continue? Did you do vinegar soaks on your whole face when the mask came off and then immediately apply aquaphor?Ive read instructions and it just said if you had a neck peel only so Im confused.
Full face, I think I can benefit significantly a second time. If these current results hold, these are great results.
Vinegar soaks are done every 12 hours once the tape is removed only to the non-mask areas. One thing I wish I knew, if your mask is cutting into your skin like mine did, the vinegar soaks on the green mask will loosen it so it no longer bites into you. Keep the AC off/limited so the mask doesn't dry out. You don't want all the moisture pulled out of the room.At the same time,stay cool - heat isnotgreat for the healing process (possible PIH).
I stopped vinegar soaks two days after the mask came off - I don't think this what theyrecommend.
@f93d Can you show us how your face looks after this using these new makeup products and techniques?
As for men and makeup, the biggest Youtube makeup gurus are male with millions of followers. James Charles and Jeffree Star are huge and have massive followings. I don't think anyone in there even bats an eyelash about men purchasing makeup nowaday and that's a blessing.
Honestly, I'm more embarrassed to go in there because of bad skin not because I'm male.
12 hours ago, dazzed said:@f93d Can you show us how your face looks after this using these new makeup products and techniques?
As for men and makeup, the biggest Youtube makeup gurus are male with millions of followers. James Charles and Jeffree Star are huge and have massive followings. I don't think anyone in there even bats an eyelash about men purchasing makeup nowaday and that's a blessing.
Honestly, I'm more embarrassed to go in there because of bad skin not because I'm male.
I know your pain man.. Iam female and I hate going to drugstores cause of my skin..and that harsh unforgiving light..uch
20 hours ago, f93d said:@SquawkingStarsThanks.Wasn't sure what I was doing - I followed thisfrom Wayne Goss.
WI'm not surprised. Wayne Goss is a trained makeup artist. He has studied the techniques used in makeup application and has made a career out ofperfecting its many styles on clients. He's versatile,offers great explanation, and even introduces his own techniques to viewers of all skill level. I'd recommend him as a great resource to start with. Which powder did you pick up? I'm sure others new to makeup would love to read a review from someone in their same situation.
17 hours ago, dazzed said:James Charles and Jeffree Star are huge and have massive followings.
Thank you for bringJames Charles andJeffree Star up. For those of you looking to get started in makeup, please understand thatthey are popular for one type of "Instagram makeup" style and are not good examples for newbies. They cater to a sect of the market that loves thick, drag makeup meant to be worn on the stage or in front of a professional camera, not real life.
21 hours ago, f93d said:I still need to trial and practicea bit, a little cakey in some parts, but this type of coverage is necessary for reducing the redness significantly.
Generally, cakiness occurs when there's either too much product on the skin's surface or the skin is dry/under-exfoliated. Since you're still healing and learning to apply foundation, it'll probably work itself out eventually.
On 8/4/2019 at 4:04 PM, f93d said:--
Full face, I think I can benefit significantly a second time. If these current results hold, these are great results.
Vinegar soaks are done every 12 hours once the tape is removed only to the non-mask areas. One thing I wish I knew, if your mask is cutting into your skin like mine did, the vinegar soaks on the green mask will loosen it so it no longer bites into you. Keep the AC off/limited so the mask doesn't dry out. You don't want all the moisture pulled out of the room.At the same time,stay cool - heat isnotgreat for the healing process (possible PIH).
I stopped vinegar soaks two days after the mask came off - I don't think this what theyrecommend.
That is certainly helpful. Thank you so much for the advice. In the instructions Ive seen,that isnt clear. And I remember you saying the mask cut into your skin and was painful. So good to know.One last question, it says after day like 3 if the mask starts to develop air pockets (I assume from swelling decreasing) to put aquaphor underneath the mask. Do the sides/edges of the mask lift? Or how did you get rid of the air pockets?
The makeup results aren't anything groundbreaking, here is my left side:
Left is before, right is after application. Takes about a minute for everything.
This is the most coverage I'm okay with putting on.
