This will be a semi-long post, but I appreciate your help in advance!
I'm on retin-a for about 3 months, and if my initial acne were 40 spots, I went to about 70 spots during the purge, and now I have about 5-10, and it's somewhat under control now. If I were to get a chemical peel or laser treatment for my hyperpigmentation, meaning that I have to stop using retin-a for about 2 weeks due to the treatment preparations, will I get another purge if I re-continue retin-a it 2 weeks later???
So these are my options
1) Treat hyperpigmentation first, then use dan's regiment to not risk purging and keep the acne at 5-10 spots.
2) Treat hyperpigmentation first, then re-continue with retin-a with a risk of 2nd purging (if I understand it right?) and have even better complexion + more effective acne fighting tool. Thank you!
oh and by the way, isn't chemical peel supposed to stop acne somewhat while i'm not on retin-a? so that means I won't really have another purge when I'm back on it 2 weeks later?
im going to be blunt. you have seen a drastic decrease in acne with the retin a. but now you are going to risk all that with a harsh chemical peel? that sounds stupid. do you know that retin a is a strong exfoliant so it is basically a chemical peel in itself. why would you want to nuke your face even more? Stick to the retin a, it will help with your hyper-pigmentation and control your acne.
Thanks for the response. I know it sounds stupid, but I need to get rid of all these hyperpigmentation by June (UCSD graduation). The thing is I'm not breaking out that much anymore, so I'd rather get chemical peel to get rid of PIH and tolerate some new breakout while using BP to control it than look like I've a beard all over my face. After June I can just go on Accutane or some stronger stuff, but I'll talk to my derm about it. In fact, he's the one who recommends laser/chemical peel during week 6, but states that I need to wait a little more for active acne to be gone first. Haven't seen him since week 6 and now it's week 12/13. Thanks for the response though, I appreciate it.
I understand that you want to look good for your graduation, but the chemical peel is not some miraculous treatment that wipes away hyperpigmentation. It has to be done again and again before you see results. What I would suggest is that since you have no more breakouts, you use a bit of makeup to even out the tone on your face.
so basically doing a chemical peel for hyperpigmentation is great, but you will be disappointed in the results if you need them to happen quickly. a chemical peel rejuvenates skin renewal by dissolving dead skin and old skin so that new skin underneath can surface. however, that process of skin renewal is not going to happen in a day. it can take months to see results. but if your derm really feels like it is okay, then you can listen to him.
In the end you know your skin best, do what feels like your skin can handle. Good luck!
