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is it really purging?! THIS CHEMICAL PEEL IS KILLING ME!!! i there anything i can do...?

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/09/2010 2:00 pm

hey guys! it's summer time and i have several months to myself.. i thought, why not do some tca peels?

 

well, before summer i tested the tca peel on my left cheek during winter break and that broke me out like crazy. i didnt have as much hyperpigmentation on my left cheek compared to my right cheek before the peel, but now my left cheek has even more scarring and dark red marks than my right cheek!!!

 

i thought, it's just me stressing out or it's just my hormones messing with me... so i sucked it up and tried it again.... ^&%&%&%^&% DAMMIT!!!!

 

 

i had moderate acne that jumped up to moderately severe acne (nodular cystic caused by hormones) and just when i thought i finally had my active acne under control I thought its time to treat the scarring! so here comes summer time and i lock myself up at home and i do 4 peels spaced out 3-4 weeks apart.

 

first peel this summer (1 layer of 12.5% tca).... hardly peeled at all but i broke out all over my forehead and left cheek (shit. more scarring on my left cheek. now its my forehead) i hardly have any hyperpigmentation there. now it's covered in marks and indentations =_= left from the purging.

 

2nd peel (2 layers of 12.5) purged some more....(NOOOO) 3rd peel (2 layers again but i left my forehead alone because those lesions that appeared from purging were still healing) this time purging wasnt as severe as it was last time..... (small papules and comedones)

 

BUT as you can see, every single time i did the tca peel i broke out! i contacted Makeup artists choice (who i bought the peel from) and they said that this is the purging process.... and it should stop eventually....i've read that the purging usually subsides after the 4th peel....and right now this is my fourth peel but im so sick and tired of it....

 

like i said, right now i'm on my 4th peel and it's my 3rd day post peel.... i am STILL purging. i didnt leave out my forehead this time, so i figured i would purge there. And i did btw (by the 2nd day post peel i had 2 'small' but still painful and still severe nodules and 1 papule on my forehead... some comedones appeared on my cheeks too.)

 

Today (3rd day) i got a pustule on the right cheek...and a papule is forming on my left cheek....... 5 lesions of what i BELIEVE is purging and its my 4th peel...great. I should just roll up into a fetal position and start crying -sigh- I think I've already done that though.

 

is there anyone, ANYONE, that can tell me please if they have ever experienced this purging from doing chemical peels like the tca peels? i dont have any time left in the summer to do a 5th peel so i cant tell if i would continue to breakout or not! at this point im just covered in scars and hyperigmentation...i dont even know if i'm really purging....or just breaking out.... if anyone went through this purging process and went through it all (as in, until it subsides) i would like to know because i really really want this to work for me....(i worked really hard to clear up my skin. I did the peels to clear up the scarring but instead i broke out like crazy....and so i just died a little more on the inside.. ugh...)

 

on a positive note....after my 3rd peel my skin where i didn't purge looked less red, more even toned, soft....foundation looked really nice there.... but i dont know if this is worth it... the positive results are nothing compared to the negative results..... but i put myself through 3 months of peeling LOCKED IN MY HOUSE. I want to know that what im doing is worth it. and i know it can be if the purging stops. but if it isnt purging and rather its just my skin reacting (breaking out) to the tca peel, then.... I guess im just killing my skin and making it worse...and if that's what it is then i am basically screwing myself over. over and over....

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/09/2010 3:14 pm

oh and one more thing.

at this point, i am absolutely terrified. if breaking out is a reaction to the tca peels rather than an actual 'purge' then the 3 months i spent chanting "i just have to be patient" was for naught.

 

and i hve to deal with the severe scarring the 'purge' (or breakouts) left behind. it's actually worse than the scarring left by my severe nodular cystic breakouts.

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(@smartie)

Posted : 08/09/2010 7:24 pm

STOP

 

DOING

 

TCAS!!!!

