How to get a Peel & Heal to talk about it…..

Let me start by saying I have the world’s most sensitive skin. I should really take my own advice and steer clear of strong products and aggressive treatments….but what fun would that be?

So, naturally, I recently got a chemical peel in our office. In my defense, the peel was on the sensitive side of the strength spectrum, containing lactic, glycolic, and pyruvic acids, left on for a quick 2 minutes and rinsed appropriately. Harmless, right?

Wrong. All hell broke loose. The burning and redness I expected; the oozing, a little surprising; and the peeling more embarrassing than anything. But, as always, I survived and I want you to, too!!

So, I give you my tips to a successful, tolerable peel!

1. The Preparation

   • When they say to hold off on all other skincare products (besides gentle cleanser and moisturizer/sunscreen) BEFORE your peel, they mean it!

   • To be safe, stopping all other products for 3 days prior to your peel should be sufficient.

2. Day Of

   • In the event of any oozing or discomfort, plan to lay low for the remainder of the day following your peel.

   • Staying at home will also prevent you from having to wear a mask (if Covid is still around at the time of your peel).

   • Avoid putting makeup on after.

3. Steps to Soothe

   • Majority of the time, it felt like I couldn’t moisturize ENOUGH.

   • Your average Cerave or Cetaphil Lotion will likely not be sufficient to provide the type of soothing and moisture your post-peel skin needs.

   • My go-to products were:

     • Avene Tolerance Control Extremely Gentle Cleanser (great for the rinse-free option)

     • Avene Tolerance Control Soothing Recovery Balm

     • Avene Cicalfate Cream

     • La RochePosay Cicaplast Baume B5

     • Aquafor (for my lips)

   • I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sneak into our sample closet at work and snatch a few mild steroid samples. In the event you have super irritated spots, steroid cream (sparingly) is a game-changer.

4. Don’t PEEL the PEEL

   • At times, your skin may look and feel like snake skin.

   • Fight the urge to peel your skin! This leads to the potential for scarring or hyperpigmentation.

   • Be gentle when washing your face and be sure to PAT dry with a towel.

   • Let the skin peel off by itself.

5. Healite

   • Once again, I took advantage of what was at my fingertips in the office.

   • At lunch, I sat under the Healite which provides LED light to aide in healing and improve blood flow and circulation to the area.

6. Return to Routine

   • When all was said and done, I think I took about a week off of my normal skincare routine.

   • I’ve heard people recommend at least 3 days, so, depending on your response, use your own discretion.

I’ll be honest. On Post-Peel Day 2, my grandma asked if I would get it done again and I said absolutely not. Probably a little dramatic.

Now that I know what to expect and how to prepare for/handle the response, it wasn’t so bad. Not to mention, I’m a lean, mean, smooth-skinned, glowing machine.

-xoxo