Stretch Marks!!

[Guest]

Hey J,
How often do you apply your TCA peel? Do you leave it on overnight like you did the GA peel? And do you dilute it at all?

Thanks
Shoo

[Guest]

Hey J,
How often do you apply your TCA peel? Do you leave it on overnight like you did the GA peel? And do you dilute it at all?

Thanks
Shoo

I am trying it on my bum every two weeks, but to be honest it should be every 3 or 4 weeks. I wash it off after 8 minutes (which is recommended) and no I do not dilute it. To be honest TCA is quite hard to use mentally. I think a lot of people stop using it because watching the peeling process is quite disturbing in a way and your skin looks akin to elephant hide at some points. However, the peel is certainly more effective on stretch marks that GA, but I guess we already knew that. The only reason I stuck with GA so long is I was scared of the hyperpigmentation I might get with TCA, but then I remembered that I got it with GA when I was using a strong solution so thought what the heck. Hyperpigmentation seems to clear up on me over a couple of months anyway, and to be honest given the choice I would rather live with that than stretch marks if it did not clear up.

J

[Guest]

Thanks J, for your help. I too am nervous to try TCA for the very same reasons you stated. However, I don't see any peeling when using GA. I realize I only use 30% but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. I don't know if I should continue with my current routine or switch to a TCA peel...

What do you do with your skin between peels?

Shoo

[Guest]

How long did it take for you to completely remove your stretchmarks through this method.

On & off it was just under 13 months!

Bear in mind that was multiple area's & me playing it by ear. As well as doing Glycolic for 4/6 weeks before each TCA & having around 3 weeks of skin repair after the TCA.

Now I have that little bit more experience, I could probably do it in 3/4's of that. Much quicker if it was a single area!

The key is to prepare & condition the skin for a good while before you start on TCA. Which also has the added effect of thinning down the skin, thus allowing the TCA to penetrate deeper.

More importantly is how you look after your skin post peel!

It is a long & enduring process, of course it is, nobody should be able to say it's quick & simple. There is a lot of downtime involved & your skin will look worse before it looks better but the key is to stick at it.

There is a possibility that you could be left with a little bit of darker coloured skin. Which in my case it was slight spots of brown here & there. However once your all done, you can either use Retin-A cream/gel which will remove it in a few months, or you can use Microdermabrasion treatments etc, etc.

In my case, a little bit of skin discolouration as the after effects was far more acceptable than having my marks. It also helped that I knew the hyperpigmentation could be removed after it anyhow!

Once real word of advice. If anybody uses TCA. DO NOT pick or peel at it. No matter if you have an itch or anything like that. If you put it on your back, then lie on your stomach for a few weeks. Stomach, then always stay on your back etc, etc. You have it on your stomach, don't let your kids, dogs run up & jump into you & so on.

[Guest]

That's good news!
I started my first microdermabrasion treatment yesterday (and it will probably take a year to remove them totally according to them - and of course thousands of pounds) but I was just curious if I can use a very diluted TCA in combination with microdermabrasion in between treatments (every 2 weeks). Wouldn't it speed up results a bit? My skin is not red anymore from the treatment, it just lasted for a few hours, and i only have a couple very small scratches. I don't see why not, since they would remove the extra skin anyway with the machine?

[Guest]

Thanks J, for your help. I too am nervous to try TCA for the very same reasons you stated. However, I don't see any peeling when using GA. I realize I only use 30% but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. I don't know if I should continue with my current routine or switch to a TCA peel...

What do you do with your skin between peels?

Shoo

I use olive oil on my skin during and after peeling to keep it moist. Emu oil and copper peptides would be better, but I have only a little of that left and use it on my face. Its really up to yourself regarding tca, you could buy 15% and try it on a test area for a few months then decide whether to use if everwhere. Alternatively you could stick with GA. Only thing I would say regarding tca is buy from a reputable supplier if you decide to try it.

