My good girl-friend Bonnie (who is getting married this weekend, more on that to come) is always raving about getting a chemical peel. She swears it improves your skin condition and makes your face look great.
I’m proud to say I’ve made Bonnie proud. Thanks to Elase and our partnership, I’ve experienced my first chemical peel! Hopefully you’ll find it almost as interesting as my armpits and the laser hair treatments I’ve been getting.
Despite Bonnie’s raves about chemical peels, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. She never told me what it was like to experience. In my mind I had thoughts of a goo-ish gel being applied to my face, creating an audible sizzle as it burned through a layer of my skin. 
But…I was wrong. It was actually really lovely. It was kind of like getting a facial. There were warm linens and soft music and a very caring clinician.
She started by wrapping my face in freshly steamed towels. That alone was so relaxing. Then she gently cleansed my face. It’s very strange to have someone else wash your face while you lay there and do nothing, but I could get used to it.
Then it came time to apply the peel. In case you know your peels, this was a Vitalize Peel by Skin Medica, and it wasn’t gooey at all.
She just took a gauze pad and swiped the cool liquid across my face in a methodical motion.
Then she allowed it to dry and massaged my face by gently tapping it with her fingertips.
She repeated this process either two or three times, I can’t remember exactly.
It didn’t burn or hurt. It might have been a little bit stingy, but compared to what I was expecting, it was nothing. Other people might have more sensitive skin than I do and could experience more of a sting, but I didn’t. The clinician was very good to continually monitor my reaction to the peel and how I felt.
Before I knew it, it was over. I got up and walked out like nothing happened. They were sure to instruct me to stay out of the sun for a few days or longer and to wear lots of sunscreen when I was outside. She also told me that my skin would most likely start to flake away, kind of like a sunburn, in a couple days. 
Two days later, it seemed like nothing had changed except I could visibly see that my skin looked better.
It’s like that that thing of when you go to the dentist and get your teeth polished and then your teeth feel mega-clean and slimy almost because there’s absolutely no crud on them. That’s what a chemical peel is like, except on your face.
But then, there was the third day. I was shopping at Target, feeling great about myself. I made my purchases and headed home where I learned that my face was flaking away, like bad. I couldn’t feel it at all, but I must have looked REALLY funny to the people at Target.
If I was smart, I would have taken a photo of it so I could show you, but…I was an idiot and I immediately grabbed a warm wash cloth and wiped all the dead skin away. Oopsie. So…you’ll have to go down to Target and ask the guy at the snack bar about the flaky face lady and see what he says. He’ll prolly tell you I’m a mean mom because I wouldn’t buy my kids any popcorn despite their incessant requests.
I was hoping I would flake up again so I could get a photo and I did flake a tiny bit more the next day, but it wasn’t enough to show up on a camera very well.
So there it is. Everything you wanted to know about the realities of getting a Chemical Peel. I love the results and it was totally painless. So…if you have a little extra money to spend on yourself and would like to try it, I highly recommend having a chemical peel at Elase. Please note that they are having a summer special offering DEEP discounts for you and a friend to come in for whatever service you’re interested in! Check out the details on their facebook page.
And…stay tuned, in a few weeks, I’d be giving away a glycolic Chemical Peel!
