TCA peel... it just got real.

I say it just got real, because this is SERIOUS business. If you aren't sure if you need a peel, this isn't the peel for you. If you have a few spots you want to fade, this isn't the peel for you. If you aren't confident going out of your house looking like leather face, or don't have the luxery of 5 days of downtime, this is NOT the peel for you.

However, if you have acne scarring, blackheads, pitting, fine lines, oily, congested pores... or in my case, all of the above, this might be up your ally. I say this as a normal gal, not an esthetician by any means. This is not meant to be instructional in any way, simply a timeline of my procedure for those considering it. Please follow the instructions provided to you with purchase. I consulted a lot of websites to determine that I could handle this. This review is also sponsored by Makeupartistchoice.com who provided me with the peel in exchange for my honest opinion. There were pros and cons, and I will go through each one. Getting these products at no charge does not in any way impact my review.

That said, here we go! I took pictures each day, and followed the step by step provided to me (and every customer) by makeup artists choice. Their customer service is superb, and they are always willing to help.

Prep: I had prepped my skin 2 weeks prior by using a alpha hydroxy cream. The one I used was by Gunilla of Sweden and can be found on Amazong. Its the best I've used so far, and reasonably priced, too. Prepping this way will make the peel much more effective (an esthetician can probably tell you why/how). Do not use this

Day 1: I prepped my oily skin by washing with baby soap (so gentle) and swabbing acetone over my skin to rid of any oily residue. I then used vaseline around my mouth, eyes, and below my jawline. After I layed the ground work, I took a qtip and swiped the TCA solution (I used 24% since I had done the 18% before, years ago, and knew my skin could handle it). It started burning immediately, and I even had to walk outside to keep from getting sick... it was a lot to handle. I let it sit for about 3 minutes, and it started frosting. This is where your skin turns white from the chemical getting all up in there (technical term). When that happened I added another layer (cause I'm just a little crazy) and waited about 2 minutes. I then neutralized with baking soda and water.

This was a few hours after I did it, you can see it's red and it was inflamed a bit. Do you see that sun spot at the very top left by my eye? That's my litmus test for all 'fading' products. None have eve gotten rid of it!

Here is what I looked like the next day:

A little red and shiny, no big deal, right? I decided not to moisturize, doing a 'dry peel' to make the peeling a little more dramatic (shedding off in sheets instead or flaking. Gross.) You can see the parts that frosted were already starting to turn dark.

Day 2! (Later in the day) It's turning brown and so gross looking!

Day 3... I had to go to walmart that day! It was AWFUL. I suggest stocking up before the peel, lol. It was Itchy and flaky and I was mortified!

So the next day I started peeling more, and admittedly I forced it a bit. Don't do that. It was raw and red, but would have been less so if I hadn't messed with it.

A few hours later, doused in moisturizer. I chose one with very few ingredients and no scent to minimize irritation. 

Aaah, finally! I look human... Hey, where's that sun spot?!

In case you're wondering, it's GONE. Now I do have makeup on on this picture, but that spot is no longer there, and it makes me so happy! It also really smoothed out the texture of my skin, and made my pores look a lot smaller. All in all I'm happy I did it. I hated the downtime, and I need to do another (3-5 for optimum results) but I'm putting it off because I just hate the first 3 days! 

What do you think, would you do a peel? Would you do a less harsh one or could you deal with the downtime?

-C