ASPECT - Jungle Brew Peel

Last Saturday before the Hens Night I had a Salicylic Acid Peel at Miss Fox. I had been told that people have sat up and ran out of the room during the peel as the pain was so intense. I thought that I was going to have to run to the Alfred Hospital's Burns Department. I was scared, this is true....

Before I get into it, I have been having quite a few tests lately and have discovered that I have Polycystic Cysts on my ovaries. After the Doctor told me this, she said to me "Have you ever experienced Acne???" I was like, Please sistah, you are preaching to the choir.

Turns out that my cysts are the cause of my acne and excessive oiliness. Who knew?! It also explains why my face is so hairy. I just put this down to being of Italian descent, which is also why I love Pizza, or so I like to think. 

The Doctor said that it is not PCOS, just PCO...  but that it is still to blame for the acne etc. Great. Just great.  

Anyway, the moral of the story is - I will probably never have great skin, but I like to try and help it out as much as I can.   A girl can dream, right?!?!?

For the two weeks before Aspect Jungle Brew Peel at Miss Fox, I had to use the Cosmedix Lightning Serum in case of pigmentation. I like the smell of this stuff. 

"Brighten your way to remarkable skin with this unique formula that gently exfoliates and brightens age spots, melasma and hyperpigmentation. Epidermal growth factors, L-arbutin and L-lactic acid, along with licorice root and daisy flower extracts, join forces for unprecedented skin clarity and brightness! RRP $179.50" 

Anyway, so the day of the peel rolls around. I haven't told The Husband that I am getting it done, in case he gets scared and imagines that I will look like Samantha and tries to talk me out of it... 

Even though I am sure he has never seen that episode, but you really never know. 

I'm not scared at all, but then I hear about the people freaking out thinking that their face is burning off. 

I am taken upstairs to the serene waiting room, with its awesome green and black decor and am given a form to complete and then my super sweet therapist, Sara-Jane takes me into the treatment room and tells me what to expect. Victoria pops in and has a chat and makes sure that I am not scared (haha, I totally was). 

1 hour before peel:

Sorry about the hairy face guys. I figure that if you followed my Roaccutane journey, you are used to seeing gross close ups by now... but if you haven't read it, you can here, just don't eat whilst looking at the photos.

On the left side of my face I had some black heads near my freckle cluster, and just the standard pimples and redness. 

The forehead pimples are pretty annoying as they are big enough to not be able to hide easily when wearing make up, but compared to what I had when I started Roaccutane, I really should not complain. 

Peel Process:

Sarah-Jane gave my skin a deep clean and put that cool light thing on my skin whilst I held a mirror and we surveyed the damage, oiliness and blocked pores.  I have a lot of issues in my hair line which drive me insane.  My skin is pretty hydrated though, with the exception of under my eyes so I was given a sample of SkinMedica TNS Eye Repair to try out and we will see if it has made a change when I go back for my next peel. 

After using the light contraption, Vaseline was put around my eyes, nostrils and lips and the peel was wiped on to my face and I was instructed to breathe in through my mouth, not my nose, as it would burn!! Okay, maybe I am a tad more simple than I ever realised, as I really struggled to breathe in through my mouth only!!! It's like when you are sick and you have to sleep with your mouth wide open as your nose is blocked. Worst. 

Anyway, as I was saying, the smell was deadly. The burn sensation is pretty hardcore but I liked the pain. Sarah-Jane had a fan and was fanning me down and that definitely helped ease the discomfort. I wouldn't say that it was 'jump off the bed and scream that my face was falling off' pain, more just 'okay, yeah, this shit burns' pain. 

It only lasted a few minutes and then the peel was removed and some other stuff was slathered on, but I was not paying enough attention to be able to tell you any more. I was too busy loving being able to breathe in through my nose again. 

The immediate effect was that my pimples were all inflamed and angry, about to grab pitch forks and terrorize a village, and the rest of my skin was blotchy.  My skin felt tight, but not uncomfortable. 

Luna applied Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up (here ) and I was good to go!! 

5 Minutes After Peel:

My skin looked fresher within 24 hours, but my pimples were looking worse and the black heads that were on my cheeks had come out and turned into pimples. 

2 Days After Peel:

4 Days After Peel:

I had been told to expect to Shed like a Snake. I was looking forward to this! 

The peeling was not as bad as I expected, but still fun. It was crazy tempting to pull the peeling off, but Victoria has given me some cream stuff to put on the flaking and after I applied it, my brother said "Whats wrong with your face?? Why are you so oily??" grrr. It was night time so it's not like it mattered...

7 Days After Peel:

The peeling has essentially stopped, the pimples are going into hiding and my skin looks fresher and more glowy. Not a massive change, but I can definitely notice a different. I have my next peel coming up, and it will be 3 weeks between treatments. Stay tuned!!!

BOO!!!! Check out my wet mullet. 

See, glowy. My big mother pimples on my forehead are pretty much all gone too. 

To try and make this post not so heinous, this is what I wore to the peel. I feel like this dress is from Supre but I cut the tag out so now I can't remember. I have my Alannah Hill flower brooches on the neckline. 

Question time.

1. Have you had a peel? Did it help your skin?

2. Do you have cysts on your ovaries?