Ok, so I messed up. I got a bit over zealous with exfoliation when I bought a 10%AHA lotion. I'll spare you the details of what exactly I did, but in the end my skin was, and still is, a mess. I believe I had thinned it out way too much, and I have developed random blemishes on my face, one bigger one in particular about an inch or so from my mouth on my left cheek. It is quite shallow but a bit wide and I am extremely self conscious about it. What I am hoping is that one of the CP products will help it. It popped up 2 months ago, mid day, literally out of nowhere (no visible trauma, no zit, nada, I was quite traumatized) so it's pretty new. Only problem is my skin is very sensitized now, which is why i assume my skin is thinner. I have been being very gentle with it this past month, but I am absolutely terrified of the "uglies" I hear about concerning the copper peptides. Now, seeing as my skin is clearly very sensitive now, how would I go about fixing this mess while avoiding said uglies? Should I get the more mild version of the CP serum and spot treat? Should I dilute it? Should I wait until my skin builds back up a bit before I even try anything? I am not interested in a retinol as my skin can't handle that, either. I ordered some emu oil and will be using that to try to improve my skin as I read it is helpful to thicken skin, but I also want to be proactive in getting rid of the blemishes I have developed as a result of all of this. I am also considering a dermastamp just to spot treat once a month. After all of this I am way too scared to do much to my entire face, and spot treating doesn't seem as scary. Please help!! Any suggestions as to how I should go about this would be very much appreciated. Also, not sure if it matters but my skin is very very fair. Thank you for your time!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skin Biology,

Dear KitteeChaos:

Welcome to our forum - Thanks for posting your question!

Please be sure to review the tips outlined on our page on How to Reduce the Appearance of Blemishes - In the meantime, we'd be happy to help address your questions, concerns, and start to steer you towards improved skin health.

1. Since you are suffering from possible over-exfoliation, the key will be to rejuvenate the skin (rebuild). Make sure you rest from any harsh products or procedures, anything that will "break down" what you need to keep building upon. Take a break from all methods of exfoliation or abrasion.


2. Instead, concentrate on a mild copper peptide. Since your skin may react with sensitivity to strong products, we are thinking that a serum (oil-free) copper peptide solution may be best. Copper peptide serums are easy to moderate in strength, since they can be easily diluted with water. ---See suggestions below


3. Regarding Retinol: Keep in mind that retinol is often confused for Retin-A / Although they both are derivatives of vitamin A, they have very different actions.

Retinoic acid products typically are prescription only and are used only at night. Also they can also sometimes have a drying/irritating effect on the skin. Whereas cosmetics with retinol work to soothe dryness and add moisture (or lipids) back to the skin.

You'll notice many of our cream products contain retinol because it serves as an effective lipid replenishing agent.


4. So what could you use to help start to fade the look of the blemishes? Here's two options:

A - If you have oily-to-combination skin: Apply Regular CP Serum once a day (or once every other day) - This is effective enough to start to let you see what copper peptides can do for your skin, while still being mild enough so that even those with sensitive skin can use it. Serums are very easy to dilute. If you need to make it even milder, simply take 1-2 drops of CP Serum in the palm of your hand then add 2-3 drops of water and lightly to the area.

B - If you have normal-to-dry skin type: Apply TriReduction Cream once a day (or once every other day) - This is a stronger copper peptide, but it may be particularly helpful if you are looking to spot treat specific areas. Creams can be "diluted" by basing the skin first with a biological oil (such as emu oil) then apply your TriReduction. See: Tips on Moderating the Strength of Copper Peptide Creams at www.reverseskinaging.com/tips.html#decrease


p.s. You may want to proceed very cautiously with skin needling. Since your skin needs to gain some of its strength back, you may want to hold off on anything that would abrade, exfoliate, or break it down...at least for a while.


Feel free to call us directly at 1-800-405-1912 or contact us for your FREE Personalized Consultation for specific instructions or further assistance.

Best Wishes,
-Skin Biology

Thank you for your advice! So the CP serum might be able to help some with my shallow blemishes without an exfoliater? I read the page you linked and see you recommend using one with the serum, and at this point I am ready to never exfoliate again! I think I will give the regular CP serum a try, seeing as I am a greaseball for the most part. I will take your advice and dilute it a bit to start out with. I am very cautious these days regarding my face :-) I will hold off on the needling for now. I have a roller but have been too scared to use it, anyway :P Thanks again!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SkinBioTeam,

Ok ok..one more thing I want to inquire about. I suffered from some degree of breakouts since I was 12 (I'm 26 now...still dealing with it, worsened after I had two kids) and I am wondering, this spontaneous blemish I have from exfoliating..is it possible that I uncovered an ooooold blemish that I didn't realize I had? I want to mention in this whole over exfoliating ordeal, I never had red raw skin or apparent irritation, actually my skin looked great, and like I said the blemish just appeared out of the blue. Over the years I haven't had a lot of blemishes on my cheeks, but I'm sure I've had a zit on almost every part of my face at some point. I do recall once when I was around 17 or 18 I had a particularly bad zit in the area where the blemish is. Back then I was not left with an actual blemish, just a red mark that went away. Is this possible? My dermatologist was not able to give me an answer and it would ease my anxiety some to have an explanation as to why this happened. Sorry for all the questions! I did order the CP serum, and also your liquid facial wash for sensitive skin. I am excited to try both things. Thanks for your time!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SkinBiologyWebmaster,

Dear KitteeChaos:

Excellent question!

Our skin is quite interesting in how it responds to damage. But there is such a thing called buried skin damage (see: www.reverseskinaging.com/buried-skin-damage.html).

Since skin is in layers, damage can also exist in layers. It is possible that past damage can be half-way "covered over" as it were. So as the area is rejuvenated, or exfoliated, past damage may appear to morph into a larger/wider spot than previously thought. The damage was always there; it was just half covered up.

So although we cannot be sure in your case, we've found through the years that "pushing up" previously covered damage is not necessarily be a bad thing. It may be the only way to truly rejuvenate the skin in a healthy fashion.

Take things slow. See how you do with the CP Serum. And please keep in touch and contact us along the way. For more encouragement, see our Before & After Testimonials Page.

Best Wishes,
-Skin Biology

Nice! I will just hope that is the case, since I never really exfoliated much before, beyond using a wash cloth every now and then. It makes sense that I could have actually uncovered something that I didn't even know was there. That makes me feel better than thinking that my skin is so bad and/or compromised that I just get spontaneous blemishes (scary thought!). I kind of wish I had left it buried if that's the case, but oh well, what can you do. My dermatologist did agree that the one wider scar was shallow and she thought it might fill in on it's own in the coming year, but I thought I would still do something to help it along (not to mention my skin could use some help in other areas, anyway). I will start off slow with the CP serum, and after a while will check in to say how it's going. THANK YOU again for answering my questions!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SkinBioTeam,

Going slow always is best with skin.

The new skin is pushed up from below, but some time is needed for the removal of old blemish tissue.

Think of babies' skin. They may have a brief mark after an injury but the blemish seems to just dissolve away.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SkinBioTeam,