topic Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!) in Beauty

Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 01:39:25 GMT

Decided to have a Week 7 thread despite Favorite Son's Week 8 thread being up -- because I'm really interested to hear if anyone else is experiencing these oddities at this point in the game:

1. Above my left brow I have three vertical stripes that look like three different swatches of foundation. They're on the typical tri-point brow arch, but beginning a little farther away from my nose toward the outer eye. So it's skin, swatch, skin, swatch, skin, swatch, skin. They're each about 1/4" wide and that's about how much "regular" shade of skin is between them. They go about 3/4 of the way up to my hairline. I'm baffled. :-)

2. The top of my forehead -- about 1/2 inch or so right below the hairine, from side to side, is pink/clear, everything below looks VERY tanned (like I've lived in Palm Springs playing golf daily all my life). It's as though I applied foundation up to a certain line, then stopped. Haha! Kind of the reverse of woman who wear a foundation color that's different than their natural skintone and stop at the jaw, only reversed!

3. In front of my left ear (only my left!) there's about a 1-inch patch of lighter skin (not as light as my pink forehead!) that looks like vitiligo a bit. Again -- whoa! Where did that come from?

The past week or so I've noticed I'm looking tanned and don't know if it's all the sun damage working its way up (is it too soon for that?) or what. My skin feels somewhat leathery and has pretty much all along -- most noticeable when I rinse my Tatcha off and my skin doesn't feel like velvet, but a bit "tough".

I'm wondering if this ersatz "sunkissed" look will kind of peel off after I end treatment. I don't think this laser is strong enough to do that, but maybe....

Anybody else have any puzzling "symptoms" at this point?

I'm looking forward to ending the active phase, thankfully haven't gotten bored with the ritual (it's so fast and easy!) and am STILL hopeful in five weeks time I'll be very pleased I took the plunge and stuck it out.

For ladies on the same time schedule -- the end is near! This has been so much fun for me -- and thanks to all of you have kept me company along the way.:-)

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

pdxlalesley — Wed, 21 May 2014 02:46:27 GMT

Maren you are one plucky lady! I commend you for staying the path---wow. Do you think you can find out from other sites, what others have experienced at this stage? It's likely that what your skin is like right now is normal for your type of skin after this kind of tx. Have you considered calling the Tria CS? You don't sound worried, I'm glad for that.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

gazelle77 — Wed, 21 May 2014 02:55:52 GMT

Think I would stop before I turned into a science experiment......

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

Wackers3 — Wed, 21 May 2014 03:44:08 GMT

I know discoloration is one of the negative side effects from professional laser surgery but can't imagine that a home use laser would so the same, long term anyway.

I had to use Alpha Hydrox cleanser and also hydroquinone for weeks before having my professional laser surgery as a prevention for any permanent discoloration. Fortunately, I had none.

I have to believe this is temporary and once you stop, your skin will slowly and surely return to normal with all the benefits visible then. I just can't fathom that you will have any long term damage from a home user laser that isn't all that strong as compared to professional lasers. Remember, my skin was literally vaporized off so not any comparison to the Tria.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

SurvivedOne — Wed, 21 May 2014 03:56:28 GMT

If my skin looked like what you describe, I would certainly not just blow it off, that's for sure. Don't know what if anything else you have been doing or using while using the Tria. If I was seeing what you described, I would be very, very concerned. And would have stopped using. Your skin is not going to "peel" anything off. Hopefully your skin will be alright. There will be no miraculous results once you stop. Right now, I would be much more concerned with what you described and as someone else said, call someone in the know. You should be concerned with what you described. Hopefully you haven't hurt yourself.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

gtx — Wed, 21 May 2014 03:57:54 GMT

Maren, I have used the Tria for 7 weeks. This is supposed to be week #8. I used the Tria 5 days and let my face rest for 2 days. I have decided to stop for a while. I have redness that doesn't go away and rough skin that I hope will peel away eventualy. I will see how my skin looks in a few weeks. If the negative effects go away, I will continue.

