Stretch Marks!!

[Guest]

Do you think using glycolic for so long helped to prepare your skin for the tca? I am using lactic then will move onto glycolic then hopefully to tca when my skin is ready. or is all this preparation useless?

[Guest]

i was wondering if anyone knew if you can nurse and do the tca? or any of the other peels. as much as i hate my SM i wouldnt want to harm the baby in anyway! thanks!

Not a good idea to use if your breastfeeding or pregnant!

If none of that, then your fine. Only thing is to make sure you get no bangs or prolonged friction on the area (especially while your skin is peeling). The other one is sweat which will sting like heck & flare the skin up if it gets onto any area with peel. Keep the area cool, by doing no exercise for a few days after the peel. As little movement as possible & keep out the sun. If it's on your arms, wear something with long sleeves. Legs, wear 3/4 or trousers etc.

Treat the skin as fragile until your skin peels naturally. Then you can go back to normal after 7/10 days. Use your other creams for the next few weeks. Then it's time for the second peel. Just follow the exact same instructions.

[Guest]

Do you think using glycolic for so long helped to prepare your skin for the tca? I am using lactic then will move onto glycolic then hopefully to tca when my skin is ready. or is all this preparation useless?

You only need one acid beforehand. So once you've used Lactic for a minimum of 3 weeks before the peel. Although try & get as using them as early as possible (I'd recommend starting them 5 - 8 weeks before). Then do the TCA. You don't need to evole from Lactic to Glycolic to TCA. The only thing you must do with your chosen acid is have a strength. Higher strengths of Lactic & Salicylic are more expensive & harder to find. Whereas Glycolic is a lot cheaper & easier to source. If you have a lot of marks & areas to treat, then it's more cost effective in the long run.

Minimum strength you should be using is 20%. 30% is what I'd personally recommend. I've gave a few long winded posts since 410, so check back & you'll see the 2 main reasons as to why you should use an acid as a pre-treatment before moving on to TCA.

[Guest]

i was just thinking....what do you do about showering after a TCA peel?

[Guest]

Do you think using glycolic for so long helped to prepare your skin for the tca? I am using lactic then will move onto glycolic then hopefully to tca when my skin is ready. or is all this preparation useless?

It may have helped, I really don't know, perhaps do as the guest poster said and use glycolic for a few weeks before tca. With tca try a test area first though, just to gauge how your skin will react to it. Provided that goes ok you can then rotate your peels depending on how many areas you have to treat.

J

[Guest]

hi J thanks for all your help

how many times have you actually done the tca peel and have your extremely positive results stayed with you or have the marks started reappearing as someone suggested?

[Guest]

hi J thanks for all your help

how many times have you actually done the tca peel and have your extremely positive results stayed with you or have the marks started reappearing as someone suggested?

[american]

hello i am new to this place.I am in american and am a man.ANyways I have stretch marks on my arms ,sides,shoulders,thighs,hamstrings,calves all over really.I got them from rappidly gaining weight then rapidly losing weight.This has destroyed my self esteem.

I read this thread and im interested in trying tca peels.Does anyone know any websites to get the needed supplies and also are there any videos on how to do it?

[cr]

I just wanted to let everyone know about my progress lately. I did a 10% TCA peel two and a half weeks ago. My skin peeled very lightly, which is why I did a second peel, at about 15%, yesterday. It is advised to wait 3-4 weeks, with lower strength TCA peels, before applying another TCA peel. But, being that my skin seems to be very resistant to lower strength peels, I decided to have a go at another one once the skin fully peeled. As per the guest's advice of TCA peel aftercare, I am keeping my skin moist with copper-peptides and emu oil. Once I fully peel and allow for downtime, I will do a 20% peel, and then quite possibly up my strength to 25%. I will let you know my results. I am optimistic because I did do a 20% TCA peel about 9 months ago and I saw wonderful results, but I decided to switch to GA peels because I read so many posts warning about TCA peels. I wished that I had kept it up with the TCA peels, but it is never too late. As for the results appearing good and then later the marks reappearing (but, not as bad as before), I view this as two steps forward one step back. You are constantly moving forward and then a little bit back, but you gradually move forward and gain improvement. I would rather have it this way than no steps forward and no improvement at all. All the best! CR

[american]

cr: Where can i get tca peel cream and the aftercare products that you are using??

