Slept well, with my head elevated to combat edema. So far the swelling has been minimal, I notice it around some of the edges of the peel yesterday and a bit under my eyes this morning. Today, I can see my skin turning from the bright pinky red it was to a more bronze color.
Speaking of eyes, the Aquaphor I am using to keep the burn moist eventually seeps into them and can be a little annoying, but it’s just like the Bacitracin I use for the TCA so I’m used to it.
I can already tell how amazing it’s going to feel to be able to cleanse my face again. My eyes are slick with a layer of grease. Again a comparison to dread installation, and the reward of washing my hair when I take them out. My face feels more itch than burn today, though I think part of that has to do with not having manhandled it yet today.
Speaking of manhandling, per my friends suggestion, I cleaned my face with a vinegar and water mixture before bed. That stung like a motherfucker but got the job done, as the first layer of Aquaphore was about 12 hours old and feeling really nasty.
I am disappointed to report that I still totally have a moustache.
As some of my readers may know, I’ve suffered rather brutally from various forms of acne during my life. It had gotten so bad over the last few years that I’d end up with abscess boils that took 6-9 months to heal. That’s been painful, frustrating, scary, and left a lot of scarring on my face.
Recently, my acne troubles have subsided, in part due to finally treating a sinus infection that is suspected I had for years. Now, when I look in the mirror, or do post work on my photos, or watch video of my performances, I still see illness. I see the deep caverns on my cheeks that soak up the dark, like sockets in my face. They distort my natural shape and remind me of how much those fucking cysts hurt, how badly they effected my self esteem, and my social life.
When a long-time aesthetician friend of mine mentioned needing a stunt double to learn CO2 laser peeling, I jumped at the chance. The procedure out of pocket runs about $2000, not including aftercare products. She said I’d have a week or so of down time, but that the results would be drastically more effective than the TCA peeling I’ve been doing on my own, which was unlikely to address the texture issues I have anyway. I decided that was worth taking a few days off work.
Update while reading the pre-treatment docs: This is some legit shit man. My mug is gonna look like either a babies ass or what comes out of one, when I am all healed up from this.
We started with a numbing cream, and a bit of anti-anxiety medication. I waited for about an hour wrapped in suran wrap, facebooking, and making this video, as my face slowly lost its sensation and my eyes got a little heavy. After a time, I could feel my warm cheek but not my cold fingers touching it. Was like I was touching someone else’s face, which is always a bit of a strange feeling of disorientation.
The idea behind this treatment is to create pinpointed sights of injury surrounded by healthy tissue, to encourage cell regrowth and fast healing. Before the laser was used on me, it was tested on a tongue depressor, filling the room with a pleasent woodsy smell. Then came on the evacuator, which filled the room with a lot of deep sound, in exchange for the promise that I would smell less of my flesh burning while the peel was happening.
“How’s your face?”
‘The cream numbed my forhead straight through. It’s pretty creepy. It’s a numb fleshy skull condom.’ *poke*poke*
For the next 45 minutes, this is what was done to my face. The lighter squares were done all over my face, excluding my eyes and lips. A second pass was done on my cheeks where the worst of my scarring is. At the end, the first setting you see in the video was applied at my jaw and hairline to feather the line, and to do spot work where we needed more aggressive fug intervention.
I am currently still mostly numb, and feel like I have a very bad sunburn. I will not be washing my face for the next three days, to allow for the skin to bronze and begin to flake. Icing is also in my future, as well as lots of sunscreen and a constant sheen of lotion. In the picture to the left, you can see the texture of the little laser sites. They are dry and hard, almost like dry whiteheads or something. Weird stuff.
Here’s an ‘after’ video, though the lighting isn’t really conducive to seeing what my face looks like. Although, my numb upper lip is pretty amusing, at least to me.
I thought the smell was going to be the hardest part, but honestly, the whole thing was pretty easy, and I had a great team of people taking care of me. I am apparently the toughest bird they’ve done this to, and was notably unphased by the procedure. I’m shocked. :)
Follow my progress by checking out the mosaic CO2 tag.
I just inadvertently violated my own asshole in the shower. I have learned many notable things from this experience, including that a seemingly innocuous flaccid pinkie still has a few bones in it, and that I had better trim my nails before going to the office tomorrow.
The word rape is often associated with a violent assault by a stranger. Although that does happen, the majority of sexual assaults look a bit more like this. What do you see?
Adding to this fuckass day: iPhone jostled from my pocket while running soaking wet to catch a bus. Screen demolished with chunks flaking out, but now that I’ve calmed down and looked it over its clear thats all that needs replacing. I almost cried, though. #firstworldproblems
Holy dickbags. I dunno what I did to myself but I’ve got like, an inflatable travel pillow of RANCID AGONY wrapped around my neck. The whole fucking thing is locked down and pissed off. Humph.
ER visit: expensive, Time off work: Expensive, Medications: Not as expensive as I thought, Waking up ravenous after 15 hours of sleep and sniffing out a 2 day old double chocolate trophy cupcake sitting on my desk and eating the fucking shit out of that fucker: Priceless.
