HANDLING MY ACNE SCARS with Jennifer Charm

Whether it’s acne scars, sun damage, or other skin issues, I feel like all women can relate to wanting perfect skin.

I first started getting bad acne later in life, right when I turned 27. Over night, it felt like my body had completely changed and I had no idea what had happened. I later realized that it was caused by hormone changes in my body that proceeded to cause me to gain weight, have my hair start to fall out and thin, and break out with adult acne. Suuuuper fun. After gaining almost twenty pounds in a year and feeling completely lethargic, my first priority was not my acne, but to figure out what was going on with my body and handle the seemingly rapid deterioration.

Once I figured out what was going on, I made major dietary adjustments to handle some food allergies, addressed the hormone changes, and got to working out. Then, finally I had time to focus on my skin. Well, by this time, that fun adult acne had turned into acne scars. I could not believe how bad it had become. And it’s still a work in progress, but we’ll get to that.

I recently started working with a wonderful esthetician named Jennifer Charm (for those of you who live in LA, I’ll link her website and information down below) to help eradicate my acne scars.  I had tried many different creams and home treatments, and then decided before I go and spend thousands of dollars on laser treatments, let me see if I can handle it another way.

I had a couple of friends who had actually worked with Jennifer before and raved about her abilities.  When I scheduled my first appointment, we did a full consultation where we went over allergies, skin sensitivities, and more, which I absolutely loved because it showed me her attention to detail, and that she really knew her craft.

We talked about how I really wanted to address my acne scars and improve the quality of my skin.  She told me that these scars appear because of something called melanocyte cells, which can become darker with UV rays and hormones.

And I found out that the reason the dark spot skin creams I had been using in the past weren’t working was because they were not triggering the melanocyte cells to turn off!  

These creams were only handling the surface layers of skin and not penetrating the deeper layers to specifically address these cells. Handling the first layer with creams that don’t turn off the melanocyte cells is like using broom to dig a hole. Pointless!

She gave me a toner and a cream to specifically help lighten the scars and prevent future breakouts. She also gave me a sun screen to prevent further damage and a light peel to do once a week to take off any dirt and grime. (I’ll list out the products below)

I love how knowledgeable and passionate she is about her craft!

Besides all of the lovely cleansers and creams that you would get with any standard facial, Jennifer used a skin tool called a skin scrubber or skin spatula that is used with water and vibrates to push the acne out of the face! It was very interesting feeling and actually worked! Then, if necessary, she would go in and get out any remaining acne. You can almost see the water vapor coming off of my face in the video from this tool. (Check out the video below)

Next she used a machine called the Celluma Infrared LED (on red mode, fancy!) which helps increase collagen up to 300% and heals wounds (this part was crazy how well it worked). It looks like a purple light covering my face in the video.  I felt a huge difference from this in comparison to other facials I have received. I immediately noticed a change in the texture of my skin and reduction in acne pigmentation and even some fine lines! And the existing acne I came into the facial with looked like it was two or three days later and my acne had healed!! Yee-haw! As my mother-in-law says when she gets really excited about something! LOL!

I honestly couldn’t believe how amazing my skin looked after we were done with even just one treatment. Obviously my acne scars weren’t completely gone, but the fact that I already noticed improvement after one treatment was crazy to me. And after a handful of treatments, they will be gone.  I was running around with my husband later that day and I asked him if my skin looked as good as it felt, and he looked at me and said,

“Oh my god, I didn’t even realize you weren’t wearing any makeup!!” I couldn’t believe it!! SCORE ONE against acne scars!!

Here are some before and after pictures and I will continue to add more as I progress! Please do not judge me for looking like a crazy person with my side eye glance LMAO! It’s so creepy! (These pictures were taken a week apart)

Here are some tips you can implement into your life to help with your skin and scars. (Obviously, do not go against any doctors advice)

• Using Vitamin-C serums that have at least 18-20% C in them will be much more effective than low percentage vitamin C serums
• Taking Vitamin E can help oxygenate the skin
• Omega fatty acids can help with dehydration and acne
• Zinc and green tea can also chemically stop the production of acne scars!

These are the products that Jennifer put me on to really help reduce the pigmentation in my skin and prevent further discoloration.

• Ronda Allison Skin Refine Gel (Salicylic Acid Complex)
• Ronda Allison Brightening Pigment Lotion (Illuminating Toner)
• Ronda Allison Derma Peel
• Image Skincare 30 SPF Sunscreen

If you live in the Los Angeles area and would like to reach out to Jennifer, her business is called, Carabella Cosmetics and Skincare.

www.saloncarabella.com

www.instagram.com/jencharm/

818.998.3223

She also just got this crazy cool new portable machine (like new to the market) called Cryo T-shock that I’m super excited about. This machine does so many things, but it’s usually used to address fat loss. It’s different than other machines such as Cool Sculpting or Cryo Skin because those treatments are really only effective for people who have only 10-15 pounds to lose, whereas Cryo T-shock can be used on men and women who have higher BMIs and more weight to lose or sagging skin to tighten!

It also can address cellulite, lymphatic drainage, and rosacea!! Plus, it has hand pieces for facial treatments. Ask her for more information if you’re interested. The before and after pictures on her Instagram @jencharm are insane!!