scarring from gycolic acid

[Terri58]

I have done terrible damage to my skin out of sheer ignorance.  My skin was beautiful--but I had clogged pores in several areas.  I started using MD Forte (15% glycolic acid) facial wash to help unclog the pores, but I also kept using a scrub I started using several months ago.  I used the MD forte about two weeks, but stopped because it seemed to irritate my skin.  I started noticing a few spots where it seemed that several layers of skin are missing.  I grabbed a mirror and some better lighting--and discovered that these spots are all over my face.  Some are round, some are slashes, and others are randomly shaped--all areas where several layers of skin are noticably gone.  Some of them are old acne scars that had healed and been assimilated into the surrounding skin--others are simply places where I seem to have scrubbed off the skin.  Needless to say, I am horrified!  A few of the areas are slightly reddened, but not all of them are discolored--simply indentions in my skin surface--like craters on the moon!
     My question is, will these lesions in my skin heal, or will I always have this "swiss cheese" face from now on?  If it will heal, how long will it take, and is there anything I can do to speed up or aid the process?  Have you ever heard of something like this happening to a person?  I am really upset over this, and feel I've ruined my complexion.  I am a forty year old woman, but have no wrinkles or other blemishes until this happened.  I also have very fair, sensitive skin--and I should have known better.  Of course,hindsight is twenty-twenty.  I had used an 8% glycolic acid in the past with no problem, and never dreamed that a "wash" could so damage my skin.  Of course, I'm sure the scrubbing did it.  I am sick about this, really.  I have been using Eucerin face lotion and vitamin E on my face in hopes of helping my skin cells regenerate.  Will I ever look the same as I did before with my nice, even skin?  
     Thank you for your time and attention.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Tess,

I think you really need to relax.  You have worked yourself into a state over a situation which is certainly reversible.  There is simply no way you could permanently damage your skin with 15% glycolic acid.

My advice to you is this: stop everything.  Wash with Cetaphil lotion (OTC) twice a day.  Do not rub.  Apply Cetaphil moisturizer after each wask.  Do nothing else for 4 weeks.  Discoloration can take vene longer to even out, though it surely will.  If your skin still worries you then, consult a dermatologist, who can reassure you and advise you further.

Remember that even peeling the skin into the mid-dermis does not permanently scar the skin.

You will be OK.  Please be patient.

Good luck.

Dr. R

[tess]

I forgot to add that my face burns, my pores are larger, and my nose is peeling--even though it's been more than two weeks since I used the product.  Some of the indentions have a brownish color--some are simply missing skin.  This condition doesn't seem to be getting any better at all!

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I repeat--you have to be patient and wait.  You will get better, but you have to give it enough tim.  Perhpas you should see a doctor sooner rather than later.

Dr. R

[tess]

Dear Dr. R.,
    Thanks for the reassurance.  Sorry to sound so crazed--but my skin really does look terrible!  Anyway, I'll take your advice and try to be patient.  Maybe I'll start wearing a glittering disco ball around my neck to distract people from my face!  Ha! Anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to address my problem.  

Thanks again,
Tess

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Atta girl, Tess!  Good for you!

Dr. R

[tess]

Dear Dr. R.:

     Merry Christmas!  Sorry to be such a pest, but just to clarify--did you mean that I should only wear the Cetaphil moisturizing lotion and no makeup on my face for four weeks--or does it matter about makeup?  I am using Lancome's Maqui-Libre make-up base because it has an SPF 15--I really need some type of sunscreen since the dark spots are sort of turning into dark patches.  (Lovely, I must say!)  I always wanted darker skin--but I was thinking of a more uniform look than this one!  I'm still trying to keep my sense of humor, however!

     If I shouldn't use the makeup, do you have any suggestions about sunscreen--and should I use the moisturizer with it--??  Thanks again for your time.

Best wishes,
Tess

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Makeup is perfectly OK, as is any sunscreen you choose.  Same with moisturizer.  Anything to make you less self-conscious is fine, and poses no risk at all.

Best.

Dr. R

[tess]

You're a nice man to answer our little skin queries on Christmas.
Thanks.

Best wishes,
Tess

[tess]

Okay--one last reassurance.  It seems like one "scooped out" part of my skin on my cheekbone looks worse instead of better.  I am doing nothing but lotion like you advised--tell me again that these indentions will even out.  I am having a moment of freaking out again after trying to spackle up this groove in my check with makeup...sorry to be so nuts about it, but my mom said,"there's a big place on your cheek that looks like it's missing a couple of layers of skin--what did you do?"  I thought it wasn't too noticable by other people, but apparently I was wrong! I am trying to be patient, but I'm still scared I will spend the rest of my days spackling my skin! It seems like too big a place to fill in--I hope my skin is up to the job!

[david]

My wife is about frantic over using glycolic acid and various exfolients and the way they've affected her face.  She wasn't really told what the glycolic acid would do, and I think she squeezed bumps on her face while her skin was vulnerable (after the top layers were peeled by the acid) to cause some of these indentions she's talking about.  She says her skin feels like butter--and there really are indentions like acne scars (round and oblong and other shapes)in various areas on her face and forehead.  She keeps talking about her pores being bigger, but I think she just exposed them with the glycolic acid.  I looked at a few books on skin in the library, which talk about the "horny" layer of skin, which is what she probably removed with the glycolic acid.  There are a bunch of scratch-type marks on her skin, which are probably from using that exfolient scrub after using the glycolic acid and peeling away those top layers.  She's probably traumatized the heck out of her skin.  Anyway, I keep telling her it will heal eventually, but in the meantime, she's miserable.  She went to the dermatologist who's the same person who sold her the acid--she won't even acknowledge there are indentions in my wife's skin--probably afraid she'll get sued.  She says they are pigment changes, but you can see it's more than that. (There are pigment changes, too, however...) Even I can see there's skin missing in various spots, and I never notice anything!  My wife has always been a beautiful woman and isn't used to dealing with anything like this.  I don't think it looks that bad, but it's definitely not the skin she had before--and she didn't even have any wrinkles to start with!  I don't understand why women do these things to themselves, anyway.  But, she really is upset to the point of hysteria over this thing and it's driving me nuts!  Tell me--will her skin ever heal so I'll get some peace here?  Seems like it ought to have healed already.  It's been five weeks or so since she used any of the exfoliating products. How long does it take the "horny" layer to grow back, and will it ever even out in texture so my wife will get out of the mirror and stop crying? She says she can't even cover it up with makeup because it settles in the "holes" and pores.  She is kind of funny--she said the other day that the cat crawled into one of her pores and took a nap!  Anyway, is there anything else to be said that will reassure her?  How long will this healing process take anyway?  Has she done permanent damage to her skin like she thinks she has?  Helpppppp!
Thanks,
Dave