THE TREATMENT
After having a consultation and the Visia images taken, it was clear I needed to start using a proper skincare routine. I had previously worked for a large cosmetic company who consistently used face oils as part of their regimes, but was quickly told that oil was essentially the devil for the skin. It was going to slow down my cell turnover, contribute to dead skin blocking up my pores and essentially exasperate the issue even more.
I started on the Phase 1 kit from ZO Skin Health which had the exfoliating cleanser, Exfoliating Polish, Complexion Renewal Pads and Daily Power defence. I stayed on this for six weeks to essentially reset my skin and get it back on a healthy skin cycle.
In this time, I did suffer a few more breakouts. I was told to expect this as the small amount of retinol in the Daily Power Defence was increasing my cell turnover and bringing the spots buried deep in my skin out. This was really helped by having regular HydraFacials as the therapists were able to clear out my skin and help to exfoliate it fully. The Dermalux
LED Light therapy was a life saver as this kills the P Acne bacteria on the skin really targeting any active acne.
After 6 weeks I started on my retinols. I am not going to lie, this wasn’t fun. I decided to really go hard and push through by applying it straight away every night. I also had started Oil Control Pads in place of the complexion renewal to target my oily skin. Having recently turned 31, having a small toddler and having smoked for most of my twenties I had also been very much aware of my lines developing around my eyes
In a nutshell, I was red. Very red, dry and peely and it did hurt. My night routine definitely involved a lot of fanning my face as the oil control pads burned a lot! When I mentioned this to my therapist she advised that this was because my barrier function was disrupted. I knew if I just toughed it out it would be worth it and within the month this completely settled. There was one Saturday where I had a slight moment of weakness staring at my Wrinkle + Texture repair wondering if I wanted to do it anymore before I quickly was reminded how for the last 18 years I had been plagued by spots that I no longer wanted!