Let us know how you proceed and keep us posted on your improvement.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:03:21 GMT

On 5/20/2014 pdxlalesley said:
Maren you are one plucky lady! I commend you for staying the path---wow. Do you think you can find out from other sites, what others have experienced at this stage? It's likely that what your skin is like right now is normal for your type of skin after this kind of tx. Have you considered calling the Tria CS? You don't sound worried, I'm glad for that.

Haha! Pluck -- that's nice. My mother had another word for it. :-)

I immersed myself in another message board (Essential Day Spa) that had pages and pages of posts with people reporting their progress and reactions/results. I don't recall seeing a report quite like mine, but maybe there was just one oddball like me and it didn't register. Or maybe I'm a first!

No, I'm not worried -- just more curious than ever of what will transpire at the end of my active session. Our skin is always regenerating and renewing, so I don't think I'll be "stuck" like this forever. And even if it is permanent, there's always foundation. At my age (61) I realize that not everyone is looking at and judging me as I was convinced they were when I was in my twenties. Nobody else really cares -- or notices.

I might give Tria a call, but this might be so bizarro they'd tell me to cease and desist (although I probably wouldn't), but I'd be interested to find out if they've received similar reports.

We'll see what happens!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:10:08 GMT

On 5/20/2014 gtx said:
Maren, I have used the Tria for 7 weeks. This is supposed to be week #8. I used the Tria 5 days and let my face rest for 2 days. I have decided to stop for a while. I have redness that doesn't go away and rough skin that I hope will peel away eventualy. I will see how my skin looks in a few weeks. If the negative effects go away, I will continue.

Let us know how you proceed and keep us posted on your improvement.

My skin still feels leathery and I have residual redness, too. I think it kind of makes sense -- we are continually assaulting it so it will react for as long as we do. But that's just my take on it. I've read reports of people who do suffer from the redness and rough skin throughout, and others who have acclimated so well they do it in the morning and dance out the door with no problem. I think a lot depends on OUR skin.

I sure hope that your skin "clears up" soon -- not "eventually! Let us know!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:24:17 GMT

On 5/20/2014 wackers said:
I know discoloration is one of the negative side effects from professional laser surgery but can't imagine that a home use laser would so the same, long term anyway.

I had to use Alpha Hydrox cleanser and also hydroquinone for weeks before having my professional laser surgery as a prevention for any permanent discoloration. Fortunately, I had none.

I have to believe this is temporary and once you stop, your skin will slowly and surely return to normal with all the benefits visible then. I just can't fathom that you will have any long term damage from a home user laser that isn't all that strong as compared to professional lasers. Remember, my skin was literally vaporized off so not any comparison to the Tria.

Yeah, I'm of the same mind, wackers -- doubt a laser of this strength could do any worse than a professional level laser. I think that those of you who've had the Big Guns and who DIDN'T know what to expect might be terrified by how their face looked afterward. Even for those who are prepared, I'd imagine plenty wonder if they actually harmed their skin. Everyone I know who has had cosmetic surgery says initially they really regretted it, felt they'd made a mistake, were convinced they were going to look worse than they looked before. And you know how it ends... now most would go through it again in a heartbeat.

As I mentioned to pdxlalesley, it's not THAT big a deal to me. I went out today with no foundation on and nobody's eyes drifted up to my pink hairline or my stripes or my cheek. Unless you're looking closely (as I've been doing several times daily!) it's barely noticeable.

Other than the color oddities, my skin itself looks good. Very clear, LOOKS smooth, healthy (ironically since I'm hurting it!). I'm still planning on going for injections at some point for the expression lines, but even if there isn't any improvement after I stop the treatment, I'm okay with how it's looking now. Still HOPING for improvement, but what I have now isn't BAD, by any means.:-)

It's only my face -- not my health, nothing that really matters to the world. I'm good. :-)

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

HappyDaze — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:43:51 GMT

You are a brave woman, Maren!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:49:31 GMT

On 5/20/2014 HappyDaze said:
You are a brave woman, Maren!

