lil-bee: the glamorizer


How I healed my chemical burns
Saturday, April 13, 2013 | 9:29 AM | Comment ⇢
As promised, a healing post for what worked for me. These things helped me completely heal my burns in a week but that being said, its important to understand that my burns weren't that extensive (though they certainly looked it to me!) and so this process might take longer to work on you. I also have dry skin and since my methods of healing involve oil-heavy moisture masks, if might not be appropriate for someone suffering from acne, etc. I was also at home during this entire week and was thus able to do these things (I was on Easter break) but if I had school, this process would have most definitely taken longer (not to mention, be embarrassing too!) so yeah. 


This is what I used for the healing: 

Emu Oil (I used Emu Oil Well's Rosehip Emu Oil) 

Hyaluronic Acid (I used Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Essence) 

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly 

Sheet Mask (I washed an old used one I had from Asia a while back; I washed it and kept it in the fridge) 

*Biafine 


This is what I used to complement the healing: 

Avene Thermal Spray

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume 

Pierre Fabre Dexeryl Cream 

Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash


This is what I did:

1. Right after washing the chemicals off my face (make sure to neutralise the acid!), I sprayed some cool Avene Thermal Water and lightly rubbed in some HA (thats Hyaluronic Acid) with some Emu Oil. After that absorbed, I layered a thick mask of Cicaplast, reapplying every few hours when it dried down. Before going to sleep, I rubbed in the remaining Cicaplast and added a thick layer of Vaseline in my face, concentrating on the burn patches, and put on the Sheet Mask on top, sleeping with it. I repeated this for the first three/four days, after which patches were pretty much healed (the angry red turned brown, skin was less dry and tight and in pain). In the mornings, I'd wash my face was a gentle cleanser to clear up the Vaseline buildup.

2. After my face healed a bit more, I stopped using the Vaseline and used my gentle moisturisers throughout the day. The Lipikar has nicotinamide which builds strong skin (it can tingle though so I waited till I was healed) and the Dexeryl is a gentle eczema cream. While I personally used the Elemis enzyme wash a bit too fast, I would recommend using it towards the end - 4th/5th day for me, when the brown patches would randomly come off themselves (the enzyme accelerates this peeling process). And that was that.


I think the key to this is patience, moisture and healing ingredients. And if you go out, you MUST use a strong suncream. Its preferable to not expose your delicate skin to the sun, but not everyone can be on a break so .. this is also why I think the best time to do a peel would be Friday evening so you've got the weekend at least and can protect your skin when its at its most fragile state. You also need to make sure you don't pick at your skin (like I did :/) as this is almost always lead to hyperpigmentation and maybe even worse (scar tissue).


*I starred the Biafine as even though I have heard AMAZING things about it, I didn't personally use it during my healing process (it arrived too late) but have included it as its supposed to accelerate healing. It is a French pharmacy product, prescription only in the US, I believe. I got it off Ebay but I'll be sure to stock up on it when / if I go to France. There are two variation of this - Biafine and Biafine ACT. They are both aimed at burned skin, though Biafine is more medical grade and for more serious burns so I'm assuming its the stronger of the two.


So if you are thinking of going for a chemical peel, be careful, be wary and be prepared! I hope this helps.





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