[cr]

I read this thread and im interested in trying tca peels.Does anyone know any websites to get the needed supplies and also are there any videos on how to do it?

Hi American,
I order my TCA from the US ebay website. But, I have ordered before from Platinum Skincare. You may want to order from Platinum at first because they seem to be credible sellers and have a good quality to their peels. If you want to get copper-peptides then you may want to order from Skinbiology or Diana Yvonne. If you want emu oil, I also buy this on ebay. I have seen videos of TCA peels on Youtube.com. There is a girl that showed the process of one on her face and stomach. I do not believe that she showed the process of actually applying the peel. I am sure that there are other TCA demonstrations on Youtube, though. Best, CR

[cr]

Hi American,
Just one more thing: if you have never applied any peels before then it would be best to start off with glycolic acid peels to prepare your skin for a deeper peel like TCA. TCA can cause scars if your skin is not prepared for it. On page 410 (you may have already read the posts) a guest suggested a great strategy of beginning with GA peels first. I did a TCA peel before doing GA peels, but I think that my skin was fine because it is very resistant to peels. I would hate to encourage anyone to do something that may make things worse. It may be better to begin with GA peels for a few weeks before applying a TCA peel. You can also buy GA peels from Platinum Skincare. I choose to buy off of ebay now because the cost of all of my supplies over the months can really add up, so I try and cut costs as much as possible. I make sure to buy from the highest rated Power Sellers and read the reviews from people who buy the same products. But, as I said before, Platinum Skincare's products have very good quality. All the best with your routine and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. CR

[american]

cr: what is a fair price for these products? i dont wanna get ripped off ya know.How did your first tca peel go for you? which area should i use to test it out??

[cr]

Hi American,
Well, it is hard to say what a fair price for TCA is. I pay about $20 for 1 oz. from a seller on ebay. I think that Platinum Skincare charges nearly $60 for this size. But, you get what you pay for, and Platinum's quality did seem better than the quality that I use. It is not that big of a difference, at least to my recollection, but a difference nonetheless. I do not feel like the results were any better, though, between the two different qualities. I always like to play it safe at first and just pay up and then go from there. Somebody else on the forum may know of another seller that offers good quality and moderately priced. I would not pay above Platinum Skincare's price point for the peels. I would start on a very small patch of skin that has thicker skin, where your clothes will not rub during the peeling phase, and is not visible if you do not want to reveal peeling skin. My first peel went just fine. The only thing that was difficult was watching my skin peel off- it can be a little unnerving. Nothing bad or painful, it is just visually unusual to view the process. If you watch the youtube video you will see what I mean. I am sure that you are aware of this, but I must say to be sure not to pull or pick at the peeling skin. Also, when I apply the peel, I use a fan brush. Directions usually say to use gauze (which is faster for large areas) or cotton swabs/Q-tips (these can be way too absorbent, especially, when using expensive peels). If you use gauze, be sure to protect your hands with latex gloves, or finger cots. I use the fan brush for this purpose, but be careful because I have had the peel spray towards my face when I am applying it too quickly with the fan brush. I hope this helps! Best, CR

[Guest]

Another thing people might want to bear in mind with tca peels is this. As said by others the aftercare is the most important part of the peel. By this I mean, for me anyway I have now found that, STOPPING the skin from peeling for as long as possible will give you the best results. So keep your skin extremely moist to try and stop if from peeling. I know this might sound daft but it is just something I have noticed. The longer you go without peeling (if you can keep it really moist for 7 days before you start peeling, it will give you better results than peeling after 4 days), the better the result is. I now aim for 7 days without peeling each time I do a peel, whereas at first I thought it was great if I peeled after 4 days.

J