Damaged skin from chemical peel and over exfoliation. HELP!
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Fri Oct 30, 2015 6:33 pm

Hi everyone,

I got a chemical peel (VI PEEL) last December and it has completely ruined my skin. A week after the peel, my skin texture starting deteriorating. I am 24 years old, and my skin resembles someone who is 60. My entire face is filled with lines and my inner cheeks have open pores pores that look like lines as well. I had NO pores before this chemical peel. I don’t smile because it makes my face looks even worse and you see a million lines. My face texture is so leathery and resembles someone with sever sun damage. I have lost my youthful skin I once took advantage of.

I used to love make-up but can’t put it on anymore because it makes my skin look even worse.

I have spend the last year depressed sitting in doors hoping my skin will heal itself but it seems to have stayed the same. No changes what to ever.

So I ask again, if anyone has experienced this, please tell me anything that can help. I would really like to hear from those who have experienced it rather than advice that scientifically sounds good. Because at this point, I have tried everything that sounds good “scientifically”, but it always just ends up worsening my skin.

free skin care · Sun Nov 01, 2015 6:29 am

I see you've posted on this before and are still struggling after almost a year. I also see where you were using Retin A and I think that's probably too harsh before your skin has
recovered.
Personally, I don't think anyone young should go this route unless you have some deep scarring.

What are you currently using?

A VI peel sounds pretty harsh...it contains
TCA – trichloroacetic Acid
Retin-A –
Salicylic Acid –
Phenol –
Vitamin C -

After you got the peel...did you allow it to peel on its own or did you try to hurry the process. And what products did you use when it was peeling? If you interfere and try to hurry it along you can create some damage.

The TCA is strong enough but the phenol is even harsher. It goes even deeper and should only be administered by a professional.

Have you tried totally babying your skin with no acids or harsh ingredients or any exfoliating of any kind for a while?
I mean...a good while. Sometimes it's easy to get impatient and to keep trying different things when we're not seeing quick enough results. But sometimes we have to wait it out.

At your age you should be able to heal.

Sun Nov 01, 2015 2:16 pm

Thank you for your response.

I did let the peel heal on it’s own fully and used the products that come with the peel. However, when my skin texture started deterioating, I did try using Retin-A and it only made it worse so i stopped using it after a week.

For the last five months, I have had a minimal routine using a Clinique moisturizer (moisture surge) and Tatcha cleansing oil to wash my face once a day. No exfoliating, no acids, etc. I’ve tried using natural oils on my skin but for some reason, it reacts every time so I stuck to the clinique moisturizer. Unfortunelty, the millions of lines running down my face and pores are still there. My skin texture just does not look normal anymore and I’m starting to think it will never get back to what it used to be because I have caused too much damage.

Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:46 am

Might've been a chemical burn from the peel. Do you wear sunscreen every day?

Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:11 am

Hi Ashley, I remember your case was similar to mine. I'll tell what happened to me in case it helps. A couple of months ago I had an appointment with a new dermatologist. At first he said there was nothing abnormal in my skin, but then he made a closer examination under an ultraviolet lamp and found I had a fungal infection all over my face and body. He said it was Tinea Versicolor and prescribed a medication called Sporanox that I took for a week and also a shampoo that I had to use as a face and body wash for over a month (Ducray Squanorm shampoo for dry dandruff). Since I started this regime, my face skin made a huge improvement.

Apparently, I had this infection at the time I got the chemical peel done, and the fungus impeded my skin from regenerating, which caused the crepey and super oily texture. It's been improving little by little every day and now I'm pretty relieved, because even though it's not yet 100% recovered, I feel like I look normal again. I'm also taking some supplements which are quite helpful, but the key to my recovery was definitely treating the fungal infection.

I hope my experience will be helpful in some way. If you've never been examined for a fungal infection, maybe should ask a dermatologist. I had like six appointments before I got the right diagnosis.

Mon Nov 02, 2015 5:12 am

Camouflage wrote:

Hi Ashley, I remember your case was similar to mine. I'll tell what happened to me in case it helps. A couple of months ago I had an appointment with a new dermatologist. At first he said there was nothing abnormal in my skin, but then he made a closer examination under an ultraviolet lamp and found I had a fungal infection all over my face and body. He said it was Tinea Versicolor and prescribed a medication called Sporanox that I took for a week and also a shampoo that I had to use as a face and body wash for over a month (Ducray Squanorm shampoo for dry dandruff). Since I started this regime, my facial skin made a huge improvement.

Apparently, I had this infection at the time I got the chemical peel done, and the fungus impeded my skin from regenerating, which caused the crepey and super oily texture. It's been improving little by little every day and now I'm pretty relieved, because even though it's not yet 100% recovered, I feel like I look normal again. I'm also taking some supplements which are quite helpful, but the key to my recovery was definitely treating the fungal infection.

I hope my experience will be helpful in some way. If you've never been examined for a fungal infection, maybe should ask a dermatologist. I had like six appointments before I got the right diagnosis.

Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:28 pm

Camouflage wrote:

Hi Ashley, I remember your case was similar to mine. I'll tell what happened to me in case it helps. A couple of months ago I had an appointment with a new dermatologist. At first he said there was nothing abnormal in my skin, but then he made a closer examination under an ultraviolet lamp and found I had a fungal infection all over my face and body. He said it was Tinea Versicolor and prescribed a medication called Sporanox that I took for a week and also a shampoo that I had to use as a face and body wash for over a month (Ducray Squanorm shampoo for dry dandruff). Since I started this regime, my face skin made a huge improvement.

Apparently, I had this infection at the time I got the chemical peel done, and the fungus impeded my skin from regenerating, which caused the crepey and super oily texture. It's been improving little by little every day and now I'm pretty relieved, because even though it's not yet 100% recovered, I feel like I look normal again. I'm also taking some supplements which are quite helpful, but the key to my recovery was definitely treating the fungal infection.

I hope my experience will be helpful in some way. If you've never been examined for a fungal infection, maybe should ask a dermatologist. I had like six appointments before I got the right diagnosis.

Hi Camouflage! I am so happy to hear you are making improvements. Your skin must be regenerating now and will completely heal in due time since there is nothing stopping the process now.

It took a month to get the fungus to go away? Or do you use the shampoo still?

I just scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist as soon as I read this and will ask for the test. Lets pray he’s a nice dermatologist that actually cares and won’t dismiss me like every other one.

free skin care · Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:54 pm

Lots of excellent comments. I'd just add: are you eating enough protein? Skin improvement only gets what's left over after other organs, muscles etc have been maintained. I'd ensure protein was going into every meal.

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