Fraxel Laser

Hi Everyone.. I have not had Fraxel done but I have had the terrible orange peel texture side effect from using Retin A that many fraxel users have experienced. I used Retin A approx. 3/4 times and my pores enlarged all over my face and I got all these weird lines on my my face look exactly like an orange peel when you looked at it in the natural light. It was horrific and horrifying. I have probably read every single thing on the internet pertaining to orange peel texture. Here is some interesting things I have discovered...

Retin A, over exfoliating, microdermabrasion, dermabrasion, rosacea, peels, and lasers can all produce orange peel texture. But why? That was my question. Why do all of these things produce the same terrible side effect. The answer, I believe, is inflammation. When you get a burn, you get inflammation. When your barrier is damaged, you get inflammation. So, whether it is a chemical burn, a laser burn, a damaged skin barrier or inflammation within the body (Rosacea) it can do the same thing: create orange peel texture.

I mean, when you look at the texture, even if it's not red, it just looks like inflamed skin, doesn't it? So once I realized that the problem was inflammation it was much easier to know how to resolve it.

I have been experiencing this for 2 and a half months now and I knew I had to go over my skin routine and see if there was anything at all that could be irritating my skin ( even just a little) which would lead to more inflammation. I looked at the ingredients again in my "extremely gentle" face wash and skin barrier cream. My skin barrier cream had nothing irritating- all gentle oils that should not bother the skin. My "extremely gentle" face wash, however, had vitamin C and lactic acid!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are NOT gentle!! At least not for skin like ours.

So for the past five days I have changed my skin routine and have been looking at my skin in the worst possible light. I'd like to add that these are the things I have been suffering with recently..

1. #11 lines that are all weird and crinkly that appeared from NOWHERE between my brows. Wrinkles that come over night?? What the heck??!

2. Redness around the nose and even down my nasolabial folds a bit. ugh.

3. Worse nasolabial folds. Skin looked saggier there as well. So confusing!

4. More fine lines

5 Crinkly skin when I smile on either side of my mouth. Looks like severely dehydrates skin

6. Broken caps on nostril

7. Holes all over my face and lines. ( orange peel texture/enlarged pores) *worst thing of all.

Five days ago I began this routine..

In the am, put raw honey on my face for 2-5 minutes. Rinse off. Put on Montana Emu oil all over my face. Not too much. Lightly blot areas where extra residue is. On nose and between brows ( oilier areas) put cerave am. On drier places ( rest of face) put on ceractive by cellceuticals. Wait 15 minutes and put on insivible zinc sunscreen by skin ceuticals.

Night: Raw honey on face.. wash off with warm water. Emu oil all over face- do not blot extra. Rub in ceractive while face is still moist with emu oil. Cerave am on nose and between brows. ( my cerative cream is a bit heavier so I don't put in on my t-zone, just in case)

That's it. That has been my routine and I have LITERALLY watched my pores disappear before my very eyes in the past 5 days. It;s seriously miraculous. My broken caps are disappearing. My red around my nose is completely gone. My skin looks lifted and tighter. NO MORE 11 wrinkles between my brows!! OMG they were there for over 2 months!!! Skin plumping up! Fine lines disappearing. Best of all my pores are 90% GONE. I still have a bit of crinkly skin on sides of my mouth when I smile but I feel 100% confident this will all go away.

This routine will help your skin. I am sure of it. For some, it will completely fix it. What I learned: You cannot irritate your skin with exfoliation or peels or any, even slightly harsh chemicals on your face if you have orange peel texture. Do not put vitamin C on your face!!!

****If you have had orange peel texture for a year a more, do this routine but add in dermarolling ( microneedling) with a .5 needle. I read ONE doc (every other doc suggested lasers) who said that microneedling with break up the scar tissue and weird formation of collagen on the dermis that is creating orange peel texture. I think if you have had this problem long term you need to break up the tissue on the rdermis so that it can smooth out. It will not cause the problems that a laser or retin a cause because you are not burning your top layer of skin off. Dermaroll and then put on nothing but emu oil. I would dermaroll once a week with .5 ( not super agressively) and see how your skin reacts. If it's ok, up it to 2x a week.

This is the best advice I can give to anyone who is experiencing orange peel texture. My skin looks amazing now and I am SO SO SO relieved!!!!!!!

but here it is. This is in the healing phase, mind you. Do you see the tiny dots? Those are all over my face- everywhere. They used to be three times as big though. I am laying in bed with my baby and will try to get a better shot later.

This is my skin in the worst possible light. This is the light that I have been inspecting it in every morning. The pores used to be three times as big.. I will post a photo that shows how I used to look. This is my healing skin but you can still see major orange peel texture. Before retin a I had poreless skin. I only used retin a for preventive reasons, ie: fine lines.