iS clinical

iS Clinical's Acne Kit System, from StrawberryNET

In a bid to enhance the appearance of my shallow but visible pitted scars, I consulted Dr Lee from The Sloane Clinic. I would blog about my positive experience at The Sloane Clinic another time, when I actually decide what to do with my scars. Surprisingly, Dr Lee was very forthcoming and told me that I didn't have to do anything with my scars. Especially given the fact that my walk-in interview was only a month from the consultation, it would be extremely risky to undergo Fraxel. Also, apparently Fraxel may cause skin discolouration which may take some time to heal. In the end, we decided on a session of Microdermabrasion since there wasn't any downtime. 

Or so I thought. 

There was downtime. I was able to resume normal activities immediately after the procedure, despite the pinkish tinge on my cheeks and forehead, but my face turned scarlet red towards the second half of the day (I did it in the morning). It really looked and felt like a sunburn, except that nobody in my family bought that. On the second day, my face was still pinkish, but didn't burn as much as the night before. My skin felt raw and red, and I tried to avoid the sunlight as much as possible. On the third day, the redness had all but subsided, and I was left with a healthy-looking glow. I kind of looked like I had blush on.  By the fourth day, all traces of redness were gone, and my skin really emanated a deathly pallor healthy glow. My skin was a tone lighter, and my pitted scars were still there, but everything else looked smoother. I used to have small pimples on my forehead, and a few pigmented spots on my cheeks, but they had all but disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt like I had good skin. And this hadn't gone unnoticed; people complimented me on my radiant skin.

That said, I've done extensive research on microdermabrasion and am aware that quick fixes usually come with downsides. One caveat is that the crystals used in the microdermabrasion device will probably be inhaled since they are so tiny and can enter your airways during the procedure. My eyes were covered, and so were my ears, but my nostrils weren't. And I don't think it could have been cause I would have suffocated to death if they were to have been stuffed with cotton. Bottom line is, you can go for it once or twice, but if you were to do it every single month for the rest of your life, then wow, you'd be inhaling enough crystals to turn you into a walking crystal mine!  

Anyway, I digress. Dr Lee prescribed iS Hydracool Serum as a moisturiser. He mentioned that I should apply it three times a day for the next four days. I dutifully followed his instructions, and am still doing it twice a day, every single day. Why? Because Hydracool really performs well as a moisturiser. I was rather wary of it when I first applied it and felt the cooling, or some would say, tingling sensation. But the ingredients seemed wholesome enough, aside from the alcohol content. Also, Dr Lee assured me that it was gentle enough for people with sensitive skin, or patients who had just undergone ablative laser procedures. 

Indeed, what I noticed about Hydracool was that you only need to spread four tiny drops of it on your face, but its moisturising powers last a whole day! Your skin feels silky to the touch upon application, and it controls the oily shininess (and the dryness) in your skin without feeling heavy. I have combination skin, and the areas outside of my T-Zone can be chronically dry and patchy. It is most horrible. Thanks to Dermalogica, I managed to get rid of the painful dry red patches. But since I tried Hydracool, I've switched. I intend to alternate between Dermalogica and iS Clinical though, because iS Clinical is just too damn expensive.

Encouraged by the good results of Hydracool, I decided to get more iS Clinical products over the Internet. Cause it's cheaper, of course. Though only marginally. I was quite disappointed to see that the set that I got from StrawberryNET isn't as fresh as I wanted it to be; the expiry date was the start of 2013. Dr Lee's products are much fresher. Hydracool, for instance, has an expiry date in the second half of 2014. 

I've read so many rave reviews about iS Clinical's Active Serum. Here's my take on it (to be updated):