Dermatologist/Facial Question

Went to the derm this morning...

Has anyone ever had a dermatologist tell you that facials are essentially BS?

My derm gave me a glycolic treatment today and after I asked when I could get a facial and he advised that I don't get one AT ALL until my skin is totally cleared up and even then that I should be 'leary' about facials generally.

I dont remember my derm telling me to get a facial or not . Im going to get a facial (glycolic peel) on Tues. I feel like scrubs make my face worse.

Yes, and I hate to say this, it may just be me... I had a facial done in NYC and broke out the entire week. Off topic - foot doctors will tell you pedis are really bad for you...

I've had derms tell me to stay away from facials.

---

Posted by blurgirlny

Yes, and I hate to say this, it may just be me... I had a facial done in NYC and broke out the entire week. Off topic - foot doctors will tell you pedis are really bad for you...

I've had derms tell me to stay away from facials.

---

Yeah I heard pedis are bad for you too. My sis that works in a pharmacy told me she would get customers with nasty laisons come in bec of what a pedi did to them

spa facials are usually just kind of like massages for your face LOL there are exceptions but i think regular facials USUALLY show little results

more intense treatments like microdermabrasion are probably more effective

---

Posted by ant n tilde

spa facials are usually just kind of like massages for your face LOL there are exceptions but i think regular facials USUALLY show little results

more intense treatments like microdermabrasion are probably more effective

---

Yeah what you said is exactly what he was saying (although he did not comment on whether microderm in a spa was effective). He basically said it was like a pampering thing and that it doesn't fix anything. And also that, depending on what lotions they use, it could just end up clogging your pores anyway.

---

Posted by MPAS

---

Posted by blurgirlny

Yes, and I hate to say this, it may just be me... I had a facial done in NYC and broke out the entire week. Off topic - foot doctors will tell you pedis are really bad for you...

I've had derms tell me to stay away from facials.

---

Yeah I heard pedis are bad for you too. My sis that works in a pharmacy told me she would get customers with nasty laisons come in bec of what a pedi did to them

---

YES!! my foot doctor told me pedis are bad too because all the bacteria on the products and the nail polish brush!!!!!!!!! he told me to bring in my OWN tools and my OWN polish color and to check that the water has been dranied and the tub steralized before you use a salon

---

Posted by Jess125483

---

Posted by ant n tilde

spa facials are usually just kind of like massages for your face LOL there are exceptions but i think regular facials USUALLY show little results

more intense treatments like microdermabrasion are probably more effective

---

Yeah what you said is exactly what he was saying (although he did not comment on whether microderm in a spa was effective). He basically said it was like a pampering thing and that it doesn't fix anything. And also that, depending on what lotions they use, it could just end up clogging your pores anyway.

---

What is a glycolic treatment? Is that the same as a chemical peel? I always feel like when I get a facial I break out. I got a chemical peel once and that just made my skin really dry for a few days but my skin looked really nice after the peeling went away.

---

Posted by LT

---

Posted by Jess125483

---

Posted by ant n tilde

spa facials are usually just kind of like massages for your face LOL there are exceptions but i think regular facials USUALLY show little results

more intense treatments like microdermabrasion are probably more effective

---

Yeah what you said is exactly what he was saying (although he did not comment on whether microderm in a spa was effective). He basically said it was like a pampering thing and that it doesn't fix anything. And also that, depending on what lotions they use, it could just end up clogging your pores anyway.

---

What is a glycolic treatment? Is that the same as a chemical peel? I always feel like when I get a facial I break out. I got a chemical peel once and that just made my skin really dry for a few days but my skin looked really nice after the peeling went away.

