Do you have sensitive skin?

Do you have dark spots and/or have scar(s) on your face?

Have you already tried over the counter micro-abrasion products (i.e. Susan Lucci’s Youthful Essence or L’Oreal or Neutrogena) that were less than what you expected?

Are you reluctant to go see dermatologist to get professional micro-abrasion procedure done that would cost you hundreds of dollars?

Like most you of ladies (and gents) I have similar problems and concerns.  Not only these professional procedures, whether it’s micro-abrasion or chemical peels, are expensive but it’s really not that practical.

I have three dark spots (scars actually) on my face and it drove me crazy for five years.  I have best tried to cover these spots with concealers (from green to peach to lighter shade beige colors) and extra powder makeup; but unfortunately, when people look at my face they automatically think it’s age spots.

I think I can live with these so-called “age spots” on my face, but people careless add additional 5 to 10 years to my age.

I don’t know about you ladies and gents out there, but ever since I reached my thirties everything seems to be falling apart.  It just happened one day … I woke up and looked at my face and asked myself “what the heck did you do to yourself? “

I used to be vibrant, young, and didn’t have wrinkles on my face, but now I have uneven skin pigmentation, freckles to choke a leprechaun, wrinkles around my eyes and forehead, and so on.  I wish I can trade-in my body for a younger and tighter body!  A girl can dream right?

My turning point to see a dermatologist happened when a male sales associate, in the mall, pointed out my “age spots” (even though I thought I have successfully covered it up with my makeup) and said “You must be in your forties!  Why don’t you try one of our products?”  I was in utter shock when he told me that.

The disturbing thing is that not only I am not in my forties, but the spots on my face are not “age spots,” but scars from squeezing my zits too hard until layers of skin came off.  Yes I know … I have a sickness here!

Unfortunately I have my mother’s very sensitive skin – I scar very easily and I hold onto my scars for years.  I am still carrying my scars on my legs, from my teens, when I fell and scraped it – the scraped areas didn’t even bleed, but it’s dark and big – I think you know where I am getting here.

Anyhow … back to my story here.  So I finally had the courage to go see a dermatologist to see my options to get rid of these “spots” and get some advice for my skin.

The technician educated me on my options – micro-abrasion, chemical peels and bleaching creams.  The micro-abrasion and chemical peels were only practical when you buy a package bundle from them because I would save about $100 or so — (six treatments for $600).

But … and there is a but here.

You have to have “touch up” or “maintenance” session every four to six weeks to sustain the “glow” on your face.

I don’t know about you ladies, but I am not ready to have such committed “treatments” every month to maintain my thirties look.

I know I am not in my twenties and I know I will never look like I am in my twenties; and frankly I don’t want to.

There is a famous Chinese proverb “Men grow old, pearls grow yellow, there is no cure for it (HeartQuotes),” and my favorite by an unknown author “do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many (QuoteGarden).”

Don’t get me wrong here … I want to look my best for my age, but I don’t want to look or try so hard to fool people to think that I am in my twenties.

So with that said I had eliminated the micro-abrasion and chemical peel options for now, thus I went forward to using the Lustra-Ultra (Hydroquinone USP 4%) cream.

Like I have mentioned before I have been using the cream for three weeks now – one application in the morning and the second application before I go to bed; and what a difference!!!

At first my “spots” looked darker and I was really hesitant to continue with the treatment, but the technician told me that I have to use it for couple of months to see the difference.

Thank goodness I continued using it because it really lightened my spots!!!

I no longer have to cover the spots with extra cream concealers or extra powder.  One powder application and bada-boom it’s all covered up!

However, it is important to mention it to you guys, but the applied areas of the skin tend to peel – well, that’s what happened to my skin.  I didn’t really notice the peeling until I put on my powder foundation – boy, it was ugly!  So every morning I scrub my face and my face looks awesome.

I think it’s amazing and the technician was really surprised that my “dark spots” lightened up that quickly – I guess my sensitive skin did have some blessing in the end.

So ladies and gentleman … try the bleaching creams before running to your local dermatologist and spend hundreds of dollars on micro-abrasion treatments or chemical peels.

With that said … I might go take advantage of micro-abrasions in the future.  Who knows … if I win the jack pot soon I might get it done sooner than expected.

Here are some pros and cons – reviews from me and others online.

Pros:
1)    Lightens up the spots – can see the result as soon as couple of weeks
2)    An individual mentioned that it lightened up her dark patches from Melasma
3)    The bottle looks really small, but if you have small areas to take care then it’ll last you forever!   I have three dime size dark spots on my face and all I need is a small dab on very top of the q-tip.
4)    Cream is thick enough that it doesn’t run off
5)    The cream has been working very well with my existing anti-aging face lotion – ProVectin

Cons:
1)    Expensive – our local Walgreens charged me $145 (and some change); however, the company does have mail in rebate of $50
2)    Have to go see a dermatologist/physician to get the prescription
3)    There is no real generic form of this specific bleach cream – there are products that have 4% hydroquinone and sunscreen, but do not have vitamins E and c and some other stuff – So it’s not identical – that’s what my pharmacist told me.
4)    Some say it has a bad smell to it (mine doesn’t smell or I can’t smell it because I use so little on my face).
5)    Hydroquinone is under fire by the FDA
6)    There is no money back guarantee if the cream doesn’t work – on the other hand what other medicine does; right?  If my antibiotics do not work I can’t take it back to the pharmacist and ask for money back and etc.  So I think this negative pointer is flawed.
7)    Individuals with sensitive skin types should test the product before using because it can peel skin off; but I think that’s the whole purpose of it – Not sure.

With all that said … I love it because it has drastically lightened up my scars!!  I would definitely recommend to my friends and family.

Reference:

HeartQuotes: Quotes of the Heart.  http://www.heartquotes.net/age.html

QuoteGarden.  http://www.quotegarden.com/age.html

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