It’s been three days since I had my Vi Peel, and the phenol acid, vitamin C and Retin-A peel is working wonders…if by “wonders” I were to actually mean “is causing every last ounce of my skin to kamikaze dive off my face in unattractive, flaky sheets.”  Pictures of the disgusting-yet-effective madness to follow shortly!

I just had something called a Vi Peel, and my face feels like it’s on fire and is going to fall off.  Good times!  It uses exfoliating phenol acids, vitamin C and Retin-A to slough off the top layer of skin in 3 -5 days, and is supposed to be good for all complexions, including African-American skin (which typically can’t tolerate peels without hyperpigmentation).  The actual peel only took about five minutes, and I’ve been instructed to use the Post-Peel Towelettes tonight and tomorrow night to help accelerate peeling, and then to expect the oh-so-sexy snake action to begin on Friday.  According to the literature, the peel will get rid of acne and acne scarring, brighten skin and increase collagen production…but right now all I can focus on is the fact that my skin looks like a tomato, smells like formaldehyde, and feels like it’s been sunburned and then scratched.  (Note to self: Eyes on the prize, J.)

It’s been about three weeks since I started Retin-A, and my skin is slowly but surely acclimating.  No more snake-like shedding!  No more necessity of hiding my face under a paper bag!  I still have a fair bit of flaking, but at least now it’s socially-acceptable, as opposed to “Ew…do you, like, have a disease?”  This weekend, at the Total Beauty Blogger Summit, I had my skin analyzed using a super-duper fancy machine, and while I have some sun damage (damn you, Florida!), my skin is in the 99th percentile when it comes to wrinkles.  I’m still waiting for the transformation, however—that moment when the first friend or stranger says: “Your skin!  It looks amazing!  What have you been doing?”  Don’t let me down, Retin-A…

Two weeks ago, I started using Retin-A, in the hopes of both keeping my acne-prone skin clear and ridding myself of ever-deepening fine lines.  Now, I’m only 27 and am hardly in the market for a face-lift, but since I was in my early teens I’ve been firmly in the “ounce of prevention, pound of cure” camp and figure this is simply the next stage in my fight against friendly engagement with aging.  The two years I spent living in Palm Beach wrecked havoc on my skin and aged me several years (Why did I not wear stronger sunscreen?  Why??), so now I’m frantically trying to reverse a little of the sun damage.  Retin-A users are advised to start slow, so I’ve been using it three times a week, and am trying to let my skin acclimate before upping my usage.  As it is, my complexion is already molting, to the point that friends have started to comment.  (”What’s with all this?” they asked confusedly, pointing to my flaking chin.  Sexy.)  I spent a week applying moisturizing masks at night, trying to balance out the dryness, until Dr. Solieman explained that this sort of resistance was not only futile, but actually counterproductive—he advised me to just bite the bullet and get over the initial “Oh my god, my face is falling off!” hump.  (My words, not his.)  Since Retin-A makes your skin especially sensitive to the sun, I’m using the kick-ass Obagi Nu Derm Healthy Skin SPF 35 sunscreen, which I heartily recommend for all skin-types.  It sinks in quickly, works well under makeup, and provides excellent broad-spectrum protection.  (My new hobby is checking out product listings on the Skin Deep website to evaluate toxicity; I still haven’t quite figured out how to use the database, but here’s the Obagi sunscreen listing, with great scores.)  As far as my Retin-A journey, I’ll keep you updated!