I always had relatively clear skin growing up, apart from the usual hormonal breakouts at that time of the month, but in general nothing out of the ordinary.
Last summer out of the blue my skin suddenly became problematic, sprouting frequent and painful spots, often bumps under the skin that didn't rise to the surface. I made the terrible error of picking at some of the spots, causing damage to my skin and leaving me with red acne scarring along my lower cheeks, where most of the breakouts happen.
Almost a year on, not much has changed, although I've (mostly!) managed to resist from picking at any of the blemishes that surface now. They come in waves of differing severity, but I always seem to have some form of breakouts at any given time.
With my 30th birthday looming next month, and having recently gotten engaged, I decided it was high time I try and tackle my skin problems head on.
I visited the Monsktown Laser Skin Clinic to have my skin checked out to by their head clinician Peggy Stringer, a fellow Donegal-woman who specialises in addressing problem skin, including acne, sun damage and signs of ageing.
Peggy took a look at my skin under a light, examining it closely, and massaged my skin with a cleanser to feel for any blockages under the skin.
Having double cleansed, she applied a glycolic peel to my skin, which I have to say was a bit uncomfortable, a slightly hot, mildly stinging sensation, but it only lasted a few minutes. The glycolic acid helps to reduce the skin cells building up on the lower levels of the skin, which eventually causes blemishes, and helps with many skin issues, such as acne, coarse texture and discolouration.
The glycolic acids come in varying strengths, mine was a low strength, but you can use stronger strength acids as you progress through the treatments.
After the glycolic peel was removed, Peggy applied a moisturising masque to help soothe my skin and take down any redness.
The last step of the treatment using the Dermalux LED Light Therapy machine is one of the steps that Peggy deems to be the most important. This machine (pictured below) looks super high tech and maybe a bit intimidating, but the treatment is utterly uninvasive. Peggy used a combination of red and blue UV lights on my skin - the red has an anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory effect on the skin while the blue light has antibacterial properties, which helps in the treatment of acne without irritating the skin.
After I spent a few minutes under the Dermalux, Peggy applied a high SPF all over my face, as glycolic peels make the skin more sensitive to the sun – making wearing sun protection even more of a must.
I sat down with Peggy following the treatments to have a chat about her diagnosis and suggested treatments and at-home skincare. She hit the nail on the head when she said my skin was confused from using too many products and switching frequently between regimes, and diagnosed mild adult-acne.
In order to get my skin in order, she recommended a series of treatments, including further glycolic peels, IPL Photo Rejuvenation, Microdermabrasian and possibly micro-needling towards the end to tackle the acne scarring. In addition to these treatments, I have ditched my usual array of products and now simplified my skincare routine to include just four products.
Two of the products Peggy recommended were the Zo Medical Oilacleanse face wash, which I use morning and evening, and the Jan Marini Bioclear Cream, which I just use in the evenings. During the daytime, I use a light, oil free moisturiser and a high factor SPF - the Jan Marini Daily Face Protectant SPF 30 is good as it offers broad spectrum protection and is lightweight on the skin.
Peggy warned me that the combination of the face wash and the Bioclear Cream, which contains a combination of Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid and Azelaic Acid, would dry out my skin, but would help to reduce the breakouts. The first few days of my new skincare routine were the most difficult, as my face felt quite tight and dry, as I wasn't feeding it with the usual layers of toner, serum, moisturiser and facial oils. Patchy dryness occurred, especially around my lower cheeks and mouth, making it difficult to wear makeup and leaving me feeling self conscious. This was particularly severe about a week into the new routine, but the dryness is finally dissipating now I'm well into the second week. I have noticed a huge improvement to my overall skin texture, and only a few troublesome blemishes have reared their ugly heads in the past week.
I'm looking forward to my second appointment with Peggy to address how the new routine is progressing and to see if I need to make any changes. So far so good, and I finally feel like I'm taking positive steps to bring my skin back in check. Will keep you updated with my progress, with photos every step of the way!
By Sarah McIntyre
Monkstown Laser Skin Clinic
23-24 The Crescent, Monkstown
Co Dublin, Ireland
01 284 4431
info@monkstownlaserskinclinic.ie
Photos of my skin from my first visit to Monsktown Laser Skin Clinic are below.
