Full Disclosure: Melody’s “About Face” Chemical Peel series is sponsored by About Face Skin Care, but the amazing results and my opinions are my own. #melodysaboutface
You know how people start off the new year with that old saying “New Year, New Me”?
well, I may find myself saying that bit early now that my skin is starting to look so great. Last week I had my first of three SkinCeuticals Pigment Balancing Peels, and I’m here to give you an update on how it went and what I’ve been experiencing after the peel. If you missed my previous post where I shared why I was having chemical peels done you can check it out here!
Before the peel, I had a Q and A session with Naomi Fenlin, Owner of About Face Skin Care. She answered a bunch of the questions that I was getting from friends and readers about the peeling process, and I’d like to share everything here.
Q: What should I expect after this first peel?
A: Immediately after, your skin is going to quickly look brighter because the peel ingredients lift off the discolored, surface skin-cells. The “peeling” happens skin-cell by skin-cell, so you shouldn’t have any downtime because there is no obvious “peeling” happening. The best results are attained after a series of treatments, so while you’ll see some improvement with this peel, the results will get better, and more noticeable with each session.
Q: Why is this peel a good peel for darker skin?
A: This is a great peel for darker skin types because it goes deep enough to affect any areas that are discolored — but not deep enough to cause the skin to darken further in response to the peel (which is always the concern when treating darker skin types.
A: Yes, the Pigment Balancing Peel works beautifully at lifting off most hyper-pigmented, dark spots — including those coming from Acne.
The Actual Peel
Briana Potito was my treatment provider, and I knew I was in good hands because she also previously did my SkinCeuticals Facial.
Before the Peel Briana had me wash my face to remove any products that I currently had on my face, even though I knew I was having a chemical peel, I still made sure to apply moisturizer and sunscreen.
She then applied protectant around my lips and shields to protect my eyes in order to make sure that the most delicate parts of my face were protected.
The actual chemical peel lasted maybe all of 10 minutes.
I was warned that I would feel a tingly sensation once the peel was applied, but the actual feeling was quite surprising and reminded me of the day when I would have my hair chemically straightened. You know, like when you’ve told the stylist you haven’t been scratching because you really need your hair to be straightened and you pray it doesn’t burn too bad before it takes?
Yea it felt like that, but only immediately after the peel had been applied.
Briana was great and talked me through it, and after the peel application, she applied a therapeutic blast of cold air to the treated areas which helped to soothe the “spiciness” that I was feeling on my face.
She then neutralized the peel and about two minutes later we were all done making this a super quick in and out of office visit. I was advised to use a gentler face wash for the first week, and so I switched out my SkinCeuticals LHA Cleansing Gel for the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. I was also advised to be sure to continue to use sunscreen every single day.
After the Peel
Immediately after the peel, my face felt a bit tight, which is to be expected, and while that can be a bit uncomfortable there was literally no down time at all!
I was able to go straight to work after the peel.
The following day I had to tell myself to stop looking in the mirror, but even though I knew I wouldn’t see results immediately, I couldn’t help it. I honestly didn’t notice a difference in the appearance of my skin until Wednesday evening which was five days after treatment. I could tell there was a difference because this was the Wednesday following the election and I didn’t look like death warmed over, which is how I felt.
By Thursday, I could tell my skin was noticeably brighter and “healthier” looking. I also noticed a slight texture change as the area around my chin was noticeably smoother.
After seeing these results from the first peel I’m over the moon excited to see what my skin will look like after the second peel since the results are cumulative and build on top of each other.
While the “spiciness” I felt during the peel was a bit uncomfortable I’m actually not dreading the feeling for my next peel as I now know what to expect. Seeing as the procedure only last about 10 minutes I can handle a small bit of discomfort for amazing results. I mean come on ladies we’ve gone through much worse to look fabulous!
Before and After Photos
In each post, I’ll include photos to help document my results. As I mentioned before results are cumulative and we’re one week post first peel. As time goes by I’ll start to see more changes.
Interested in learning more about chemical peels or maybe want to know more about other skincare procedures to help you look your best for the upcoming holiday season?
Be sure to check out About Face Skincare located at 1015 Chestnut St #1205 in Center City Pennsylvania and let them know I recommended you.