Following her first post documenting the aftermath of serious allergic reaction to a facial, bunbunmakeuptips blogger Juli continues to photograph the damage to her skin. Her latest updates include more spotty "barnacles," some cartoon cats (to illustrate her feelings) and the crowd-sourced prospects of her suing the salon responsible:
I was at my lowest on Day 5. A small percentage of the pustules were starting to dry out, but more were forming, and they were MERGING. They were spreading to my neck too, and were incredibly itchy.
Day 6: Early in the morning, I went to [a specialist skin doctor's] clinic. Dr. Joyce said it's an allergic reaction. She mentioned that subsequent extractions worsened the situation. I believe my skin was seeing slight improvements even before visiting though. I could see the redness subsiding and more pustules drying up. I'll tell you why: I believe it was a magical combination of proper medication, encouragement and love from everyone around me – physically and virtually – that helped in my recovery. Thanks for the e-hugs, everyone!
Even though my skin was far from its previous self, I could finally smile a little. I steered my sadness into optimism and tried to focus on things I still have and should be grateful for... Like how the rest of my body is still functioning well, so that I can walk, see, laugh, and shop for cute Hello Kitty masks.
In all honesty, even though my skin was showing some signs of improvement, I was embarrassed of how I looked and not ready to expose my ravaged skin. I was more confident with a mask on. When the wind blew, I had to press my bangs firmly against my forehead to make sure nobody saw the grotesqueness beneath.
Night 6: In the following pictures you can see that my skin has improved a lot. I mean, it still looks red and awful, but in comparison to Night 4 and Night 5, I think it has improved by leaps and bounds. Some old pustules had dried up and new ones stopped sprouting out like wild mushrooms.
Day 7: With the growth of new pustules stumped, my skin presents another set of problems – redness and pigmentation. [The skin doctor] said I have post-injury pigmentation. How are we going to tackle these? Which company would want THIS FACE to endorse their brand and products???? YOU TELL ME!!!
Ruining the FACE of a beauty blogger is akin to hurting the voice of a singer, the knees of a dancer, the fingers of a pianist. Can they go about their normal activities? Yes, they can. Maybe with difficulty and inconvenience, but yes, they can eat, walk, sleep. But how much in the process was robbed from them? The anguish of not being able to work, earn an income, torn away from their passion, the helplessness of not knowing how long and how much this will affect their future, do these not contribute to the degradation of quality of life?It's hard to look at me and say 'You pretty girl!' anymore, honestly. You may say I have a beautiful heart and soul, but I need a face too. It is disconcerting that we should place much emphasis on appearances but you and I both know this is how the world spins.
As before, republished (in part) with permission from Bun Bun Makeup Tips.
Read part one of Juli's story here and see the full update, which includes her discussing legal action and being bullied by the salon in question, at her blog: "More Than A Pretty Face – Update On My Skin Condition."