Re: i bought the lactic acid…
Ah ok. With skincare, you have to stop having the mentality of “I want to speed it up.” It took years for you skin to get to where it is today. Unless you’re doing something drastic like deep TCA…things like lactic/glycolic/RA is not going to give you “fast” results. You must have a little patience.
I’d say stick with the lactic 1x/week. Next time you do it…yep, see if you can leave it on for the full 7 minutes. Even at 7 minutes…if your skin isn’t turning super pink or the stinging sensation isn’t too much…see if you can go upto 8 or 9. As I’ve said earlier…the only time you need to stop immediately is if you see hints of white, “frosting”, on the skin. If you can leave the 2nd peel for 7-8 minutes with no issues…then the 3rd time, try for 15 minutes. And if that goes well…then the 4th time you can try layering. In between the peels…keep the skin moisturized and make sure to wear sunscreen during the day (avoiding the sun as much as possible is the best).
As for the lightening effect…lol…nope. No one ever made any comments about me being lighter. My face was never an exact match to my neck to begin with. The only thing my fiance and best friend made comments on was that my face looked “brighter”. But then again, keep in mind that I also use RA and vitamin C serum. The only reason I noticed the slight change in skintone is b/c of the trip to match foundation. More than actually “lightening” skin, I think the lactic helps with removing the permanent tan most of us have.