From everything that I've read here, it's better to start out with one exfoliating agent and see how your skin reacts to it. If that agent isn't too irritating, and you build up a tolerance to it, then you can incorporate another agent. For example, as you begin, you could use buffered Retin-A every other day. As you build up a tolerance to it you could use Retin-A two days in a row, take three days off from the exfoliation, and then introduce a Lactic Acid Peel. Since you have a history of PIH, start slow. If physical exfoliation and chemical exfoliation are too much in combination for you, you could take sea salt baths to allow your dead skin cells to slough off.

 

Just treat it like a grand experiment! A good experiment involves changing ONE variable, then evaluating its effect. If you start off using peels, a microfiber, retin-a, vitamin c serum & HQ how could you ever determine what's working & what isn't? If you have an adverse reaction, which agent caused it? Additionally, by piling treatment upon treatment you run the risk of perpetrating so many insults to your skin that you'll do more harm than good, as you discovered when both burning & scrubbing your skin (ouch!).

Choose one thing & stick with it until it's obvious that it's not working or you don't tolerate it. If you tolerate it but only have a partial response cautiously add another agent. If you don't tolerate it, discontinue use, allow your skin to recover & choose another treatment. Research each treatment, some don't mix, others work well together. There are often strategies to mitigate adverse reactions; e.g. decrease contact time, use a buffered approach, decrease frequency of use, etc. This way you can intelligently build a regimen without disfiguring yourself!