My Skin Revolution. Facial peel + Then & now pics

My skin has been on (what I like to call) a journey. So I have been collecting some photos for a while now, & looking back my skin has improved soo much that now I don't feel self-conscious when I go out of the house without makeup.
The 2 factors of this transformation would be going on the BCP which took a while to take effect on my skin, & getting a facial peel which has been the BAM that my skin needed. Lol =)
Before we get to the pics I want to talk a bit about this peel.

The name of this is  2B Bio Peel. You do 4 treatments (1 a week) which can only get done every 6 months (so that's 2x 4 treatments a year, hope I'm being confusing).  I wouldn't want it anymore than that because I found it quite painful, and if you had done it too often I imagine it would be too damaging for your skin. It can also be done on your neck & decolletage if needed.
My fiance's mother has been doing my facial peel, which is $150 a session (prices will probably vary), however since she has been taking before & after pictures it has been a little gift ;)
I should mention that this peel works on different things for all ages- from acne, blackheads & scarring to pigmentation, wrinkles & sun damage. It actually injects little needles in your skin that keeps it working after the stuff has been taken off.

Anyway- before they apply the compound (while it is heating up) they will cleanse & prep your skin. & when the compound is applied they very gently rub it all over the skin (avoiding the eye area which is protected by Vaseline as well as the nostrils & mouth.) It stays on your skin for a few minutes depending on how sensitive your skin is & then it is wiped off. It doesn't take long for my skin to start tingling & slightly burn in some areas. Nothing is worse than when it gets itchy, though :P The pain is bearable & goes away after it is taken off. Although your face will feel prickly for sometime after. After that a mask is applied that soothes & cools down the skin, and that stays on for about 10-15 minutes. In this time you sleep :P
Once that is all done it takes about 40 mins from prep to end. It is important to wear sunscreen if you will be in the sun for as soon as it is over until the next 3-4 days. Also in that time your skin should peel (I found this wasn't too bad, it wasn't coming off in chunks or anything) & you know that it is working.
*phew- if you read all that, pat yourself on the back*

So now I am 3 weeks into part 2 of my facial & I wanted to share this in photos =)

Warning- Pic Heavy. You may not want to look too closely if pimples skeeve you out. You can also click on any pics to enlarge them. Apologies for the different sizing of the pics!



Before  -All around the start/ middle of 2010

No makeup. Scarring, active pimples, quite red, blackheads that are hard to see.

With makeup on- you can see the bumps.

Ignore the bad makeup!! You can clearly see how horrible my skin is here, and the unevenness of the texture.

First Session Ever Of Peel -middle of November 2010

Pic on left is taken straight after first peel. Angry skin! Pic on left is from the week after ( I think)

So I didn't really get too many pictures from the first 4 weeks, or if I did I am not sure which ones are from where, lol, but you can see my skin is bad. The redness after each peel after this photo slowly gets better, & only lasts for about 1 hour. My skin gets quite itchy so I actually scratch it off, rather then let it peel =/
I also want to add that during the 1st few weeks of getting the peel done, some pimples may pop up because the peel is speeding up the process. So it may look like it's getting worse before it gets better.

Then & Now

 Chin- Top pic is just before the peel. Bottom pic is now. Scars have faded heaps

 Forehead- Just look how much more smoother it is now! ^.^

Right Cheek- you can just see the difference. 1st is before peels, 2nd is the 2nd week of part 2, & last pic is now (which is only 2 weeks after the middle pic)

Left Cheek- Not as bad as the right cheek, but a huge improvement.

Straight after part 2 week 2. Definitely not as red as what it used to get to!

With & Without Makeup. Week 3

 

 I had to go into work that afternoon & I didn't want to go in with a red face. I used Nude By Nature MMU with no concealer underneath. You can see in the 2nd pic I did mostly half & you can see how amazing it covered up the redness!

 Makeup complete- Hard to tell that my skin was flaming red! I also applied Aloe Vera after sun gel to my face to help soothe it before applying the primer.

Lastly- Now. No makeup

The lighting in the first pic makes it hard to see the little amount of scars I still have.

Comparison

 mmm well I can honestly say, my skin has come along way!! No guarantees that it will stay perfect, but If I stick to my cleansing routine (which has also changed drastically since the beginning of time :P) & regular aspirin masks, I hope it goes well! I also still have one more session to go, usually I do them consecutively but due to being busy last week I couldn't.

Random- Yoghurt Face! LOL :P

 Anyway, that's my somewhat personal skin journey. Thanks if you got through all of that!! Please let me know if you have any questions & I will try to answer them!