It's really not that bad, HD. :-) If I sat down across from you right now you'd be able to see what I'm talking about, but you wouldn't gasp in horror and cover your eyes -- really!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

HappyDaze — Wed, 21 May 2014 05:04:07 GMT

I know, but you are still brave. I don't think I could go through all of that. It would just freak me out a little, even though the concept is that it will get worse before it gets better. I would be so scared during the "worse" part. I hope it all works out in the end and you have the skin you want!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

jmachere2 — Wed, 21 May 2014 05:08:08 GMT

Hi Maren Seattle! It's been a few weeks since I posted about my Tria experience. I travel a lot for work and often don't have time to check the boards when I'm out of town. I'm a few weeks ahead of you with my treatment and I'm doing the 12-week protocol (five days on/two days off). My skin is fair and the redness never seems to go away during the five day treatment. I was getting concerned but kept up with the treatment as the two-day break is enough time to diminish the redness, and my skin looks so smooth, especially during the two-day break.

Several weeks ago, I missed a few days due to my busy schedule. During the extra two days off from treatment (a total of four days) my skin looked the best it has looked in years. During that time, I went to visit my sister who I hadn't in several months (we live on opposite coasts). Initially she didn't say anything and I thought maybe my skin didn't look as great as I thought it did (we both suffered from acne as teenagers and are always talking about skin care and skin gadgets and I didn't tell her about the Tria -- I wanted to see if she noticed a difference without knowing what I was doing). The following morning, she told me my skin looked amazing and asked what I was doing. She was surprised that an at-home treatment made such a difference and immediately went online to buy one.

Since you haven't taken a break in seven weeks, I think the sun kissed look and marks are temporary and will clear up during your break. If my results during the four-day break are any indication of what my skin will look like after the 12-week treatment, I'll be thrilled. If you are concerned I would recommend that you call Tria Customer Service. They can tell you if what you're experiencing is typical.

Here's to being even more beautiful!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Wed, 21 May 2014 15:47:10 GMT

On 5/20/2014 jmachere2 said:
Hi Maren Seattle! It's been a few weeks since I posted about my Tria experience. I travel a lot for work and often don't have time to check the boards when I'm out of town. I'm a few weeks ahead of you with my treatment and I'm doing the 12-week protocol (five days on/two days off). My skin is fair and the redness never seems to go away during the five day treatment. I was getting concerned but kept up with the treatment as the two-day break is enough time to diminish the redness, and my skin looks so smooth, especially during the two-day break.

Several weeks ago, I missed a few days due to my busy schedule. During the extra two days off from treatment (a total of four days) my skin looked the best it has looked in years. During that time, I went to visit my sister who I hadn't in several months (we live on opposite coasts). Initially she didn't say anything and I thought maybe my skin didn't look as great as I thought it did (we both suffered from acne as teenagers and are always talking about skin care and skin gadgets and I didn't tell her about the Tria -- I wanted to see if she noticed a difference without knowing what I was doing). The following morning, she told me my skin looked amazing and asked what I was doing. She was surprised that an at-home treatment made such a difference and immediately went online to buy one.

Since you haven't taken a break in seven weeks, I think the sun kissed look and marks are temporary and will clear up during your break. If my results during the four-day break are any indication of what my skin will look like after the 12-week treatment, I'll be thrilled. If you are concerned I would recommend that you call Tria Customer Service. They can tell you if what you're experiencing is typical.

Here's to being even more beautiful!

Hi! Good to see you! Great story about your sister -- hope she's happy with it. It's great that she'll be able to check in with you along the way. I've heard that before -- about the almost instantaneous improvement during days off. I've read (on EDS) some people who extended their 4 week respite (doing the 8/4 protocol) because their skin continued to improve and they wanted to see how far it went before beginning treatment again. On the other hand, LuvMyBoxer said her skin looked the best DURING her 8th week of treatment -- again, we will all experience different results. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody's reports during the rest period, and of course, looking forward to seeing my own. Especially if my stripes disappear! :-)

It's hard to describe, but my skin looks really, really good, stripes and tan and all. I swear there are no little wrinkles anywhere (which could be a result of the inflammation due to the laser, I know). Still have the dee expression lines and the sag, but I never expect the Tria to address those anyway. If my skin just remains like this, with a return back to normal coloring and texture, of course, I'll consider this a big success!