 

 

It's a toss up, some people's skin LOVES it, and other's skin cannot STAND it. I was set on doing a TCA peel but after doing more research on the horror stories of TCA peels, I decided to order the 15% Salicylic Acid peel from MUAC. I've read many places (on MUAC website included) that you should always start with glycolic or sal acid peels before you do TCA so that your skin is used to peels. If I were you, I'd stop the TCA's IMMEDIETLY before you do any further damage! Research the salicylic acid peels and maybe give those a try (or glycolic, lactic). Take care!!!

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/09/2010 7:41 pm

lol thanks. i was wondering if anyone would answer me.

 

so...should i do those peels first and then do the tca peel? im not sure about what to do with my hyperpigmentation... tazorac hadnt done much for it... -sigh- i did enough damage to my skin...but ive already been through 3 peels and im actually peeling right now so that makes 4 peels in total. thought if i pulled thorugh it id like the end results....

 

but i do regret doing these peels. they completely scarred my entire face. right when i became clear too. IM STILL BREAKING OUT TOO! (from the peel)

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/09/2010 7:44 pm

and i guess tca cross is out of the question.... i guess ill try the other peels then. and then subsicion for all the depressed scars tca has caused me... FML this is what i get for experimenting on my own skin...

 

so this means i put myself through 3 months of hell for nothing. actually it's worse than nothing -sigh- this is really really bad. my entire face is left with scarring after 4 sessions of tca peels.... wonderful.

 

and school is starting in a week and a half. this is a great way to start school =_=

 

eh....this sucks...like hell. I'm going to have to go through this the same way i went through my first severe breakout. patience. and i've ran out of it... If im really patient maybe tazorac will magically start showing some results for my hyper pigmentation.... I want to scream

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(@mooboo119)

Posted : 08/10/2010 6:05 am

either that or try tca spot treatment. only put the chemical on the spots where you have scarring.

 

second. if you breakout from it. it might be because you're using lots of neosporin and moisturizer.

 

third- consider being on antibiotics when doing peels. i know people go on antibiotics when they do lasers, so i guess it will work for chemical peels too. (since both procedure can break you out due to the heavy ointment and open wound)

 

 

 

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(@wynne)

Posted : 08/10/2010 7:23 am

Neosporin ointment is comedogenic; the cream is not. Polysporin is not comedogenic.

 

OP: by scarring do you mean red marks or actual, indented scars? Red marks are not scars. As you're developing breakouts from repeated peels (AND repeating them way too frequently!!!), you should stop the TCA peels and not even consider anymore strong acid-based peels. I do hope you're using SPF 30 sunscreen.

 

You'd be better off it sounds with a mild glycolic used every other day to treat your red marks. An AHA product has also helped some of my indented scarring, as crazy as it sounds.

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/10/2010 7:52 am

while doing the tca peels i was told to space them out about 3-4 weeks apart and. during the peels i go on an oral antibiotic rather than a topical, i use aquaphor as a moisturizer, and i apply 2 layers of spf 30 every morning and afternoon. (i actually like applying sunscreen. i dont know why) there are scars as well as hyper pigmentation from the breakouts that occurred along with the tca peels. (under the hyper pigmentation you could see some rolling and box car scarring. i have ice pick scarring too...)

 

i have one question i want answered, how do i know if im purging or if im breakingout? i contacted them and they told me to stick with it because the purging would subside.... but at this point i dont even know if its purging! and it doesnt seem like this purging (if this is truly purging) is worth it at all. cause I absolutely killed my skin.

 

oh and um, i dont think aquaphor broke me out, i use it alot. i never broke out from it before so the only thing i can contribute the breakouts to is... *glare* TCA PEEEEEELLLLL

 

Maybe my skin is too sensitive and the massive irritation caused by the tca peel induced a breakout?....either that OR i actually have all these clogged pores under my skin and since the peel removed the top layers these clogged pores show up! and then become inflamed because of the irritation? (antibiotics help...a little....but it wasnt enough to control the inflammation)

 

GRRRRRRR! i couldnt sleep last night because of this! =( has anyone broken out from chemical peels before?!?!?

