My first Glycolic Peel, part 1

This weekend a Pamper Party was held for my boss who is shortly going on maternity leave.

There were plenty of treatments on offer by the mobile beauticians who had been engaged for the evening.

Most people went for manicures, pedicures or eyelash tinting, or a combination of the three.  I opted for the Glycolic Peel.

Having very bad skin I have always wanted to try a peel but had never got round to it so I jumped at the chance last night.  My temporary replacement boss also chose the peel.

Boss no 2 went first, she is very fair with pale skin, she is also nearly twenty years younger than me so her skin is so much better.

The beautician (can we still call them that, or is it not PC anymore?) cleansed and prepared the skin and then applied the peel.  It had to stay on for at least 5 minutes, but no more than 10.  After 5 minutes, boss no 2 was asked if she was OK to keep going, she was, the beautician constantly fanning her face to try and alleviate the itching the peel causes.

The neutralising foam was then applied.

Boss no 2 was then finished, it was then my turn.

Everything was prepared and applied and apart from the beautician smacking me in the face whilst she was fanning me, it all went without incident.

By this time, boss no 2's face was bright red, feeling tight and itchy.  By the time I left 2 hours later, she looked like she had a bad sunburn.  Apart from feeling like I needed to wash my face, I was feeling fine.  I had no redness at all.

However.

Day 2 - I woke up to a bright red face, swollen in patches.  The swollen areas were very shiny, discoloured and weeping.  I gently washed my face which temporarily reduced the redness, but it soon came back.

By lunchtime, the skin was starting to feel tight.  It also looked stretched, highlighting the pores I was hoping to lessen, and also seemingly creating wrinkles where I previously had none, such as on my cheeks.

I washed my face several times over the course of the day, and also applied Bio Oil, this helped briefly with the tightness and soreness, but made no difference to the redness.

I googled to see if what was happening was right and apparently it was, Aloe Vera was suggested as a soother, I remembered that I had bought an Aloe Vera Aftersun last year.  I started applying it every hour or so, the first few applications foamed up as if it was reacting with something which was a bit disconcerting.

By the end of day 2, boss no.2's skin had started to peel off quite badly, badly enough for her to say that she would speak to a doctor.

My skin was still red, but worst of all was the itching.

Day 3 - I woke up expecting to see half my face on the pillow but no.  The redness was going, but the itching was driving me mad!

We called into A&E (one of the perks of working in a hospital) and saw a doctor.  She immediately diagnosed 2nd degree burns, to apply vaseline to keep the skin moist and stay out of the sun.

Boss no.2 has a lovely red stripe right across her chin where several layers of skin fell away when she washed her face.  She also has a very obvious peeled area on her nose.

I have not peeled anywhere yet, however I do have a patch of extremely swollen, discoloured, rough and very sore skin on my chin, just below my lip.  I also have a lovely crop of whiteheaded pimples all over my chin.  I am torn between popping them (I hate going out in public with ripe spots) and leaving them just to see how bad they get.

To be continued...