Lizard Face-Day 7

Today I was almost back to normal. I had very little redness and I'm now starting to see the effects of the peel. I don't have sunspots on my cheeks or my forehead anymore. I still have a few on my nose, but they have lightened considerably. My skin is very even toned and my pores are smaller. I think I would probably do this peel again in 8-12 months to try to get rid of the rest of my sun damage. For someone who is outside all the time riding a bike or running, I have a feeling I will need to get these peels on a regular basis for maintenance. At $300 a pop, I'm not sure I care to do it more than once or twice a year. Overall, I'm very happy with the results!

Lizard Face-Day 6

Day 6 was a work day and I was finally able to put on make up for the first time in almost a week. I had to put on a layer of thick moisturizer, a layer of SPF 70, and then a layer of foundation to help even out the red spots. I wasn't really peeling much, but after three layers of products on my face you wouldn't have been able to tell anyway. If you want a great sunscreen use Neutrogena Dry Touch SPF 60-70. I also use Lancome Photogenic foundation. It looks very natural. The evening of Day 6 was pretty much the same routine--wash with a mild cleanser and then apply a heavy moisturizer. Most of the peeling had stopped by bedtime.

Lizard Face-Day 4 and 5

Day 4 and 5 were pretty much the same. Lots of peeling! I felt like I had duct tape on my face and I wanted to rip it off at any given time. The peeling process is very uncomfortable and it itches like crazy! Unfortunately, I did scratch at my neck in the middle of the night and woke up to unsightly red marks on my neck. However, the derm told me to keep a heavy cream on it for a few days and it would go away.

Lizard Face-Day 3

Today is the most uncomfortable day so far. I am now visibly peeling on my chin and nose area and my face itches like crazy. The peeling will get worse over the weekend. I'm not allowed to touch my face except to wash it twice a day and apply the face cream and sunscreen I was given. If I peel away the skin myself, I could possibly scar the fresh skin underneath. No touching! While peeling I can't wear makeup so I will just have to deal with the red lizard face while watching re-runs of Deadliest Catch and ordering in Chinese food. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all...

Lizard Face-Day 2

Here are a few photos of Day 2. I woke up less red than the night before, but I still looked like I had a bad sunburn. I tried to cover it with makeup, but there is still a visible ring around my face. I had to answer questions at work all day, haha. I didn't really notice much the morning of Day 2 other than redness, but by the afternoon I had started to peel a little around the mouth and nose. My skin also started to throb so I spent the evening with an ice pack on my face. I had to apply a second dose of Retin A before bedtime which would really jump start the peeling process. That was unpleasant.

Lizard Face-Day 1

Well, I promised photos of the entire chemical peel process and I'm true to my word. I'll let you guys see my lizard face and renewal process so that you can decide if you would like to try it. If the results are as good as I hope they will be I could be doing this process several times a year. Here is a website about the VI Peel. It has a lot of good information! http://www.vipeel.com/Vi_Peel_FAQs.asp Day 1: My aesthetician, Rachel at Dr. Rene Snyder's office, was wonderful. She explained the whole process while she was cleansing my face, went over all the instructions, and then let me ask all my questions. I was nervous as I was about to cause a second degree burn to my face. I wanted to make sure I knew everything that could happen. The acid was applied to my face and I admit the first few minutes were quite uncomfortable. It did burn, but then it became a dull ache. It felt like Icy Hot on my face. I had to wear the peel home and could not wash it off for 4 hours. My face was so red!

Amsterdam-Day 4

Day 4 we were up very early and getting our bags together. We ordered a shuttle to take us to the airport, but of course, they didn't show up. Hans saw us waiting and called the company for us. They ended up ordering a taxi and we got there with plenty of time to spare. We really appreciated Hans and Loes efforts. I suggest everyone stay at Hotel Fita for the hospitality and good food :) It was a short and sweet whirlwind of a trip. Next time, we need a few more days to finish touring the city and then head to Belgium!