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*Treatment results may vary
Day 6
About half way through the day, my face became a HOT MESS again. I thought I was DONE peeling. I already shed an entire layer of skin off my face the previous 2 days and now more? It is a very different texture though. Previous peeling was loose skin, moist, very easily shed. This peeling is dry, flakey, irritated. I already put my nightly cosmelan 2 application on and I have a feeling 2 xs a day is just too much for my skin. So starting tomorrow I'm just going to put the cream were I still have slightly visible dark pigment. Not entire face. Very harsh and burns like crazy when you apply. We'll see! Stay tuned!
Giving you guys a day by day description of my...
Giving you guys a day by day description of my Cosmelan treatment.
Mask applied: 12:30pm. Burning set it during application. Not terrible--about a 5 or 6. Went away by the time I left the office. Was ill-prepared so forgot to bring a hat for the hour ride home. Ended up wrapping blankets around my head and pinning them up against windows to shield my hideous muddy face from the sun. Was told to leave mask on for 10 hours. Washed mask off at 10:30 pm to reveal a TOMATO RED FACE. Guys, I don't just mean red, I mean 'fell asleep in red koolaid for 6 hours' red.
Day 1: Woke up in morning, face still tomato red, but maybe a shade down. Washed with gentle cleanser, applied Factor K cream and SPF. Nothing big. At night, I cleansed, Factor K, bed.
Day 2: Face starting to calm from the redness! ALAS! I was worried it would stay like that forever. Cleansed, Factor K, SPF. About mid day, started to get some flakes around my mouth/chin/sides of nose. The urge to touch it was intense but I resisted! Washed, Factor K, SPF. As the day went on, the peeling increased in thickness. Hid in my house all day! Cleansed, Factor K, bed.
Day 3: Less red but PEELING LIKE WOW. Woke up to flakes of skin on my navy blue bed sheets. wish I took a photo of it. Don't know why I didn't. The peeling is not just peeling. It's 1-inch chunks of thick skin, hanging from my face and blowing in the wind as I walk. Beautiful! Had to pick some off because they were getting in my nostrils and mouth. GROSS, I know. But this is a good sign. Means it's working! Getting deep down to those layers of dark resistant pigment. My boyfriend keeps staring at the flakes of skin dangling from my face. DO.NOT.PICK! Arg! In the morning, I started with my first treatment of the Cosmelan 2 cream. Let me tell ya, it stings!!!! Burns for about 10 minutes, then dwindles in which I apply the Factor K then SPF. Same steps at night minus SPF. Cosemlan, (let sink in for 15 minutes) Factor K, bed.
Day 5: Not red, but very flakey. Cleansed, Cosmelan 2, Factor K, SPF. The peeling is crazy! I've had my fair share of peels in my life and never ever have I had this much peeling! Cannot get over it. But some of it is falling off naturally when I wash my face, thank god. I had to go to IKEA and people were looking at me like I was diseased! HELL, I look it! The flakes are an inch thick all up my cheeks. If someone put a high-powered fan up to my face, the people standing behind me would be in for quite the snow storm!
At night, a lot of my flaking came off (OK OK maybe I assisted a bit with it but I felt like a snake. It was ready to fall off anyways. I wasn't pulling it off!) and I was able to see that my melasma had lightened about 50%, which is great. The Cosmelan 2 cream is going to continue to lighten the spots. I also go for my touch up session August 24th in which they will re-apply the mask to areas that need it. So I am pretty positive at this point.
DISCLAIMER: I've had melasma for 3 years now and have spent upwards of $6,000 on products and peels that "promise" to lighten dark spots. Ladies, melasma and "dark spots" are not in the same category. TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT conditions. I am urging you all to stop wasting your money on products to treat melasma, regardless of what anyone tells you. The Cosmelan peel is currently the only thing on the market to treat melasma. Some lasers promise to do the same but be weary of those. Lasers produce heat and heat produces more pigment, especially those who have melasma. Lasers can make melasma WAY, WAY worse. So approach with caution if you chose this route.
I will continue to update as I continue this journey!
God bless and GO COSMELAN!
Mask applied: 12:30pm. Burning set it during application. Not terrible--about a 5 or 6. Went away by the time I left the office. Was ill-prepared so forgot to bring a hat for the hour ride home. Ended up wrapping blankets around my head and pinning them up against windows to shield my hideous muddy face from the sun. Was told to leave mask on for 10 hours. Washed mask off at 10:30 pm to reveal a TOMATO RED FACE. Guys, I don't just mean red, I mean 'fell asleep in red koolaid for 6 hours' red.
Day 1: Woke up in morning, face still tomato red, but maybe a shade down. Washed with gentle cleanser, applied Factor K cream and SPF. Nothing big. At night, I cleansed, Factor K, bed.
Day 2: Face starting to calm from the redness! ALAS! I was worried it would stay like that forever. Cleansed, Factor K, SPF. About mid day, started to get some flakes around my mouth/chin/sides of nose. The urge to touch it was intense but I resisted! Washed, Factor K, SPF. As the day went on, the peeling increased in thickness. Hid in my house all day! Cleansed, Factor K, bed.
Day 3: Less red but PEELING LIKE WOW. Woke up to flakes of skin on my navy blue bed sheets. wish I took a photo of it. Don't know why I didn't. The peeling is not just peeling. It's 1-inch chunks of thick skin, hanging from my face and blowing in the wind as I walk. Beautiful! Had to pick some off because they were getting in my nostrils and mouth. GROSS, I know. But this is a good sign. Means it's working! Getting deep down to those layers of dark resistant pigment. My boyfriend keeps staring at the flakes of skin dangling from my face. DO.NOT.PICK! Arg! In the morning, I started with my first treatment of the Cosmelan 2 cream. Let me tell ya, it stings!!!! Burns for about 10 minutes, then dwindles in which I apply the Factor K then SPF. Same steps at night minus SPF. Cosemlan, (let sink in for 15 minutes) Factor K, bed.
Day 5: Not red, but very flakey. Cleansed, Cosmelan 2, Factor K, SPF. The peeling is crazy! I've had my fair share of peels in my life and never ever have I had this much peeling! Cannot get over it. But some of it is falling off naturally when I wash my face, thank god. I had to go to IKEA and people were looking at me like I was diseased! HELL, I look it! The flakes are an inch thick all up my cheeks. If someone put a high-powered fan up to my face, the people standing behind me would be in for quite the snow storm!
At night, a lot of my flaking came off (OK OK maybe I assisted a bit with it but I felt like a snake. It was ready to fall off anyways. I wasn't pulling it off!) and I was able to see that my melasma had lightened about 50%, which is great. The Cosmelan 2 cream is going to continue to lighten the spots. I also go for my touch up session August 24th in which they will re-apply the mask to areas that need it. So I am pretty positive at this point.
DISCLAIMER: I've had melasma for 3 years now and have spent upwards of $6,000 on products and peels that "promise" to lighten dark spots. Ladies, melasma and "dark spots" are not in the same category. TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT conditions. I am urging you all to stop wasting your money on products to treat melasma, regardless of what anyone tells you. The Cosmelan peel is currently the only thing on the market to treat melasma. Some lasers promise to do the same but be weary of those. Lasers produce heat and heat produces more pigment, especially those who have melasma. Lasers can make melasma WAY, WAY worse. So approach with caution if you chose this route.
I will continue to update as I continue this journey!
God bless and GO COSMELAN!
Provider Review
Greenwich Medical Spa
Ellen