Yes! Here's to being even more beautiful!! :-)

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

Tennessee Vol — Thu, 22 May 2014 00:17:23 GMT

MarenSeattle,

I'm a little behind you and will start my week 7 tomorrow but I have experienced some of the issues you mentioned. My skin also looks more tan than is normal for me and I still have areas that feel rough, like sandpaper. Are the areas that look pink or lighter more smooth than the ones that look like foundation swatches? Do these darker areas feel like sandpaper? My sandpapery, (I know that's not a word) areas seem a little darker too. Something else I've noticed is that in weeks 4 and 5 my face didn't turn as red as it had and didn't stay red for long but that all changed several days ago. My face is reacting they way it did early on, getting red and staying that way for at least an hour.

My worst "looking" weeks were weeks 3 and 4, my skin had an almost grayish cast to it and I looked kind of splotchy. Thank goodness that went away. Now I feel my face has started looking better, my pores are smaller and my color is even, albeit more tan. The areas that need the most help, if you know what I mean, are the ones that were/are the roughest/sandpapery - under my eyes, around my temples and under the corners of my mouth. All three of these areas look better now and my under eye area looks really good, but that's probably inflammation, but time will tell.

Well, after reading all the posts about Tatcha, I gave in and order the cleanser and rice powder... are you using both now along with your Tria? Also, do you use the Tatcha with your Clarisonic?

Thanks and Good Luck!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

myshell624 — Thu, 22 May 2014 00:29:23 GMT

On 5/20/2014 HappyDaze said:
I know, but you are still brave. I don't think I could go through all of that. It would just freak me out a little, even though the concept is that it will get worse before it gets better. I would be so scared during the "worse" part. I hope it all works out in the end and you have the skin you want!

ITA! Discoloration is my main concern and seeing it look worse is just not something I could take. I have made a lot of improvement by using good skincare and that is as far as I will go for home use. I know that it would totally freak me out.

Maren good luck to you. You are definitely braver than I am. I hope you get the results you want.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Thu, 22 May 2014 00:59:15 GMT

On 5/21/2014 Tennessee Vol said:
MarenSeattle,

I'm a little behind you and will start my week 7 tomorrow but I have experienced some of the issues you mentioned. My skin also looks more tan than is normal for me and I still have areas that feel rough, like sandpaper. Are the areas that look pink or lighter more smooth than the ones that look like foundation swatches? Do these darker areas feel like sandpaper? My sandpapery, (I know that's not a word) areas seem a little darker too. Something else I've noticed is that in weeks 4 and 5 my face didn't turn as red as it had and didn't stay red for long but that all changed several days ago. My face is reacting they way it did early on, getting red and staying that way for at least an hour.

My worst "looking" weeks were weeks 3 and 4, my skin had an almost grayish cast to it and I looked kind of splotchy. Thank goodness that went away. Now I feel my face has started looking better, my pores are smaller and my color is even, albeit more tan. The areas that need the most help, if you know what I mean, are the ones that were/are the roughest/sandpapery - under my eyes, around my temples and under the corners of my mouth. All three of these areas look better now and my under eye area looks really good, but that's probably inflammation, but time will tell.

Well, after reading all the posts about Tatcha, I gave in and order the cleanser and rice powder... are you using both now along with your Tria? Also, do you use the Tatcha with your Clarisonic?

Thanks and Good Luck!

Hiya! I've read several reports by those who were "tan" throughout the process, so that wasn't unexpected for me. I honestly wonder if it's all my freckles/age spots coming to the fore. Regardless, it doesn't seem like it's a rarity among users. And I'm hand-in-hand with you regarding the sandpaper (more leathery, I'd say), and "regression" to redness post treatment. interesting, isn't it?

My entire face is somewhat leathery -- it's ALL "tan"! I'm thinking after this is all through I'm in for a seriously exfoliation -- I think a lot of it must be "cooked skin" just waiting to be soughed off. That's just my opinion, though.

I''m wondering if the pink around my hairline is my hairline receeding! God help me! Either that or I'm going further up my forehead with my treatment, which may well be the case. I have an age spot up there that I didn't seem to be getting to, so have been concentrating WAY UP there. I'm hoping that's it and not hair loss!

