You know how I’ve been whining about my skin for over three months now? Mostly about the fact that all of a sudden I have transformed from a prune-y, wrinkly Old Lady with Old Lady Skin Problems into a hormonal 17-year-old dreading her next zit?
I tried a handful of the suggestions you guys gave me, and some of them were honestly great. I rediscovered an old favorite – Mario Badescu Drying Lotion – that very literally makes spots disappear overnight, but I have to say that my favorite discovery from that post was Stridex. Yes, Stridex. You know, the old-school stuff that used to practically burn your face off when you were 13? I have to assume they changed the formula, because it no longer burns or makes my skin go away, but it still makes everything even remotely pimple-related disappear instantly.
That said, all of the fixes I tried felt more like damage control. None of them seemed to fix the central issue, which was that my face was simply not acting like my face. It felt inflamed; out of control; painful. I needed a reset button.
So I finally broke and booked an appointment with an aesthetician to get a professional opinion. My plan was to see if a laser treatment might take down the ruddiness in my cheeks (hereditary rosacea, WHEE). But what she told me was that she couldn’t do anything until we dealt with my breakout issue, and recommended microdermabrasion – a treatment that uses a diamond-tip pen to simultaneously exfoliate and suction your skin and deposit salicylic acid deep into your pores – and so I thought, what the hell. It’s not much more expensive than a regular facial, and my skin’s been bothering me for long enough that I’m ready to try more drastic measures.
Here’s how it went. (And I think it’s clear from the video, but this was not comped or discounted or otherwise bloggerized in any way.)
Top image by Sue Hudelson.
