on sunday night carte blanche (for non saffers, a long running tv magazine program) did an expose of beauty salons doing treatments they’re not legally qualified to do and instead of getting the enhancements for which clients are paying top-dollar, they  are instead being scarred and put through agony.

having undergone something very similar, blogging and posting photos of the disaster from day one,  i thought i’d do an update post.

just over nine months since i decided to undergo a laser peel, my face is still slightly hyper-pigmented and scarred. though admittedly dr CENSORED of the CENSORED who did the procedure,  has left me messages  a number of times and after some phone tag we finally spoke. he’s asked me to come in so that he can see what we can do to remedy this. so far i’ve not had the time, but as long as it does not involve more lasers, i’m willing to go and meet with him. though unbelievably, this morning the make-up artist at the studio was again complaining about how dark the “zorro mask” around my eyes still is and was struggling to cover it.

i think now is a good time to reiterate what i wrote  shortly after getting the procedure done and in the interests of science and saving anyone else the horror, even though they actually don’t show how dark and obvious the marks still are,  i will publish some more very candid (read, unflattering) pictures of me. (be kind).

based on my experience, here’s what i can advise anyone else thinking of getting a micro-laser peel or periorbital laser resurfacing:

• 1. be absolutely certain you know what you’re letting yourself in for.
• 2. ask as many questions as you can think of.
• 3. be prepared for anything.
• 4. a laser peel is different from a tca peel. it’s deeper, and takes more recovery time.
• 5. it’s going to hurt more than you think it will.
• 6. you’ll get over it…
• 7. … if you give yourself enough time to recover. i’d suggest at least a full week.
• 8. if your job, as does mine, entails being under studio lights, know that every little irregularity will be magnified. give yourself twice as much recovery time.
• 9. have someone who can drive you to and from the procedure, to post-op visits, pick up prescriptions and just generally take care of you.
• 10. do not do this procedure unless you’re 100% healthy. the recovery places huge stress on your immune system, so make sure it’s entirely up to par.
• 11. don’t pick! do not touch your face unless it’s absolutely necessary and then only as little as possible.
• 12. did i mention it before? DO NOT PICK  AT YOUR FACE! if you do, you will regret it.
• 13. if you’re bi-racial, or have an olive skin-tone, think seriously before doing this procedure and ask your doctor if it’s advisable. i’m beginning to think it’s not.
• 9 MONTHS POST-PEEL, i’d say that it’s definitely not a good idea. i still have the traces of a zorro mask around my eyes and the striations on my jaw-line have not entirely gone away as i’d hoped they would with time.
• 

  a candid no make-up shot from before the peel. look at the quality of my skin.

  lilizela mlilizela – mahlathini and the mahotella queens
  dance me to the end of love – madeleine peyroux
  collide – rachael yamagata (off her EP) love, love, love this woman!
  wicked little girls – esthero
  cannot contain this – moloko
  ramalama (bang bang) – roisin murphy
  Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Thoughts Are Free) – brazilian girls
  bitter – meshelll ndegeocello
  history repeating – propellerheads with shirley bassey
  montserrat – bajofondo tango club
  don’t forget to breathe – bitter:sweet
  stiff jazz – dzihan & kamien
  flawless (shapeshifter’s remix) – george michael
  the novel sound – llorca
  all is full of love – bjork
  big in japan – tom waits
  know how – kings of convenience
  pink moon- nick drake
  the rain don’t last forever – hope shorter ( http://www.myspace.com/HearHope
  

  3 weeks post peel

  

  9 months post peel. still hyper-pigmented.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

  9 months later. faint, but still signs of zorro mask and striations.

  it might not seem so bad, but though freckled, i used to have clear, creamy, smooth skin before the laser treatment. i was advised that the procedure would help the bags under my eyes which were becoming very prominent on the monitor at work. that was the main reason i did it. instead, i went through agony and wound up wounded and scarred. i think it can work really well on the right skin type, but i obviously was not a good candidate and i don’t think this treatment should have been done on me.

  so, if you’re  bi-racial or olive-skinned, PLEASE think twice. you really don’t want to  end up looking like this. and in case i didn’t make myself clear: JUST DON’T DO IT!