J

[Guest]

That's good news!
I started my first microdermabrasion treatment yesterday (and it will probably take a year to remove them totally according to them - and of course thousands of pounds) but I was just curious if I can use a very diluted TCA in combination with microdermabrasion in between treatments (every 2 weeks). Wouldn't it speed up results a bit? My skin is not red anymore from the treatment, it just lasted for a few hours, and i only have a couple very small scratches. I don't see why not, since they would remove the extra skin anyway with the machine?

If you have the money, then go to ebay (you can get them from UK, US or China/Hong Kong sellers). Have a look about because there are many of them from all over the world. You could get a machine for around £500/£600. Make sure it's the Crystal version because Diamond is crap. Because you'll have had a treatment or 2, then you know exactly how to run the wand over your skin on the marks. If you want more experience, then you can take a one day or weekend training course for a couple hundred pounds.

In the long run it has 2 added benefits:

1) Works out far cheaper than having it done at a salon.
2) You can do unlimited treatments on your skin with it.

As to the other part. Sorry to say this but every 2 weeks isn't enough! That may be okay for light sun damage, wrinkles, acne or anything like that. To remove the marks, or any form of deep scarring you have to be far more aggressive with your skin. The absolute minimum you need to be doing this is once a week! Although, I'd strongly recommend doing it twice a week for 3/4weeks to get the ball rolling. Then revert to once a week after that!

Realistically & honestly, 20 sessions is the absolute minimum before you'll start to see acceptable results. If the marks aren't as bad, then they'll respond well to fewer treatments. However if they are deep, then you'll be looking at anything from 30/50. Which is gonna cost you big time!!!!

So in the long run, it's much, much cheaper to buy your own machine & do it at home yourself!

Lastly, If you want to be using MD & a peel. I'd advocate applying 30% Glycolic, then using Emu Oil followed by Copper Peptides straight after. Leave it on all night & wash off in the morning, or vice versa. Rather than buying 10/15% TCA & watering it down so much that it's not gonna peel/flake your skin. I'd also advise not putting any Glycolic on your skin for 48 hours before your Microdermabrasion treatment is due to be carried out. As well as not putting any on it for 24 hours after your Microdermabrasion has been performed.

So for example - You get Microdermabrasion done on a Monday. Apply it on the Fri morn/night, then no more. Only moisturise your skin on the Sat & Sun. Get Microdermabrasion on the Mon. Only moisturise on the Mon night. Start Glycolic on the Tue again, etc, etc.

Good thing about combining Microdermabrasion & Glycolic is that you don't need to worry about Hyperpigmentation because the MD treatment will remove it all before it gets a chance to build up to noticeable levels.

[Guest]

I would skip the microdermabrasion routine all together. I went to a person who was really trying to experiment with treating stretchmarks. She used the machine on me with very deliberate hard motions so that I almost bled. Her intention was to get down as deep as she could without actually making me bleed. It didn't hurt all that much while she was actually doing it, but it left me red and sore for a couple of days. Still nothing after many many treatments. I mean absolutely nothing. Not even a slight difference. The machine just doesn't go down deep enough to create stimulation to the dermis. It left my skin surrounding the stretchmarks soft.

[Guest]

hey everyone

can anyone recomend a reputable seller of TCA?

I appologise if this question has been asked before but i cant find it and i want to be sure that the stuff im buying is up to scratch as ive heard many negative things about suppliers.

thanks

[Guest]

hey everyone

can anyone recomend a reputable seller of TCA?

I appologise if this question has been asked before but i cant find it and i want to be sure that the stuff im buying is up to scratch as ive heard many negative things about suppliers.

thanks

I ordered from platinumskincare, which sells good quality products, however there may be other suppliers people can recommend as this one is based in the US. Please stick to the lower strengths though because this stuff really is dangerous, I cannot stress that enough. I would never dream of using stronger than 20% and have seen 100% advertised which would probably damage the skin permanently.

J

[Guest]

Def don't pick it skin following TCA peel... it's soooo tempting (like super glue on skin) but I've been left with horrible hyper-pigmentation as a result. I think it will go eventually but well.....! None of the TCAs have ever done me any good though (I'd hasten to add) - well except maybe on one knee.

