Okay, I admit the title is a little dramatic.. but seriously, if you knew me like 13 years ago, you’d be shocked with how crazy my skin transformation is.
I used to cry way too often about how horrible my skin was. I used to be made fun of to no end. I would hide my face, hate being in pictures, skip school, you name it. I really don’t even have many pictures of me when my skin was really bad because I barely took any. Having bad skin really affected me growing up and definitely made me into the shy and quiet gal I am today.
I wanted to share a little history on my skin transformation journey. My skin started to turn for the worst around something like 2004. I started getting pimples on my forehead, and they worked their way down to my cheeks and chin. My entire face was eventually covered with big ole pimples. I tried ProActiv only to find out that I’m horribly allergic to benzoyl peroxide. I tried clindamycin which I found out that I’m even more horribly allergic too. (there’s a pattern here) I’m slightly allergic to salicylic acid. I’ve even had injections into some big pimples and that hurt like a motherfather.
Honestly, it was just so bad that my mom made me try birth control pills when I was 17, and I’ve tried so many brands of that too. I didn’t like being on the pill because it led to me gaining weight and becoming depressed. I was so terrified to go off the pill because I knew that my skin would go back to being bad. I decided to go off the pill about 2 years ago now, and my skin flared up. It still really sucked. Adult acne they call it…. It’s such a bummer….
This is my skin before any treatment:
It’s seriously been a process trying to figure out how to fix my skin... Around my 29th birthday, I was thinking about things that I wanted to do before turning 30. Fixing my skin was one of the first things I thought of. I’m not even looking to have perfect skin.. I just want to be able to not hide my face. I want to feel confident with and without make up. I just wanted to feel better about myself really.
I had no idea where to even start. I’ve always heard about microdermabrasion so I thought I’d check Groupon for any good deals. There were so many places and deals and prices that I was instantly overwhelmed. I immediately thought, ah whatever I’ll just have bad skin forever. A couple months later I was feeling really crappy about my skin so I checked Groupon again. This one place caught my eye because of the reviews, and I was kinda just like, ‘gah should I ugh but what if wiebflhabfjlbjh okay I’ll just do it.’ I bought 2 sessions for microdermabrasion.
And that’s what led me to where I am on my skin journey today! lol.
Oh ya, but I didn’t get microdermabrasion! The technician said that I didn’t have the right skin type for it and it’s not good when you have breakouts. Again, I was like oh okay I’ll have bad skin forever that’s fine. But she suggested trying a chemical peel. Lemme tell you, I was freaking scared. I knew that the healing process was heck and a half for chemical peels and I really didn’t wanna go through it because I knew it’d bring back my insecure teenage mindset. And oh did it.. I fought not to cry after every treatment.. Even after my third peel I had to tell myself not to cry. It was dang horrible.
The photos below are when I was feeling particularly bummed out. I spent a lot of time hiding at home. The photo on the bottom right was when I had a family get together, and lemme tell ya, I was self conscious. People were trying not to look at my cheeks and even my mom was like, what happen to your face?! (no skin makeup on in that photo, only brows and eyes) I really felt like my teenager self hiding behind my hair and walking with my head down.
I’ve now had 6 peels in total. I still break out, I still have scars, I still have redness and I still have uneven skin.
But my gosh - I actually see a difference.
This is my skin after 6 chemical peels:
I thought I’d share a few photos of the process of getting the peels. The photos down the left are immediately after getting the peel done and the right photos are either later on in the day or the next day after getting the peel done. The only make up that I have on is eyebrows, lashes and eyeliner only on the right side photos. Oh, and hashtag no filter.
I always got extremely red right after getting the peel, and I also got white marks. The technician said it was totally normal, although I did get more red than most people. Tbh, it wasn’t surprising to me that I got super red and got white splotches because my skin is a freak and a half.
I’ve already come a heck of a long way with my skin. I finally feel like I can walk with my head up (sometimes). Maybe sometime soon I’ll be able to look someone in the eye even without makeup on. I can put makeup on without it being ruined by my skin. Dare I say I feel even just a bit confident?! That’s crazy to me! I’ve never once in my life felt confident, and now I’m actually getting there. Who woulda freaking thought!
Fixing my skin has been such a long journey. Obviously it’s still not perfect, but I’m so happy that I finally took the steps to help transform my skin.
Please share your skin journey with me! It’s something super close to my heart because I felt crappy, I cried, I hid, and I was made fun of for way too friggen long. I’ll always root for and encourage people with acne because I know exactly what they’re going through.
Let’s all be kind here with all the no makeup non filtered red faced photos I’ve shared. Nothing but love welcome.
x Melissa