---

That is what he called it. I've never had a 'peel' before, so I don't know if it counted as a peel. And the reason I didn't call it one is because he didn't really peel anything off of me - he used a brush and put this stuff on my face that stung like a b*stard. He left it for a few minutes, then washed it off and dried my face. I don't know if that counts as a peel or not, but he just called it a 'treatment'

---

Posted by Jess125483

---

Posted by LT

---

Posted by Jess125483

---

Posted by ant n tilde

spa facials are usually just kind of like massages for your face LOL there are exceptions but i think regular facials USUALLY show little results

more intense treatments like microdermabrasion are probably more effective

---

Yeah what you said is exactly what he was saying (although he did not comment on whether microderm in a spa was effective). He basically said it was like a pampering thing and that it doesn't fix anything. And also that, depending on what lotions they use, it could just end up clogging your pores anyway.

---

What is a glycolic treatment? Is that the same as a chemical peel? I always feel like when I get a facial I break out. I got a chemical peel once and that just made my skin really dry for a few days but my skin looked really nice after the peeling went away.

---

That is what he called it. I've never had a 'peel' before, so I don't know if it counted as a peel. And the reason I didn't call it one is because he didn't really peel anything off of me - he used a brush and put this stuff on my face that stung like a b*stard. He left it for a few minutes, then washed it off and dried my face. I don't know if that counts as a peel or not, but he just called it a 'treatment'

---

Thats sounds like what I had done. I like the way my face looked a few days after.

---

Posted by LT

Thats sounds like what I had done. I like the way my face looked a few days after.

---

Oooo, I'm so excited now. And, honestly, maybe 30% of my pimples INSTANTLY shrivled up and went away. I got in the car right after and looked in the mirror and then looked again a half hour later and some pimples I had that morning were literally shrivled to nothing. This was the first time I've ever gone to the derm and I thought it was AWESOME lol.

I don't know the facts on all of it, but also keep in mind that the derms do a lot of the same treatments and want you to keep coming to them so they get the money and not the spas.

---

Posted by anneandchris

I don't know the facts on all of it, but also keep in mind that the derms do a lot of the same treatments and want you to keep coming to them so they get the money and not the spas.

---

Yeah I thought about that also, but what my derm did to me today I've never had during a regular facial.

And, even if that's the truth of it, I guess I'm ok with it b/c my insurance covered it and I didn't have to lay out a few hundred bucks to a spa for the same thing!

---

Posted by Jess125483

Yeah my derm said there are two possible results from a spa facial - your skin will stay the same or it will get worse, but it's not gonna get better. that makes me kinda depressed

---

DEPENDS on what you get and the person doing it...if you get regular facials then maybe and also some just do whatever mask and not really consider what its right for your skin.

HONESTLY-alot of derms are BS and here is why...ive been to derms before when i first started having problems 2 years ago...first i was put on retin a micro which burned my skin, it turned so red and it was very sore, you couldnt even touch my skin bc it hurt so much, even when i showered i was in so much pain with water hitting my face...THEN i was put on something else, it worked ok but it dried my skin SO badly and it would help with some breakouts but not like my skin looked good. Then again after that didnt work i was put on something else and it was ok but not GREAT...finally i got annoyed and stopped going, i tried proactiv and for me it worked GREAT and got rid of my problem. I did stop using it after a bit but once you stop it comes back all over again.

Well my skin the past months has been WORSE than its ever been, i went to a derm again JUST so i can get a cortizone shot but they also gave me duac so i decided to give it a try, again in the areas i used it my skin got all crusty and dried up and it would help when i got a pimple but it didnt stop me from getting pimples.

its funny from what i noticed derms always start ppl off with something that doesnt work, most ppl i know retin a burned their skin and didnt work for them but derms still continue to try this first, then they keep trying so many different things and you end up going for such a long period of time...The way i see it is that they obviously want ppl to keep coming back, wouldnt make much business if after 1 or 2 visits you're cured lol. So them saying no facials i dont even listen to but i suggest going to someone who really knows what theyre doing...red door spa is very popular but ive been told their facials arent great.

