Perricone Prescription Day 2

I've been following the Perricone Prescription for a day and half now.  I stated this program in hopes that it would help heal my breakouts faster, since each blemish and cyst seems to be active for a least two weeks before even beginning to calm down.  Then, it seems to take another two weeks to calm down the redness, irritation and post traumatic hyper-pigmentation caused by the blemish itself and the 14+ days of putting salicylic and everything else in the monster to help it heal faster, which obviously they never do....  I have never had this experience.  Most often if I breakout, the blemish is healed and gone within 10 days.

So today I woke up and could immediately tell my face felt calmer!  I actually was excited to look in the mirror.  My skin actually seems to be calming down!  It is noticeably less inflamed as it has been the past several weeks and two blemishes that were just not going away and hurt, do not hurt today!  Crazy!  I have not changed anything else in my skin care routine.  Though the diet is strict, it makes me want to keep going!

All the best,

Karen

Starting the Perricone Prescription 3 Day Program

Though my skin seems to finally be settling down, it is far from perfect.  I am still embarrassed the state of my skin.  I have read a ton of blogs and found one that I identified with http://mychemicalpeel.blogspot.com.   In one of the blogs I read the blogger had followed the Perricone Prescription Program to help improve her skin.  I feel like at this point, I need to help my skin from the inside and thought this would be a good start since all I seem to be eating lately are craptastic foods!  I started The Perricone Prescription 3 day program today.  Actually, I am doing a 3 1/2 day program since technically I did not start until lunch today.  With the birthcontrol I recently started and all the stress I have felt lately (new job), my skin just can't seem to get healthy.

Here are some of the skin issues I have been experiencing the past several weeks:
- Blemishes that seem never heal and go away, even with diligently not picking.  I have had one pimple for 2 weeks now.  It is the same as 2 weeks ago even with treatment.
- General inflammation on lower jaw and neckline.
- Uneven tone due to post traumatic hyper-pigmentation.
- Dehydrated skin due to acne treatments.

I started taking Perricone's recommended vitamins, am going to buy his Vitamin C Ester Cream to calm and help even my skin tone and am eating non-inflammatory foods for the next 3 1/2 days. 

Goodbye alcohol, chips and salsa, coffee.  Hello eggs, salmon, blueberries, low sodium turkey, raw nuts, green tea, oatmeal (non instant), and green apples.  I will post a before picture tomorrow morning when I have no makeup on!

Glycolic Peel Follow Up

After some major purging of the skin following my first glycolic peel last week, it took until today, 5 days later, to actually not be completely embarrassed walking out of the house from being so broken out and peely.  Yuck.  But today, I did a second peel and my skin, though a bit flushed, is noticeably more smooth, except for some lingering post pimple trauma and a couple smaller breakouts that are still hanging around.  I did have two new  pimples pop up to the surface along my jaw right after the peel again (isn't that crazy?) but they are small and I am just considering this purging and my skin just needs to go through this phase.

I'll take it seeing as how my overall skin tone and texture seem to be improving significantly each day.  I really should start taking pictures to show the "before" and "after".  This morning my under eyes look so light (my dark circles seem to have have diminished - does glycolic do this?) and my face in general is so much smoother.  I keep feeling my forehead and upper cheeks - they are like a baby's bottom.  Not one bump nad my forehead lines have almost disappeared - from two peels!  I am going to do a series of 6 gylcolic's along with a few salicylic peels to keep the acne away.  2 down, 4 to go...

Also, I am keeping with my regime of reducing my oily skin oil production, regularly exfoliating my skin with the chemical peels along with a light daily salicylic cleanser in the AM.  I am continuing to use a water based oil-free moisturizer but I did switch and went back to my tried and true moisturizer I had used for years before starting school - Clinique Dramatically Different Gel Moisturizer.  I also switched my moisturizing / oil minimizing face oil to Josie Maran's Pure Argan Milk for sensitive skin. I am using this post peel and under moisturizer in the AM and PM.

I am hoping when I start work next week my skin will be fresh and in super good shape!

All the best,

Karen

My Post Glycolic Peel Results - Day 2

My skin erupted yesterday after my first glycolic peel.  Now, not only do I still have my two scars from school  (one under my eye and one on my cheek) but every clogged pore on my face, chin and jaw has now formed into massive red mounds and marks. I know this is "purging" at its finest but I thought I had already purged.  I am done purging.  I am so sad and once again feel like such a phony.