What is one thing you wished you had listened to you mom about growing up? I think for me, my moms advice to wear sunscreen is right up there with her telling me not to give too much attention to the wrong boys as a teenager.
Sadly I ignored both and both left me equally scarred. Thankfully the relationship scars faded and are a distant memory. The sun damage “scars” however, remain and are a reminder that moms are always right. Mine anyway š
Thankfully I’ve started taking the steps to really invest and look after my skin better in the last few years. As someone who barely remembered to take off makeup, never mind incorporating a 3 step cleansing routine, you could really say I’ve come a long way!
There’s no doubt that my journey with Tamarah from Skingen and Alphen Aesthetics, has really catapulted my efforts and desire to better understand the function of my skin and how I can look after it better.
I have always really struggled with dry, almost dehydrated skin and this has often caused me skin to be quite sensitive. The sad part about dry skin, if you don’t know this already, is that is ages a lot faster than normal/oily skin. So for those of you who are moaning about the odd pimple or break out because of excess oil, remember, you’re actually one of the lucky ones when it comes to wrinkles.
Tam has used her incredible expertise to guide me along the way and its been an incredible experience from start to finish. I will just start by saying that although I have seen a drastic improvement to my skin, and especially the pigmentation aspect, I think I still have along way to go before I feel completely comfortable with no make-up. Also, there are some things that skin treatments and cosmetics will never fix. They can minimise damage and enhance your skins all round health, but for the most part I have had to accept that much of what worries me about my skin still, are things that only cosmetic surgery/more invasive treatment would fix. And no, I’m not quite ready to go down that route.
My skin has improved drastically, however there are still things I would love to see vanish. The wrinkles and sallow parts under my eyes being one of them. On one hand I’m learning to accept these things as part of the ageing process, and on the other, I’m hoping that we will still be able to tackle these problem areas down the line. This, afer all has been about tackling PIGENTATION mostly.
So, what sets Tam apart from many aestheticians you ask? It’s her genuine passion for helping her clients on a personal level. She is so careful and takes much time to consider your options before even embarking on any skin therapy. She knows her stuff ladies and I for one would struggle to trust anyone as easily as I have her. She really just puts you at ease.
So let’s back track a bit. For these who didn’t read my first post a few weeks into my sin journey, you can read that here. In a nutshell, I arrived at Alphen Aesthetics quite clueless of what lay ahead but hopeful Tam could improve the general quality of my skin’s condition.
On my very first appointment I remember Tam taking extra precaution and starting with a more conservative approach. My skin was quite inflamed and irritated, especially on my forehead. This was her first report, which gave a detailed assessment plan.
On my second/third visit (4 weeks later) when things were looking less angry and inflamed, she said I was ready for more “aggressive” treatment. This meant my skin was ready for the superficial Melanostop peel, followed by micro needling. Here is my second report/plan:
But ladies, if truth be told, the major difference was really noticeable for me after my Mesopeel which is a more invasive peel and causes your skin to shed, taking away layers of deep pigmentation. See the stages below:
From there we carried on with Microneeding every two weeks as well as spot peels on the areas that were more stubborn, like under my eyes. I think my eye area has become quite dark over the last few years especially and Tam really had to work on these stubborn areas over the course of 2 months to get them to fade. And truth is as much as she has helped eliminate a lot of the pigmentation, there is still a sunk in blackness that will need further attention I think. (Perhaps in the line of fillers or botox in the coming month/years)
What has been so interesting too, is learning about pigmentation and its many causes and realising that even my exercise and hormones play a huge role in that. It not only the hot summer months that cause pigmentation to flair up. Just by going for alone run, my internal heat induction has a huge impact on pigmentation. So it’s really a balancing act and ensuring I cool down quickly after a long workout.
Here are some more pictures of the next phase and then finally a comparison picture from my first appointment and where we are now. Its been a wonderful journey and I’m so grateful to Tam for her thorough care and attention to detail.
If you’re looking for some help with your skin and live in Cape Town, please give Tamarah a call on 071 297 6053 or go directly to their bookings page.
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