7 hours ago, Smile7 said:That is certainly helpful. Thank you so much for the advice. In the instructions I™ve seen, that isn™t clear. And I remember you saying the mask cut into your skin and was painful. So good to know. One last question, it says after day like 3 if the mask starts to develop air pockets (I assume from swelling decreasing) to put aquaphor underneath the mask. Do the sides/edges of the mask lift? Or how did you get rid of the air pockets?
You want the air pockets. You don't put anything underneath. The edges don't lift on their own.
I didn't think my last post really showed the impact of makeup. This picture is probably what I would of wanted to see:
Make up test application before/after right side with scarring. It's matte so the skin gloss goes away, but be aware the gloss comes back around mid-day.. get an oil wipe, or dab it with paper. The makeup won't come off.
I'm not wearing this in public right now; I did one day and then decided the color was off - too bronze for me. This was the Sephora brand. Any opinions/advice appreciated, I will probably go get re-color matched and try a different one.
Week 6 (6 weeks have passed since procedure)
Unfortunately the right side results aren't holding up as well as I'd like, so most of that was swelling. I I still have volume depression here:
Circle showing area of volume depression and area that looks the worst, especially up close w/ makeup application. I can't hide it, makeup enhances it. I press into the skin and there's not much fat or collagen, but still way better than before. The surrounding skin seems to be pulling it, therefore it's not as bad looking, but it's still like a hole underneath the skin.
The wavy scars closer towards the nose bother me the most as, although shallow, they look the worst in person. Not sure what to do yet, any ideas appreciated, but I need to fix that part to move on mentally. I've filler scheduled for it in 3 weeks.
Shallow scarring really seems to be the most difficult to treat.
I don't concern myself with my left side anymore, it's good enough for me.
Thank you for your recent post. Would it be possible to post a baseline pic of each side and 6-8 weeks after the peel?
I think with the makeup that it may have a little too much yellow to it. You may want to go with a neutral which has a mixture of warm and cool tones. Hope that helps.
@f93d did you massage the area which was injected with sculptra?
On 8/11/2019 at 9:55 AM, acnescars2000 said:what wouldd you saywere the easiest scars to treat?
I don't feel like I exactly treated any scar since they're mostly all still there. It's partly luck of the draw; some shallow scarring nearly disappeared, others seemed to never react. Improvement of deep scarring is pretty much guaranteed, just follow procedure.
8 hours ago, Noa27 said:@f93d did you massage the area which was injected with sculptra?
No. Recent study shows it doesn't help. The injector must inject it right. But I'ddo what the doc says -my doc said to not bother.
On 8/7/2019 at 1:35 PM, dazzed said:The pics don't really show the scars that bother you well. Can you take some super close pics in angled lighting so we could give you our thoughts? Can't see the wavy scars you mentioned
Will update at 12 weeks post. It looks like a bit of collagen build and those may not be my concern anymore.
@f93d one more question. Met doc told me the results are permanent, on internet they say that it is not. What is your vision on it?
Posting this now as I'm getting filler soon. I'm not fully healed; these are the last I plan to post specific to the chemabrasion. Plan now is to level the scars and then do one more resurfacing. I have light foundation on for color for first picture, shouldn't impact scars.
Week 10 back lighting.
Week 10 bright white lighting. Took this shot to emphasize the scars I want filled. Also it's the harshest lighting I know of.
Week 10 front view bright white lighting. This shows the front wavy texture I want evened out.
On 8/23/2019 at 9:24 PM, Noa27 said:@f93d one more question. Met doc told me the results are permanent, on internet they say that it is not. What is your vision on it?
As permanent as collagen is.
On 8/25/2019 at 5:09 PM, joeysk said:how are you fillers lasting? Are you going to get refilled soon with scupltra/HA ?
Volbella doesn't last long. You can see in my above shot some of the scars that were filled in the past are no longer filled.
2 hours ago, acnescars2000 said:resurfacing with a peel ?
Ideally not, downtime is such a nightmare. Will see how skin looks after filler then decide. Hopefully a fractional laser. Will consider another Infini since its good with filler.
This is also many months out, I wont do it untilchemabrasion is healed. Im only filling the pits now.
Looking good brah. Skin appears to still be healing so give it time to heal the rest of the year and do whatever treatments you want to do when you're 100% healed next year. Funny how my left side is the worst but yours is the best ha. Besides filler, you thinking about doing something like CROSS?