Facial nightmare!!

I have somewhat sensitive skin.  I use facial wash meant for sensitive skin.  I also use moisturizer also that is meant for sensitive skin.  

This one time I decided to do a professional facial.  I had found a groupon or some other deal online and thought I’d give it a try.  Everyone always raves about how doing these can take years off your look.  How your skin will end up smooth and soft.

I called to make my appointment and spoke with the esthetician about my skin sensitivity.  She said that they have one form of facial peel that is very gentle.  I should have known better, because when you are peeling off a layer of your face, how gentle can that actually be??

Well …. As the saying goes … The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry!  And Oh My Goodness, did this go awry!!

Not only did my face become BRIGHT red, but it started to peel as if I had 3^rd degree burns.  I also ended up with a high fever from the experience.  It turned out that I was in bed, physically sick for days!  Thankfully I had planned the treatment for the first day of a break from work.

When all was said and done though, my face did look a lot smoother and younger.  But to go through all that, never again!!  I can’t fathom why I thought it was a good idea to ask someone, actually PAY them to rip off a layer of my skin!!

I have done at-home facial masks though.  The green clay that you put all over and let dry.  You look like a Martian, and can’t really eat, drink or even speak once it dries.  I’ve exfoliated.  I’ve even done those pseudo peel away masks, where the only thing peeling away is the filmy mask and maybe some oil from your face.  These are ok.  Actually removing a layer of skin … not so ok.

Fast forward to this past weekend.  I had a date with a guy that I had met a couple months ago.  A really good looking guy, who is also really nice.  Back then it just wasn’t good timing.  But now the timing was great.  Lucky me that he reached out to me again.  I was very excited.

So, the day of the date I looked in the mirror and thought that my skin looked a little “tired”.  I decided to try that new “pepto bismal” facial mask that’s all the rage in the beauty world.  I read up on it, and the only “negative” that I was reading was either that the person didn’t think it really did anything or that maybe their face was a little pink afterward, which was easily solved with a makeup remover cloth. 

So, off I went to the drug store to buy some pink stuff.

Once back home I painted it on, like I learned to do on YouTube and waited the requisite 20 minutes.  It smelled like that pink stuff smells, but that wasn’t too bad.  And as it was drying, my face did get stiff.  But nothing too bad. 

Twenty minutes later, I went back to the bathroom and washed it off.

My face wasn’t so much “pink” as it was very RED!  And extremely hot to the touch!  Here was my skin, my extra sensitive skin, being extra extra sensitive!!  OMG!!!  What was I going to do?? I had to be presentable … nay, not presentable, I needed to be HOT looking in 4 hours!!  And not “hot” in the way my face was bright red and burning hot!!

So I spent the next few hours alternating between cold compresses on my face, hydrocortisone cream and staring into the bathroom mirror to see how my face was doing.

THANKFULLY, the redness was completely gone within a few hours.  And, thanks to the Pepto facial, my skin was beautifully clear and smooth!  I looked refreshed!  And my date would never know that I was about to cancel on him just a couple hours before.  No way I would let this hottie see me in that state!

Next time I think to try something for my skin, someone please stop me!!!  Or at least remind me to do it when I don’t have a hot date planned within a few hours!!!