Wait, did you ever figure out why the 20 minute mark was so brutal for you too? I had the exact same issue, waking up with that heavy head feeling and honestly questioning my whole life choices for a solid hour after. The buffer idea is smart, I started setting my alarm for 30 minutes but just staying in bed for the first 5, like a slow roll out instead of jumping up. It sounds dumb but that little pause before standing makes a huge difference, my brain doesn't feel like it's still stuck in a dream fog anymore. I'm glad you found something that works, naps are tricky little traps sometimes.

Man my first smoke I forgot about the ribs during a nap and woke up to what looked like a tire fire.

Oh man, this is such a common mixup. The thing is, most people think a peel is gonna mess with their glow, but honestly a light one done a solid 10-14 days out usually makes the skin pop way better than any tan. Skipping it completely is what leaves that weird patchy foundation look cause dead skin just sits there. I get the fear, but the timing math is pretty simple, if it's too close to the day then yeah skip it, but two weeks out is basically the sweet spot. Patches happen way more from not exfoliating than from doing it right.

My '68 Firebird got the same sticky film after just one month in a Dallas garage last July.

Ngl I learned that crusty film lesson the hard way too. Had to power wash the whole thing and start over.