I don't use my Clarisonic any more -- switched to the Foreo Luna. But I use that (and used the Clarisonic before I received the Foreo) with the Tatcha. I'm still using Tatcha w/the Tria, and the Foreo -- not sure if I'd still use the Clarisonic, though -- mostly because my brush was becoming a little rough.

Despite common perception, I don't view the Rice Powder as an exfoliator -- not a manual exfoliator, anyway. Remember to really lather it up in your hands and it turns into a rich, creamy texture -- not grainy at all. (A couple of little lumps remain, but not enough to really do anything.) I use the oil, rinse just once or twice, then lather up the rice powder and use my Foreo with that (and that's how I used my Clarisonic with it, too). It's no problem -- for me, anyway.

I'm happy that you and I seem to be experiencing the same things along the same timeline. Good checks for each other!

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Thu, 22 May 2014 01:09:38 GMT

On 5/21/2014 myshell624 said:
On 5/20/2014 HappyDaze said:
I know, but you are still brave. I don't think I could go through all of that. It would just freak me out a little, even though the concept is that it will get worse before it gets better. I would be so scared during the "worse" part. I hope it all works out in the end and you have the skin you want!

ITA! Discoloration is my main concern and seeing it look worse is just not something I could take. I have made a lot of improvement by using good skincare and that is as far as I will go for home use. I know that it would totally freak me out.

Maren good luck to you. You are definitely braver than I am. I hope you get the results you want.

You know, I think it's just that at my age, I've done so much to my skin and always come out unscathed, that nothing fazes me. The only difference is now I'm much more patient than I would have been years ago. If this is permanent, so be it -- I'll adjust and deal with it. I've had to do that in other areas of my life and life goes on. :-)

And as I said to HD, it's not as bad as it sounds -- really! Thanks for your good wishes -- I wish that for all of us who are slogging through this process. :-)

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

Tennessee Vol — Thu, 22 May 2014 03:18:07 GMT

Maren, I agree that we will need a good exfoliation when our 8 weeks is over. I normally get a facial every 6 to 8 weeks along with a TCA peel in different strengths depending on what my skin needs. The discoloration I'm seeing with the Tria is nothing compared to what happens when I get a 20% TCA peel, several layers of skin turns dark brown and after a few days I'll start shedding skin like a reptile!

As for the Foreo, oh no! another device I need!!! I saw pictures of it in a magazine and didn't pay any attention to it then because I just thought it was some ribbed piece of rubber - but after reading your post I found some reviews and want to get it as well. I like the fact that I won't have to replace brush heads and it will be more sanitary/easier to keep clean. I did find one reviewer who thought it was flimsy and cheaply made. She also didn't like the fact that you aren't supposed to use it with oil. I guess I need to go to the Foreo website and actually read the do's and don'ts.

Thanks and I'll report my progress again next week unless something earth shaking happens before then.

Re: Tria - Week 7 (weird stuff!)

MarenSeattle — Thu, 22 May 2014 04:28:49 GMT

On 5/21/2014 Tennessee Vol said:
Maren, I agree that we will need a good exfoliation when our 8 weeks is over. I normally get a facial every 6 to 8 weeks along with a TCA peel in different strengths depending on what my skin needs. The discoloration I'm seeing with the Tria is nothing compared to what happens when I get a 20% TCA peel, several layers of skin turns dark brown and after a few days I'll start shedding skin like a reptile!

As for the Foreo, oh no! another device I need!!! I saw pictures of it in a magazine and didn't pay any attention to it then because I just thought it was some ribbed piece of rubber - but after reading your post I found some reviews and want to get it as well. I like the fact that I won't have to replace brush heads and it will be more sanitary/easier to keep clean. I did find one reviewer who thought it was flimsy and cheaply made. She also didn't like the fact that you aren't supposed to use it with oil. I guess I need to go to the Foreo website and actually read the do's and don'ts.

Thanks and I'll report my progress again next week unless something earth shaking happens before then.

Re: Foreo. It's silicones you have to avoid (because the device itself is silicone), not oils. Not only is it easier, cleaner, and quicker, I got mine in January and after the initial charge haven't had to recharge it yet! My Clarisonic was the old kind with the charger cradle, so I don't know if the newer versions hold their charge longer than mine did.

There are several threads here on the Foreo, too (natch). :-)