A Journey in Adulting & Self-Care

 I recently found a fabulous salon where I was introduced to the Candela laser, an alternative to the GentleMax. It was surprisingly effective, where even after one treatment I was able to see improvement in my pigmentation and scarring. If you are a person of color and are interested in increasing collagen, reducing fine lines and addressing scarring, this could be a great option for you! I would definitely recommend lidocaine to help numb the skin beforehand. It make the process way more comfortable and helped my aesthetician get to all the areas she needed without me tearing up and needing a break. She was even able to get to my dark circles which, honestly, I just assumed were permament. Apologies for low-quality! But you can see that my dark pigmentation near my sideburn is longer and my skin is more textured in the left picture whereas the dark spot is a bit lighter and scarring is less noticeable on the right. I am currently on treatment 3 of 4 in a package so I am hopeful that

As I am learning more about my skin, I am learning to see it in a different light. When I was battling cystic acne, it felt like a betrayal from my skin which literally had one job...keep germs out...and instead I was dealing with broken skin and active breakouts everyday. Now that the dust has settled, the scars and residue of those battles still remain. Upon consulting with my dermatologist, we talked about ways to help deal with these concerns, mostly acne scarring and hyperpigmentation. Some interventions I had already begun, mostly Vitamin C and tretinoin. I was ready to try lasers but as a POC, I was concerned about further exacerbating my hyperpigmentation and needed something that would be safe. She suggested Gentlemax Laser. Used for laser hair removal, this heats up the layer of skin underneath to activate the body's healing mechanism. However, compared to some stronger counterparts such as Fraxel or CO2 lasers, Gentlemax has no downtime and doesn't even require anest

 This blog was born out of two reasons: 1. for my daughter to have a documented way to take care of herself...when she decides mama has something worthwhile to say and 2. from the numerous friends and family who have asked to have my ideas and research documented for them. The specific topic of healing acne scars was something that has been requested a few times so I thought it was about time to document it! What is scarring? So, for the purpose of this post, I will be discussing acne scars. Many people refer to any mark left after acne is gone as acne scars but there are actually two different types of scars, PIH and atrophic scars. PIH (Post-inflammatory Hyperpigmentation) These are the red or brown discolorations that are left after your acne is healed. This can be a result of popping the pimple or just because you have melanin and your skin is prone to pigmentation. They are not 3-dimensional and you may have reasonable success in covering it with makeup. These scars will get worse

 What is Microneedling? Microneedling is a procedure that has been around for a while and basically is the act of creating micro-wounds in the skin or channels which help activate your body's natural healing process. These wounds are not significant enough to damage your skin but enough to signal that your body needs to produce collagen and heal itself. Done properly, microneedling has a variety of benefits such as reducing fine lines, appearance of pores, scars, hyperpigmentation and even hair loss. Risks of Microneedling Since you are essentially inflicting damage on your skin, you run the risk of further damage and scarring to your skin. If the equipment or environment is not sanitized properly, you also run the risk of infection and complications that could result from it. You could end up with skin worse than the issue you were trying to fix. I am sharing all this with you to make sure you do not take the decision to microneedle at home lightly. This procedure is done best by