Hey, my lovelies! Long time no post!
I’m taking advantage of this little time in my life where my acne has subsided and I’m tackling all of my hyperpigmentation, left behind after decades of acne and, yes, poor sun protection in my younger years.
I went to Skin Life Beauty Clinic – a facial treatment clinic lead by Dr. Ana Cristina Santos Silva.
Skin Life also has a SPA that is more dedicated to some “feel-good” facials and massages, and a couple of beauty boutiques in center Lisbon.
Because I’ve been taking good care of my skin for so long, a classic peel wouldn’t bring much to my face, so we decided on Microneedling and Laser therapy (this one will happen later, when the sun stops being so strong. My work has me walking around on the street during the day and, despite wearing boat loads of SPF, laser leaves the skin a bit more sensitive to the sun and I’m already prone to marks – it could be counterproductive to do it just yet).
what is microneedling?
Like the name would suggest, it is a machine (kind of a thick pen) with several teeny tiny needles (hence MICRO needling) that basically prick and puncture your skin to stimulate blood flow and cell regeneration (the skin sends a signal saying it needs some reconstruction to repair the damages), and, if you use some specific products, the needles will help pushing those products deeper into the skin.
In my case, it was Tranexamic Acid – an acid that (as far as I could tell), despite needing some further studies, seems to have very promising results in the treatment of hardcore hyperpigmentation situations like melasma.
how did it go?
The doctor applied some Tranexamic Acid on my skin and proceeded to “massage it in” with the microneedling apparatus.
Surprisingly enough, the acid does not sting or burn at all.
The micronnedling feels like someone is sanding your skin, it’s not pain-free (especially around the eyes and under my chin for some reason), but it’s absolutely tolerable.
anything else?
Yes… soooo… because I have several hardcore spots (some have been on my face for over a decade), the doctor then decided to inject (with a botox needle) the acid directly on those spots. Mainly on the hollows under my eyes (where I have some hyperpigmentation buildup that makes me look even more hollowed and tired), on my cheeks, and my chin.
My left cheek was particularly pigmented, mostly due to being constantly exposed to sun light in the driver’s seat – so every single blemish has become a mark, and on top of that there’s quite a lot of just plain sun damage. I’ve been driving everywhere since I was 18, I always lived far from where I needed to be, and then my career had me going around the city during the day very often.
Although I’ve been good with SPF for quite a while, I still spent over half my life believing that 1) SPF was for baking under the sun, 2) if I didn’t burn, it meant I could carry on, 3) because I didn’t tend to burn, I could just use SPF 12…
On my chin I don’t have as much hyperpigmentation as some scar tissue formations due to the hormonal acne that did not yield ever since I was 12 (with a brief 2 year hiatus). So blemishes would be healing and new ones would be starting to emerge, that area was a constant war zone for decades. The injections on the scar tissue were the most painful. Still absolutely manageable for me. But very annoying.
My forehead was completely sun damage-free because… I’ve had a fringe for 14 years and it has kept my forehead basically UV-free.
If this is not an PSA for DON’T SKIMP ON SPF, KIDS!, I don’t know what is…
The whole thing lasted a little over an hour, and I was treated like a precious flower the whole time. Dr. Ana Cristina is delightful and I loved the whole experience.
how was the aftermath?
After the microneedling and injections I was treated to a delightful facial massage. The cream she used did sting, but that was to be expected, since my skin was basically… raw.
My face was quite red and slightly sore for about 2 hours after the treatment, and then the redness started to subside. I did the treatment at the end of the day, and the next morning there was no redness left, just a slight bruising on the injection area underneath the eyes, which was absolutely to be expected. Those bruises slowly faded during the week.
I decided, for the week after the treatment, not to use exfoliating acids (I use lactic twice a week). I still kept with my vitamin C and retinol, with no problem.
Of course I need to keep piling on the SPF, but that’s no change for me.
final thoughts?
I’m going to do this treatment (or laser) every 4 to 6 weeks. It is expected that the cumulative effects of the treatments will deliver quite dramatic and long-term results.
Still, even in the short-term, I’ll supposedly start noticing some difference. Fingers crossed!
This treatment costed 200€ (I don’t know if the laser has the same price).
I confess I don’t want to get ahead of myself and I know this is a marathon, not a sprint, but I have high expectations.
Finally starting clinical treatments for my skin was one of the promises I made myself for this year and it feels good to be fulfilling them, albeit slowly :))
That’s it, for now. Let’s see how it goes.
Any questions you have, let me know!
the freevolous 