I still have blackheads after Silkpeel. Is it not working for me? I've had 3 sessions so far should I continue? (photos)

Question

No improvement after 1st session. Rather more blackheads on my nose, chin, cheeks. Explained this to the aesthetician during the 2nd session & she increased suction around my problem areas. Blackheads still remained but not as much as the first time- been breaking out since 1 week after 2nd session. At the 3rd session, she used less suction so as not to aggravate my skin. My laugh lines looked softer but still -blackheads. It's just been 2 days after my last session and I have so many blackheads

Paul Flashner, MD · Answer

Hi, thanks for reaching out! Hopefully we can provide some suggestions to get you on the right track. After examining your pictures provided, and reviewing your overview of the adjustments your aesthetician made, ensuring that a proper homecare regimen is in place along with diamond glow treatment is pivotal. Some products that you could explore are SkinCeuticals Silymarin CF which is a Vitamin C great for blemishes and acne prone skin. It also has salicylic acid in it which helps to exfoliate the skin and refine the appearance of pores while reducing the formation of acne to help prevent breakouts.

SkinCeuticals also has an LHA cleanser that is great for blemishes, decongesting pores, smooths skin texture, and brightens skin. Coupling this with their LHA toner can also be a great addition to your homecare regimen. It is a glycolic acid toner which aides in unclogging pores and removing surface dead skin cells.

Continuing to incorporate the diamond glow with the adjustments your aesthetician made along with the products mentioned above is a great place to start!

Also, please ensure you are wearing SPF daily all year around to protect your skin and better support your treatments!

Falguni Patel, MD, FACOG · Answer

When getting a Silkpeel/Diamond glow, the concept of it is to exfoliate, extract and infuse serums into the skin. The machine can only do so much with extracting, you don't want to go so hard on the suction because it can cause broken capillaries. When we do the diamond glow in our office we still have to go in and manually extract the black heads from the patients nose/chin etc. 
Purging is normal after a facial because its pushing everything to the skins surface increasing the skins cell turnover rate.

Anil R. Shah, MD · Answer

Hello Enthusiastic1656 I am a Medical Aesthetician at Aesthetic Skin in Chicago, IL. Thank you for sharing your images! I am sorry that you did not experience the results that you were expecting initially. When we are treating the congested skin it does take some time a series of a treatment plan curated by your provider plus a at home care regimen. Diamond Glow specifically is a great and effective treatment to address congested and textured skin. the diamond tip + vacuum suction. cleanses, exfoliates, and infuses serums to the skin treating congested skin, minimizing pore appearance, fine lines and wrinkles and will improve overall tone of the skin. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any other questions! I hope this helped.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

Yes, keep getting regular treatments so eventually your skin will b cleaned out from blackheads and have less risk of getting more.

Martie Gidon, MD, FRCPC, FAAD · Answer

SilkPeel Dermalinfusion treatments are helful in treating acne but please consult a dermatologist who can give you prescription medication for your acne.  SilkPeel will not help on its own.

I still have blackheads after Silkpeel. Is it not working for me? I've had 3 sessions so far should I continue? (photos)

Answers (7)