Anyone else do this?

Do you keep on picking off the scab as the sore tries to heal? Which specific area do you pick at? Yeah I have had the same issue picking off healing scabs when the scabs would get wet after a shower or after washing my face. It was a horrible habit and it is what will cause deeper scars. Now I use hydrocolloid bandaids and liquid skin in order to prevent myself from constantly looking at the scabs when they get wet. Just block yourself to prevent yourself from tearing at the area by wearing bandaids. Otherwise the habit will never stop. I just learned to sidestep that habit by blocking the scabs from view. It really helps, just make sure to take the necessary steps to block yourself from the desire to constantly pick at the same spot. You need to halt the habit before it gets worse :(

Hi Annabelle - I do the same... I have some scars (deep ones) for this reason. Learning the hard way...!
I actually bought hydrocolloid bandaids as Serene suggested above, and finally after a week of crazy-picking the same scabs, I managed to let those heal... stay home for 1-2 days with those on (on clean skin), go to bed with them on. Resist just 1 more day... and the next day... they'll be peeling off naturally.
Serene: I will also order the tca you had recommended :) - your advice seems to be good!

mbr1978 - Im excited that you chose to try out the TCA peel. Let me know if you have any questions once you start using it. It is a mild 15% percentage TCA (which is ideal for first time users who might be cautious of peels...basically no chance of an adverse reaction)...and over time there are ways to increase its effects by varying the application method. Some of the reviews on Amazon state that they didnt see much of a difference...its because they dont leave the peel on long enough, dont do enough layers, and dont use a cotton swab with some pressure to administer the TCA deeper into the skin. I learned that in order to get a deeper peel its crucial to use a cotton swab and to apply pressure in a patting motion all over the face. Your face also develops some resistance to the stinging from the acid as you keep doing the peels...since the whole process triggers the skin to create a thicker dermis. You can start out slow by first doing a patch test behind the ear to see if your skin has any reaction, then you can leave a layer or two on the face for some minutes the first time just to understand the feeling of the acid and how it will frost the skin (protein coagulation which is basically burning off the top most layer of skin and simultaneously making it white). If you progress into deeper TCA peels down the line, you will notice that your face becomes fully white and frosted with the process. Im back to doing the peels myself and getting adjusted and comfortable with the whole process, doing a slightly deeper peel every two weeks. Once I get to the deeper peels, Ill do them maybe once every 1.5 months. The deeper peels are amazing, once you can tolerate the stinging better and understand your skin's resistance. For example, I have a cafe au lait birthmark on a large portion of my face and the deeper peels actually erase all of it until over time the skin regenerates itself again. But such birthmarks lie deep in the dermis, so chemical peels wont permanently get rid of them...chemical peels are much better at shaving down and eventually lessening the appearance of scars, fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots, hormonal spots, large pores, unclogging blackheads, and perfecting overall skin texture.

I will receive it next monday! I have a trip scheduled for the 22-24 of september, do you think by thursday my skin would be ok / not peeling? Not sure to try tca or dermaroller first...

Annabelle: I just put a bandaid on a scab behind my neck for 2-3 days, and it is finally gone months of picking it!! Good thing it was a hidden place, so I did not feel akward having it on my face in public. When I had them on my face last week, I stayed in the house for the weekend with those bandaids, and finally got rid of those... but yesterday I picked them again (so stupid). Slept with the bandaids another night, and the spots are much smaller/not infected by now :)

It really depends on how deep the peel is and how sensitive your skin is. You can do a small spot test behind the ear first to see how your skin reacts, if it will react (its advised for safety precautions as a standard). Then you could do a very short peel with like one layer and for a minute or few minutes, just to get the sense of the stinging and how it feels. Just go over the area quickly with a cotton ball without using much pressure the first time because you want to experiment and get the sense of how your skin will act. It might not even peel or it might only flake lightly. Do you use tretinoin for acne? Or retinoid, or anything like that? Because such skin treatments will make the skin more sensitive and will promote deeper peeling. It might cause you extra unnecessary stress to do a peel right before a trip...so I dont know if I can recommend that since I am unaware of how your skin might respond. If for example you get deeper peeling than expected...you might still be flaky on the day of the trip. Or you can just do a small portion of your face after the spot test...the forehead and sides of the face are more difficult to peel so you can start there. I know that when I started out I did a very light first peel in order to see how it felt and how the acid reacted with my skin. As soon as you see the skin slightly turning white...if it frosts with one layer..you can wash the acid off with water. Oh and also the big thing with skin peels (both when in the process of peeling and after peeling) is that you have to wear SPF if you are outside...and try to wear hats to protect the delicate skin. Its the same protocol with laser and any other invasive treatment which exfoliate the skin. Minimum SPF recommendation by the FDA is 30. And reapply it every 2 hours because the skin's oils naturally break down the chemical bonds in products.

Also know that skin peels cause dryness for a few days and your skin might look slightly worse as its about to peel and right after it peels...but thats normal and its exactly the same thing which occurs with many other procedures such as laser. The skin has to be damaged in order to promote an increase in cell turnover and to regenerate the dermis. Its really a drawn out process, and when repeated many times you start to see results. Also, the skin can "purge" after a peel...just as with certain acne products...sometimes there can be a slight increase in breakouts..but its temporary and I have noticed that when I do regular peels I get less acne overall. The benefits outweigh any negatives because you get an even tone (hyper-pigmentation marks fade away extremely well), your scars lessen in appearance over time, the skin heals better and faster, pores are minimized, skin looks and feels more taut, & lines and wrinkles get eliminated.

I am reading about the peels now here! Guess this answers the other question (other post)!

It helps for me to put concealer (makeup) over the spot so it doesn't bother me so much visually. Out of sight, out of mind strategy here.