Mary Grace at Gateway Med Spa has a confession to make: she has been terrible about maintaining her skincare treatment regimen!
Even as a nurse with 12 years in the field, Mary Grace has not been the ideal patient because as a full-time, working mother of two, she has struggled to follow the doctor’s orders.
“I’ve fought acne all my life,” she relates about her skincare history. “It started in sixth grade. I had it all throughout college…”
Years ago, Mary Grace tried practically every product on the market to no avail. She used Proative, Dermalogica, Clarins, St Ives, Obaji (Nu Derm Line). She confides, “I was seeing three dermatologists (at once) at one point. I would get kenolog injections for my cystic acne. I did IPL. That never helped. I did Microdermabrasion. That didn’t help, either. I spent thousands of dollars. I would go to upscale spas to get treatments on my face…”
Nothing worked until she began treatments with board certified dermatologist, Dr. Fortunata Mendoza ten years ago. “I threw away everything I had. Everything. I started with just her glycolic acid peel at the time – 70%. I did it religiously for a year every two weeks. I started on an oral antibiotic. I did it for a month, and then I got lazy. I would then only do it for four or five days while I was on my period and it kept it at bay.”
But then she faltered in her skin care regime. She relates, “I used Oil of Olay cleansing cloths, no moisturizer, and that was it. I think I became overwhelmed and burnt out from all my years of effort.”
Even as recently as a few months ago, Mary Grace struggled in her personal skin care regimen.
“I had one Sensei Peel, in June, but didn’t follow the post care regimen, so I didn’t get the benefits. You’re supposed to use after care products and sunscreen. I didn’t. I did an Advanced Corrective peel in October. I didn’t get the best results because I didn’t do the home regimen at all.”
But more recently Mary Grace found a renewed commitment to her skin care regime.
“In November I did another Advanced Corrective peel. I also changed my cleanser to ZO Oilacleanse, added Vitascrub three times a week, Cebatrol Pads, Daily Power Defense, Melamin , Retamax and Melamix at night ,and I added the SkinsCeulticals Triple Lipid (love it!) Twice a Day, and SkinsCeuticals Physical Fusion 50 for sun protection. I break out every now and then, but to be honest, I leave it alone.”
“I know I’m a bad patient,” Mary Grace confided. “That’s ironic because I’m a nurse and I work for a Dermatologist. But when I leave work, I come home to two kids and a bathroom with no privacy, so as a mom, finding time for ‘me time’ is hard. So I often struggle with my skin care regime. Mornings are tough because I have to get the kids out to school.”
So how does Mary Grace now make time for herself and her skin’s health? “I adjust my time because it takes minutes to layer each topical and let it set. I’m seeing the difference.”
The results are a glowing complexion: “I’ve never had more compliments on my skin as I have right now. It’s brighter and more even toned. I still have some pigmentation around my eyes, but that’s it. I think I need another round of the Advanced Corrective peel and that should take care of it. After that I’ll do a glycolic peel and continue with ZO Skin Health for maintance.
Mary Grace adds, “I haven’t missed a day since November.” And she intends to keep it that way!