WEDDING WEDNESDAY. CARPE CLINIC

18.3.15

The countdown to our wedding has officially started. Only ten weeks and I'm saying I Do to the man of my dreams and my best friend. And so I'm launching a new series of ten blogposts today, my personal Wedding Wednesdays. We're kicking off with one of my bride to be beauty treatments I absolutely wanted to share with you.

As you might have noticed on the blog - or in real life - I've been suffering from quite oily skin lately. Now, I've always been a dry skin type girl and when my skin suddenly turned greasy I couldn't ignore how the daily breakouts started to effect my self-esteem. Taking control of problem skin turned out to be far more difficult than I would I have ever imagined it to be. I replaced all cleansers and moisturizers in my skincare routine and made some big changes in my diet but although I managed to visibly improve my complexion the acne flare-ups always kept popping up every few days, having the worst possible timing ever. Being in my early thirties I refused to turn to aggressive drying medication and treatments that would make my skin crack.

Luckily I got introduced to Carpe Clinic last year. The one place I still wanted to go ask for skincare advice when almost all hope was gone. They immediately assured me I could stop worrying about all blemishes, blackhead and enlarged pores. All I needed was a few chemical peels and one or two fraxel laser sessions and the 23rd of May I'd be walking down the aisle like an improved version of myself.

That was six months and a lot of patience ago. Up till last week I've had a total of five very effective chemical peels making my skin look surprisingly clearer and healthier every month. My pores became less clogged and even the scars of the most severe acne became less visible. Finally last week I reached the point where my skin got considered healthy enough for the next step; the fraxel laser, a cosmetic laser treatment delivering brighter skin and erasing scars with little pinpricks of laser energy. It is mostly known for its firming benefits as it reduces fine lines and wrinkles by renewing collagen growth.

Although I still have to wait for the first results to appear - the resurfacing takes approximately ten days to heal and the in-growing of the collagen takes more than two months - I'm already over the top happy with the first improvements. My skin never looked clearer and smoother. I even went for groceries without wearing any make-up. If you know how for the last eight months I've been hiding under a thick layer of foundation and concealer I already consider my treatments at Carpe Clinic to be life changing. And yet everyone at Carpe Clinic has already emphasized how the real benefits of the fraxel laser will only be visible within a few weeks when the deeper layers of skin will start to heal. I can't wait to see how much more my skin will improve!

You can easily notice how I had to share this one with you. If you have problematic skin I would strongly recommend you to give these treatments a try. A chemical peel is painless, only a bit inconvenient when the snake skin peeling starts a few days after the treatment. I have to admit I was a bit scared for the fraxel laser but in my opinion this wasn't painful at all. It sure felt warm and mildly painful at the most sensitive spots (around the eyes and mouth) but you can ask for an anesthetic cream to be applied fifteen minutes before the treatment. I had my fraxel without the numbing cream and I'm sure I won't ask for one when I go back next month. In the next three days my skin looked like I had a sunburn but that was easily covered up with make-up.

If all goes well I'm having my second fraxel treatment mid April and I sure will keep you posted on the results!

* On the above picture you can see how I ended my fraxel treatment with fifteen minutes of light therapy to reduce the last inflammations and papules.