What better way to welcome the season of renewal than with a transformative chemical peel? But what can you expect if you’ve never had one before? One of our clients shares her experience.
I’ve never had a peel before, and I’ll be honest I was feeling rather nervous about the experience. In my head I imagined it being painful, followed by a week of hibernation as my skin came off in chunks. Luckily, in the safe hands of Dr Julia and her team, it was neither of these.
Before treatment: You need to be gentle with your skin in the run-up to your appointment, minimising sun exposure and avoiding hair removal/laser treatments for two weeks beforehand. It’s also advisable to ease up on exfoliating products too and, for me, it also meant a week without fake tan!
During treatment: Before the procedure starts, my skin was thoroughly cleansed (I had remembered to leave my makeup off that morning), prepped with a rather pungent alcohol wipe and a little bit of Vaseline applied around my nose and lips. The VI Peel Precision Plus solution was then applied in layers with gauze. There is a slight tingling sensation, but believe me (I’m a very nervous patient), it was completely pain-free. It’s more that you can feel your face warming up rather than anything uncomfortable.
The treatment takes about 15 minutes and because the peel is self-neutralising you wash it off yourself at home with the purifying cleanser after four hours and then start with the rest of the easy-to-follow VI Peel at-home care kit. This includes post-peel towelettes, soothing post-treatment repair cream and a sunscreen with SPF 50, complete with an instruction booklet or you can download the VI app.
Once you’ve done your first cleanse, you can apply light makeup – great news as I was going out for dinner on the evening. My skin felt tight and looked quite shiny, but not that anyone noticed (or at least they were too polite to say).
Day three-six: The shininess made way to peeling by day three, most noticeably across my forehead, my jaw and around my nose. While it’s tempting to pick at the loose skin, you have to resist because it can lead to scarring. Having said that, I don’t think I experienced as much flakiness as others I spoke to. I had quite a few social events in the week following my peel and I didn't feel the need to go into hiding. Luckily, the repair cream certainly helped keep much of the peeling at bay and you can return to your usual skincare routine after a week.
Once the peeling finished by day seven, I noticed a clearer, healthier looking complexion, which has continued over the following weeks. In fact, a few people have mentioned how good my skin looked. It’s definitely something I would have again; ideally pre- and post-summer, and I love that it has given my skin a much-needed re-set. Just remember, to keep your glow for as long as possible make sure to follow the proper aftercare instructions, avoid sun exposure during the peeling phase and continue to use a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily.
VI Derm's Precision Plus Chemical Peel: This innovative treatment is specially formulated to target stubborn pigmentation, skin damage and discoloration, revealing a brighter complexion beneath. With a potent blend of powerhouse ingredients including TCA, retinol, salicylic acid, and vitamin C, it promotes rapid cell turnover for improved tone.
It’s a medium-depth treatment that works by creating micro-damage on the outermost layer of the skin, causing it to “peel off”. This exfoliates the treated area and promotes new tissue growth. It also stimulates collagen production and new skin cells, and while you’ll notice improvements after one treatment you may need more to tackle acne scars, enlarged pores and hyperpigmentation.