 

edit:

you know, i followed all the directions and did loads of research. but since i was using this to treat my hyperpigmentation i didnt think id actually get more! i never even frosted before so its not really all that deep! and the first time i did a 1 layer of 12.5 tca it only broke me out! i didnt even peel with 1 layer of 12.5!!!! I dont think my skin is THAT sensitive!

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/10/2010 8:23 am

well at this point, my goal is to clear up

(again...took me 2 years of research and trial and error and seeing 7 different dermatologists to find a routine that worked for me. 2-3 years of severe acne and 5 years of moderate acne. WHAT GIVES!??!)

 

-sigh- at least i know what routine is going to work for me. i just dont know what to do for the scarring. looking at my parents and siblings though, it seems like my acne may subside in my 20's but unlike them they have never had severe acne like me.

 

(er...alot of my acne is 'self induced'. in the sense that it is caused by terrifying high stress levels. my siblings, that includes my identical twin sister, had acne caused by teenage hormones that was made up of comedones and pustules or papules... mine is a mixture of fluctuating hormones from being a retarded teenager and from the hormones from stress and anxiety. throw them together in a mix and BAM you get nodular cystic acne!)

 

is there anyone here who reacted negatively to chemical peels? any advice is appreciated... i dont want to wait till im in my mid 20's to have clear skin.... my patience has thinned to nothing. and to be honest, i never had much to begin with. having my dermatologists ram "it may get worse before it gets better" into my head made me suck it up and pull through this...

 

edit: oh i forgot to say this, if this is purging wouldnt this be a good thing in the long run? because if there trully is congested pores under the skin then it's like having dormant pimples just waiting to erupt...

 

seriously BUMP!

does anyone know anything about this? How am I supposed to tell if It's a breakout or a purge.....

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/10/2010 9:37 am

okay i just found some before and after pictures....

 

OMFG OMFG OMFG. either im going crazy or the before pics look like they have LESS HYPERPIGMENTAION. .....-cries in corner- is this peel supposed to make the marks darker and more abundant or what!??!?! i knew i was getting more marks and they seemed darker but...i dont know i told myself since it worked for so many people why shouldnt it work for me? i guess i was too hopeful.

 

well alright thats it. no more tca...i cant handle it... i dont know what to do. maybe another year (make it 2 years) with tazorac will help... i dont know anymore, maybe i shoud just give up and maybe my skin will start magically clearing itself of the pigmentation and scarring and hormonal induced nodular cystic acne.

 

-sigh- well thanks for those who replied to my post. you know, despite all the precautions i took my skin still reacted badly to the tca peel.(going on oral antibiotics, lots of spf, locking myself up in my room, gentle skin care regime, letting it peel on its own, working up from smaller concentrations, stopping at two layers never frosting, leaving the breakout alone, giving my skin more than enough time to heal....geez you would think everything would be okay...) I wish i could find out why it reacted this way....

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(@foxyhound)

Posted : 08/10/2010 11:42 am

okay i just found some before and after pictures....

 

OMFG OMFG OMFG. either im going crazy or the before pics look like they have LESS HYPERPIGMENTAION. .....-cries in corner- is this peel supposed to make the marks darker and more abundant or what!??!?! i knew i was getting more marks and they seemed darker but...i dont know i told myself since it worked for so many people why shouldnt it work for me? i guess i was too hopeful.

 

well alright thats it. no more tca...i cant handle it... i dont know what to do. maybe another year (make it 2 years) with tazorac will help... i dont know anymore, maybe i shoud just give up and maybe my skin will start magically clearing itself of the pigmentation and scarring and hormonal induced nodular cystic acne.

 

-sigh- well thanks for those who replied to my post. you know, despite all the precautions i took my skin still reacted badly to the tca peel.(going on oral antibiotics, lots of spf, locking myself up in my room, gentle skin care regime, letting it peel on its own, working up from smaller concentrations, stopping at two layers never frosting, leaving the breakout alone, giving my skin more than enough time to heal....geez you would think everything would be okay...) I wish i could find out why it reacted this way....

