I am new here- hello- 36 yrs old, acute pcos- no periods, no ovulation, 3 failed ivf cycles, 2 children thru adoption
I made the mistake years ago of shaving my face, and so have been stuck in an endless cycle of shaving. I have been getting bad breakouts in the neck/chin area, due to (in my opinion) ingrown hairs. So I decided to go for laser hair removal.
Today is saturday, last tuesday I had the laser hair removal. that night everything looked ok, but wednesday I saw raised bumps on my chin and neck, and dark hairs very visible, but just on the surface. the bumps have become full on zits now. and my face looks 100 times worse than before the laser hair removal.
help! is this normal? will it subside? I am scheduled this monday to have a chemical peel as well to address acne. I am so tired of hiding under a wall of makeup!
I know I also should really go back on birth control to control the hormones, and perhaps spironolactone, but for right now I need something in the immediate to help, until I can find a good dermatologist.
Vakim have you had a chemical peel?
I am using Neostrata renewal (at home) peel,i am thining about getting a stronger peel (higher%) done at the Dermatologist office in a few months.
help! is this normal? will it subside? I am scheduled this monday to have a chemical peel as well to address acne. I am so tired of hiding under a wall of makeup!
Hi Tia, Im so sorry to hear about your problems. I have problems with terrible acne and face hair to some extent. I did get some IPL treatment on my face, to help with the acne, its not the exact same as for face hair removal I dont think. When I got the IPL my face was very red and even went a little dark purple in spots before it cleared up. The results were much much much smoother skin. It could sometimes take around 7-10 days after treatment before the red-purple went away for me.
I have also had a chemical peel in the past and it did help the acne scars, although I must say, when I got more acne it really undid the work of the chemical peel!
A great thing that worked for my acne was microdermabrasion, if you can find good cost effective treatment. Often at the beginning of the treatment they would put on some glycolic acid peel, then you get the dermabrasion, then afterwards you buy this cream that you put on which helps with further exfoliation and lightening of acne scars. You usually buy this all in packages of 6-10, then after the first initial treatment you have maintenance of 1 treatment per month.
For acne I now use BP gel (5%) only on the affected areas. It has worked well for me but different people have different experiences with the BP gel.
All of the benefits of these wonderful treatments however are lessened when the acne comes back though! I am starting metformin tomorrow hopefully, so I am hoping this helps me on the hormonal level to deal with the acne and face hair as well of course, as my menstruation and hormones!!!! I just found out that I have insulin issues so this may not be an issue for you.
Hang in there and I wish you the very best for everything.
A great thing that worked for my acne was microdermabrasion, if you can find good cost effective treatment. Often at the beginning of the treatment they would put on some glycolic acid peel, then you get the dermabrasion, then afterwards you buy this cream that you put on which helps with further exfoliation and lightening of acne scars. You usually buy this all in packages of 6-10, then after the first initial treatment you have maintenance of 1 treatment per month.
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Sorry for all you're going through. Usually laser hair removal will get rid of bumps, not cause them, so it sounds as if you may have gotten some slight infection. I'm not sure where you're having the chemical peel and laser work done, but make sure it's a reputable place, preferably with some RN's or doctors associated with it. They may be able to use topical antibiotics before your treatments which might help with the acne and prevent skin eruptions. Also, there are different types of lasers, so make sure they know about your PCOS and acne, as some lasers may be less irritating.
Not sure if you've had the peel or not yet, but the peel can make acne worse. Again, a dermatologist would know best and might be able to use some sort of medication for after the peel to prevent break-outs. Healthy Skin Care has different sections on acne, hair and laser hair removal and treatments such as chemical peels. There's also information on PCOS at http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/pcos/pcos_whatis3.html
Help! Acne is out of control! 
