The Hussies are all in the "over 35" age bracket. Some of us are handling it better than others (shoots eye-roll at guilty parties, you know who you are). I'm not too worried about it, maybe because I just don't feel old. I am however not interested in wandering around looking old. I color my hair to keep the grays at bay and try to take care of my skin but I'm not a fanatic about it.
Over the last year or so I noticed a large brownish patch on my forehead. It kind of looks like a bunch of freckles massed together. I had it checked by a dermatologist and he said it was hyperpigmentation, nothing to worry about, and that there was a creme that I could use to lighten it. Since this spot removal was purely cosmetic, my insurance company pretty much scoffed at the notion of paying for the prescription and I passed on the $400 tube of magic creme.
I had been just sort of living with the spot for a while. It didn't get any darker until the Friends Cruise to the Mexican Rivera last Spring. That Mexican sun lit my head up and suddenly the spot on my head was very noticeable. I decided it was time to do something about it. Having already tried my luck with the dermatologist I decided to go the Med-Spa route. My sister has a friend who is an aesthetician so I went to her first. She suggested a laser light treatment (sorry, can't remember what it's called). It would make the pigment rise to the surface of the skin and then flake and fall off. Sounds yummy! They have had success treating hyperpigmentation this way and showed me some before and after photos. Sessions were around $150 each and it could take 3 or more to get the job done. All of this advice followed a rather unimpressive microderm abrasion treatment. Yeah, it was a free one (with a Toys for Tots donation) but still...
A month or so later my sister presented me with a gift certificate for a facial at a salon. Expecting to get the hard sell on a bunch of new products that I didn't necessarily want (I had just started in with a new line of moisturizer, cleanser and toner that I thought was working well), I put off the appointment as long as I could. Let me just say that I was surprised.
"If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now, Eddie."
Not only did I not get the hard sell, she didn't even ask what brand of products I was using or take the time to bash them. She explained each of what seemed like 17 different products she put on and then took off my face. She told me about the products she sells (CosMedix) in an informative and non sales pitchy way. She told me the kinds of ingredients she avoids and why. And my skin felt and looked great after that facial. Oh, she also told me that we could lighten the spot with 9 different treatments over the course of 15 weeks for just over $500. I thought about it for two weeks and decided to do it. There was a option to pay have of that up front and the other half midway through the process, I signed up. I should also tell you that this woman is about my age and has flawless skin. Oh, and she spent most of her life living in Arizona. The skin cancer capital of the world.
I have since switched over to her brand of cleanser (because my mom bought some and decided she didn't like it) and I am using her toner, which is ionized water. The whole time she was telling me about the ionized water there was a voice in the back of my head screaming SNAKE OIL! SNAKE OIL! but since it was only $5 I bought some. These are the only two products that I have been using for the last 2 weeks and I like it. It takes no time at all because it's just the two items and I'm seeing results. My skin is clearing up even faster than before and my pores look smaller. Nothing in the CosMedix skin care line is cheap, the cleanser was $35 and the sunscreen is $42. It's the strangest sunscreen that I have ever used though. It's almost the consistency of milk, it comes in a spray bottle, and as soon as you put it on it feels like it's gone. It's not greasy at all. I'm leaving for Egypt in 8 weeks to visit Trophy Husband, that trip will certainly put the sunscreen to the test!
Saturday, January 9
I had my first of the 9 treatments. This one was an enzyme peel. The process was quick and the solution she used smelled like pepto-bismol. It did hurt just a little. The word she uses is spicy and while I would have never used that word to describe the snappy-rubber band dance that was going on with my face, that fits the sensation perfectly. On a pain scale of 1 to 10 this process was about a 5, it could have been worse but I certainly was not enjoying it. The tingly-spicy feeling peaked and was gone in about 10 minutes. My face was a little red that night. By the next day my skin started to feel a little tighter and by the 13th I was flaking a little around my chin.
This is my Before picture. I took it in the parking lot just before my first treatment. I wanted to be facing the sun to have the light on my face so it was too bright to open my eyes. I'm normally not this squinty.
Wednesday, January 13
I had my second treatment, a chemical peel. This was much spicier than the first treatment. (And I forgot to take a before picture but I promise to do better next time.) On a pain scale I gave this one an 8 and it took longer for the discomfort to peak and then back down. I was still a little tingly on my drive home but it was pretty much gone by dinner. This process made my skin feel much tighter and as I ate dinner the tingling sensation started to return to the areas around my mouth but it's much better today. My skin is still pretty tight though. Right after the peel I was very shiny and looked a little like an Umpa Lumpa. Today I just look a little sunburned but the dark circles that I usually have around my eyes (thank you very much allergies) seem darker today. By Saturday I am supposed to be wholly unattractive. That's when all of the "stuff" that is in my skin will really start to come out. I'm going to be a hermit during this part of the process and no, there will not be a picture taken this weekend. I'm supposed to look normal again by Monday.
That's where I'm at so far. My next appointment is in two weeks for microderm abrasion. That's basically where they sand your face. Fun! I'll continue to chronicle this process and at the end we can compare the before and after pictures. Hopefully there will be measurable results!
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