RK

[PAULINE124]

Hi guys!

I want to share my techniques with you and hopefully it will help someone out there. I'm not sure if you remember my previous posts as to why I wasn't peeling after the TCA. Well it took me almost 3 weeks to start peeling. I was so scared that I had ruin my skin cause it was all wrinkly and feels so awful. But as I peel I could see that the stretch marks fading. Just with only 1 peels I so a 60% improvement. The marks that was not indent are still visable but the white lines are gone. I'm confident that with about 2 to 3 more peels I will be marks FREE. I can finally undress infront of my bf. I'm right now letting my skin heel before the second peel. (3weeks). But currently I've done another peel in a different area (behind my knees).

For those who thinks TCA is tooo risky you are missing out. Over 1 year ago I have tried TCA from a different vendor and as I put it on it was like acids. Burned my skin badly. (50% TCA). Just recently I did my research before I applied anything. I but TCA from NOVA skin care this time (50%) and duiloted down to 25%. It did nothing. I went up to 35% PERFECT. You can also do a lower % but try layering it to get the marks to really peel.

My abdominal area now looks really good and it's gets better everyday because I think the skin is still healing. NO discoloration at all.

Hope this information will help someone. I know how you feel.

[Guest]

Def don't pick it skin following TCA peel... it's soooo tempting (like super glue on skin) but I've been left with horrible hyper-pigmentation as a result. I think it will go eventually but well.....! None of the TCAs have ever done me any good though (I'd hasten to add) - well except maybe on one knee.

RK

as TCA peels make your skin 'like super glue' what is everyone doing about clothing?

surely clothing will rub and pull against the peeling skin, so is there any specific method anyone is using to combat this?

thanks very much any help is greatly apreciated as always

[Guest]

Thanks for your responses about microdermabrasion. I've booked 6 treatments only so far, which are bloody expensive at £1800 (even though I only paid half this time because I had some spare laser hair removal treatments which I transferred). If I don't see improvements in my thin stretch marks by the end of the 6th treatment I won't continue. The first time I tried it, it seemed...too soft on my skin. So I have now ordered 100% TCA (from nova clinic on ebay if you're interested) which I'm gonna dilute down to about 10%. It seems cheaper this way. And yes, I agree about the temptation to pick! lol I had tried it in the past for a few times and I was left with hyperpigmentation for months, because I couldn't resist picking! lol So be careful and let it fall by itself perhaps.

S

[Guest]

Thanks for your responses about microdermabrasion. I've booked 6 treatments only so far, which are bloody expensive at £1800 (even though I only paid half this time because I had some spare laser hair removal treatments which I transferred). If I don't see improvements in my thin stretch marks by the end of the 6th treatment I won't continue. The first time I tried it, it seemed...too soft on my skin. So I have now ordered 100% TCA (from nova clinic on ebay if you're interested) which I'm gonna dilute down to about 10%. It seems cheaper this way. And yes, I agree about the temptation to pick! lol I had tried it in the past for a few times and I was left with hyperpigmentation for months, because I couldn't resist picking! lol So be careful and let it fall by itself perhaps.

S

Then there is no point in doing it & save yourself money!

By the end of the 6th treatment & I'm being 100% honest. You'll be lucky to see any improvement at all unless your marks are very small/shallow. 10 is where you will notice then looking a bit better. 20 is around the point in which you'll start seeing some good results. 30 - 50 & your sorted. It all comes down to the type of marks you have. Small/Shallow will require 10 - 20. Medium is around 30 & deep ones will need about 50 (basically 1 peel a week for a year).

Microdermabrasion on it's own can work. The problem is you need a heck of a lot of treatments & if your getting it done at a salon, then they're very, very expensive. It's better to go to ebay (can get sellers from all around the world), or search the net for a supplier in your own country. Get 1/2 done at a salon & watch carefully how they treat the area(s), or pay £200/£300 for professional training that will take either a whole day or a whole weekend depending on who you choose.