Cosmetic Procedure Went Wrong: Letter from Miss F.

First I want to say how happy I am that I found you by coincidence. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Not only with your books and products but also with the free information on your website. I know you are a very busy woman. But I really hope you can make some time to read my story ...

I have been depressed for almost 3 years now about my appearance, now I am 27. It all started at the age of 24 in 2011. In June of 2010 I started using retinoid cream (Vitamin A cream) because it was supposed to help with the few pimples I had and when I heard that it was the only anti aging cream that really works, I was sold. I thought I will have great pimple-free skin now and wrinkle-free skin later in life. I had no instruction with it but after the first couple of months (after experiencing redness and flakes at first) I had glowing and beautiful skin. But then at the end of 2010 I noticed I had very large smile lines and my pores became bigger and I had this orange peel texture on my face. I immediately stopped with the cream. What bothered me the most were the big smile lines that didn't go away no matter how much moisturizer I put on them. I then also developed lines next to the smile lines in my cheeks, more like dents. I looked tired and prematurely aged. Then I noticed the volume (fat) in my face started to disappear, I always thought I was good looking and was very happy with how I looked. But now I was very very depressed at the point of not wanting to live any more.

I then decided I had to do something and I got a dermal filler Juvederm for the smile lines. The lines disappeared but I still looked old because of the fat-loss and the horrible inflamed skin. I think the depression made everything worse. I was so desperate that I would try anything. I've searched on the Internet everyday for solutions for my problems, it was the only thing I would do in my free-time. I didn't go out with friends anymore, I cried everyday and going to work was a struggle. I was in a deep black hole and wanted to come out of it, I didn't want give up on life.

So I've had a lot of procedures, first the OBAGI Nu-derm System followed by a TCA peeling and because I thought the TCA peeling made my pores even more visible and I was very impatient and wanted quick results I made the biggest mistake of all: I had two CO2 Fractional Laser treatments which made everything worse, uneven skin texture, orange peel texture, more fat-loss, big pores, dots of the laser all over my face, pores forming small lines on my face. I was devastated for after all this hurt and the pain and money I spent on the procedures still nothing helped. In the meantime, I already was eating healthy because I read on the Internet articles about food and aging. But it wasn't enough. Until the age of 25 I always ate junk food and very bad things, never fruit or vegetables. But in my depression period, I searched a lot about food and aging and tried to eat healthier (even when I didn't have any appetite, I forced myself to eat).

I think the Retinoid, the depression, the laser treatments and my bad eating habit made me age before my time.

This year I decided to have the volume in my face restored with fat grafting. I had two treatments and I am happy so far. I am going back for two other treatments because I had very full cheeks before all of this. This year I also discovered you and your website and since June I am trying to follow your example. I am about 85% raw now, I still eat cooked Quinoa and cooked Sweet Potato, Brown Rice crackers and 85% dark chocolate. I really noticed a BIG difference in my skin it looks so much better but I am not there yet! I hope it will get even better.