“Painful and Gross, but WELL Worth It!”

I had the Phenol Peel under and around the sides of my eyes as a follow up to my Bleph surgery. The procedure itself was a breeze, just a mild to moderate burning sensation thanks to the numbing creme.

About an hour or so after the procedure I was in alot of pain. My whole face ached, even my teeth hurt. It's the morning after my procedure, I look very scary and I'm still in quite a bit of pain....which I clearly understand and expected. It's very hard to be positive about the unknown, but I remember feeling scared and unsure immediately after my Bleph also, so I'm going to kick back, relax, (as much as possible) and just wait.

I'm giving this a thumbs down...for now, but will update as the healing continues and hopefully change to a thumbs up.

Updated on May 2, 2009:

OK, I had this done 04/29. 05/01 my entire lower face was swollen so bad that I didn't even look like myself, but on the up side, I didn't take anything at all for pain that day.

It's 05/02 and I awake to see that the swelling is going down some, still there, but not nearly as bad. And the pain is pretty much gone. I began dabbing with a vinegar and water solution, as ordered by my doc, and I continue to apply ointment provided to me. I'll update more as I progress.

Updated on May 5, 2009:

OK, it's May 5th and I'm still waiting to see what's underneath all of this YUCK beneath my eyes. i fully understand that's it's been less than a full week since I received this peel and that yes, time heals ALL wounds! lol

Just wanted to add another photo, as gross as it is, to hopefully give others a realistic idea of what to expect . I hope it helps and I'm still hoping to change from a thumbs down to a thumbs up. Time will tell.

Updated on May 6, 2009:

May 6th, 7 days after peel and my skin is itching like CRAZY!!!! Hard to believe my Doc told me I could return to work within 5 - 7 days...NOT! I guess physically I am able, but who wants to be seen looking like this? NOT ME!  I wanted to make sure you all are aware that the down time will be MORE than a week.

Updated on May 7, 2009:

May 7th and day 8 after procedure and WOW! Alot of the scabs (gross) came off over night to reveal new pink skin.

As of now it looks as if I'm about 90-95% wrinkle free and the skin "seems" much tighter. My Doc told me that over the next few months the collagen production to this area would increase to even further the improvement. It looks as if another full week will be needed for the remainder of tissue to completely heal, but that is just my opinion based on how things look today. As always, I'll update more later. Feel free to ask questions.

Updated on May 8, 2009:

I finally changed from a thumbs down to a thumbs up even though I have more healing to get behind me.

Hoping to change overall satisfaction to Very Good or Excellent in the near future.

Updated on May 11, 2009:

May 11: I went back again today for another follow up visit. My Doc says everything looks like it's right on track. He recommended that I begin using Obagi Nu-Derm Clear along with Tretinoin .1% on my face avoiding the newly peeled eye area. This will help with the sun spots and uneveness of the skin tone. My next visit will be in 2 months and hopefully I will be good as new by then =] What's next (?), hmmmm, BOTOX in those hideous forehead lines! lol
 

Thanks for the positive comments, it means alot to have a support group, so to speak.

Updated on May 23, 2009:

Don't you just love BEFORE and AFTER pics? I mean they show you right before and then the after is always bright and new, BUT I wanted to share the DURING that is so often over looked. Hope this will give you a clearer idea of what happens BEFORE the AFTER! lol =]