 

Thank god you decided to stop doing the peels, obviously your skin isnt ready for them. It sounds like you stull have active acne and you should use the retiniod you have to make your skin purge completely before doing the TCA peel, whats the point of the peel if it causes more acne and scars, I think you jumped the gun on the peels to early? I would get all that junk in your pores out first than either try the peel again or go tp a professional to have it done.

 

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(@lilangelnana)

Posted : 08/10/2010 1:28 pm

ive been on tazorac (retinoid) ever since i had severe acne and it has never made me purge. (thank you god) i went on and off it because my skin couldnt handle tazorac 0.1% in the extreme cold weather of new york.

I think your right though, lol. about me going into these peels too fast. i actually had clear skin when i did these peels but i guess clear skin doesnt mean my active acne is actually GONE. ill wait until im in my 20's to be sure that im ready for chemical peels or any other kind of facial procedure. and ill be sure to start with less deep peels.

until then, im going to use a sunscreen that has niacinamide, continue with the use of azelaic acid and retinoids for the treatment of acne and hyperpigmentation, and hopefully the new birth control i was put on will control keep my hormonal acne at bay. (i hate you Yaz! Orthro tri cyclen Lo better be good!)

 

if i can prevent further acne breakouts i think ill be okay... (IM TRYING TO BE POSITIVE.) Edit: but man this is pretty depressing..... I can tell this is going to be hard. just letting you guys know...its still making me breakout hahaha... (this is no laughing matter though! >_<)

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(@sunnystategirl)

Posted : 12/04/2010 12:28 pm

i think half of your acne and anxiety problems could very likely be caused by your birth control!!! i have had problems over the last few years dealing with my mild to moderate acne. before, my BCP was enough to clean it up. then that stopped working so i tried switching. Ortho tri cyclin Lo was TERRIBLE for me. one month and my face was the worst its ever been and so was my anxiety !!! then i too tried YAZ, which made my acne really bad too, and also my stress and anxiety levels went through the roof. That stupid pill almost made me depressed too. You seem quite young still - get off the birth control for a while. I have, and my skin has cleared up to the best its been in a long time! please consider this as i think it will definitely help your skin the most! it did for me.

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(@sunshine21)

Posted : 12/05/2010 12:44 pm

I don't have any advice to offer specifically about the peels, but I do suggest trying either a vitamin C serum or egg white masks to help with hyper-pigmentation. Vitamin C serum does clog my pores sometimes, so I'm using egg white masks for the time being until my skin clears up all the way. The egg white mask (egg white whipped with 3-4 drops of lemon juice) is really gentle and easy to incorporate into my night routine. I know what it feels like to feel like you're at wit's end. Hang in there!

 

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(@syl81)

Posted : 04/07/2013 3:44 am

hi all,

I hope someone will still read my post. I had a TCA orange peel done two months ago and I expereinced a bad rush. I have big red pimples all over my cheeks and chin, and also tiny little bumps like whiteheads...my skin is very itchy and I got a kind of tingling sensation. When the dermatologist did the peeling, i had 1-2 inflamed pimples, but she squeezed them cos she said the acid will go deeper inside and will clear my pores better! I think its a kind of infection or allergy... But its already 2 months and I can not get rid of ti. Any ideas what to use???

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(@austra)

Posted : 04/07/2013 2:02 pm

Go to a derm asap. I don't know enough about skin infections to guess what it could be, but most likely it's a fungal/herpes/some other infection that needs to be treated with the right medication.

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(@burlylimo)

Posted : 01/18/2021 9:33 am

I had my first chemical peel by a professional and yes the skin purges but it lasts over weeks while it is purging I hate it but its worth it in the end

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(@wish-we-could-go-back-in-time)

Posted : 01/18/2021 10:07 am

I also visited a doctor who said it'd be better to do TCA peel in my entire face even though I only have scars on my cheeks to improve overall texture and I was left with more scarring than I had before.

Wouldn't recommend anyone to do these, especially on high concentrations unless it's TCA cross which has been proven to be effective if done by an experienced specialist.

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