i went to a lady that came highly recommended by ALOT of ppl and they all said how much she helped them...One girl went to her after 2 years of going to a derm and she had real bad cystic acne but nothing ever really helped...well after seeing this lady continuously she no longer has this problem. First of all if you go get a facial and you have pimples on your face DO NOT let them massage your face, she told me she wouldn't massage me bc it would stimulate something in my face(sorry forgot the name) that would cause me to break out even more, so yes thats why alot of ppl break out after a facial. Honestly its been just a few days and my skin looks 10x better, recently it was worst than ever and just a few days before i had a bad breakout. Not only does my skin look vibrant again but my face is clearing very fast...i also had tiny little whiteheads all over my face the ones underneath and theyre all gone, not to mention that she took out every single blackhead...unfortunately some ppl in salons learn how to do things such as facials, dermabrasion and all that but not really well informed about what works best for certain ppl, how your skin works and all that. She did more for me in 1 visit than numerous derm visits

and trust me it wasnt pampering at all, i had each thing on my face including black heads extracted with a needle like thing and it was a little painful and annoying lol

Wow, Denise - I won't even quote you since your post was so long! lol

Thanks for the advice. I've had a few facials that have done absolutely nothing and I've never been to the the derm before at all, so I guess I kind of have the reverse experience of constantly trying facials and nothing working as opposed to trying derms and nothing working. I'm really hoping for the best.

He gave me duac and said only to use it as a spot treatment on my existing pimples. He gave me retin-a just like you said but said to apply to the whole face and VERY sparingly just as a prevention against pimples. He also gave me something with more glycolic acid in it and said use that once a week. I'm really hoping it works, b/c suddenly in the last year I have horrible acne but only in one spot. I'm in law school, so everyone attributes it to stress, which also might explain why it is not going away. I don't know. I don't have sensitive skin at all, so I'm hoping my face can handle all the stuff he gave me. I will report back and let you know how it goes, and if it doesn't work I may need the lady who did your facial!! Haha

my dermo offers facials....sooooooooo yea

---

Posted by Jess125483

Wow, Denise - I won't even quote you since your post was so long! lol

Thanks for the advice. I've had a few facials that have done absolutely nothing and I've never been to the the derm before at all, so I guess I kind of have the reverse experience of constantly trying facials and nothing working as opposed to trying derms and nothing working. I'm really hoping for the best.

He gave me duac and said only to use it as a spot treatment on my existing pimples. He gave me retin-a just like you said but said to apply to the whole face and VERY sparingly just as a prevention against pimples. He also gave me something with more glycolic acid in it and said use that once a week. I'm really hoping it works, b/c suddenly in the last year I have horrible acne but only in one spot. I'm in law school, so everyone attributes it to stress, which also might explain why it is not going away. I don't know. I don't have sensitive skin at all, so I'm hoping my face can handle all the stuff he gave me. I will report back and let you know how it goes, and if it doesn't work I may need the lady who did your facial!! Haha

---

yeah honestly most places its a pampering type experience and if you get just regular facials you cant expect that to take away your pimples bc a mask wont do that...i had an anti-acne facial and also with someone who really knows what theyre doing, and if its a deep treatment it wont be pampering lol...i know ppl who get licensed for this, young girls but they dont know in depth how your skin and body works.

Also i dont just want my pimples to go away i want my skin to also look good, and all those cream dry me out so badly and when i put make up it looks all bad and crusty and i want to get rid of the dullness.

She gave me 5 things-i use a organic serum that i put all over my face in the morning, then this after treatment cream...i also have a glycolic peel cream, benzoyl scrub, camphor mask.

Everyone has different experiences though and again it all depends on finding the right person in either field

---

Posted by blurgirlny

Have any of you heard of this magic pill? Like I remember years ago, I was in college working in an office on LI and all the girls were getting married around that time. One of them showed me some little white pill and said her derm gave it to her special - ha ha. He said if she took these pills for like 3-5 days the week of her wedding, she would have no problems with her skin. Ha ha! I'm NOT kidding. I'll never forget it! I wonder if she looked great on her wedding day, I don't remember the outcome!

---

OH man if you ever figure it out - LET ME KNOW! lol