Hot Cider, Pumpkin Patches, and Peels. My Fall Favorites.
Peel Season is upon us, Friends! Time to wipe away the sins of the Summer… at least off our faces.
You know when you find your favorite new thing? A song, a sweater, a restaurant? You just can’t stop talking about it or leave it alone? That’s how I feel about our new Micropeel from Elaine Brennan.
It’s a mysterious little product... one little jar, a simple treatment to perform. The mystery lies in how it does what it does, and does it so well. Typically we are not “big peel” fans here... and when I say big peel, I mean the kind of peels that give you a lot of downtime... think Samantha on Sex and the City. The only “big” peel we do here is RP from DMK... and a lot of prep goes into that. Why?
I think most big peels miss the mark in being too damaging with too little recovery. If your skin is compromised (barrier impaired, thin, etc) then it will lack resources to recover from such trauma. And that’s what a big peel is... trauma in an effort to force recovery. So, if we push skin that can’t recover, we can actually create other big issues like pigmentation... which are just as bad, if not worse than the original issue we were trying to treat.
Imagine running a marathon on an empty stomach, or with no sleep. This is like what we ask our skin to do when we peel it without preparing it... you will survive, but at what cost? So to do an RP you need a full homecare routine proceeding, and at least 4 professional Enzyme Therapy treatments as well. So when you do have your week of peeling, your skin can recover from it.
I love our new micropeel because it’s a “small” peel (very little downtime, shedding, or pain) that acts like a big one. This means you should get a visible improvement in texture, active acne, pigment scarring, even melasma. Also, little to no homecare prep or aftercare is needed. How does it do it???
It has to do with the base the acids rest in. Most peels are a liquid you brush it on, leave it for a few minutes... feel the burn, remove it, and your face is fried. Micropeel is a balm and sits for thirty to sixty minutes on your skin. It slowly builds some heat... but that’s as bad as it gets. At its worst, most people rate it a 4 on the pain scale (10 being unbearable). This slows absorption and prevents it from flash frying your epidermis.
Its main acids are:
Resorcinol: works by breaking down rough, scaly, or hardened skin and is used to treat acne, eczema, psoriasis, seborrhea, photoaging, solar keratoses, epidermal atrophy and improves skin tone and unevenness.
Kojik Acid: works on melanocytes interfering with the production of melanin. It has excellent skin-lightening abilities and is classified as an antioxidant.
Salicylic Acid: is used to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne, oily skin, blackheads, and whiteheads. It directly dissolves the keratin plugs to regulate the skin cells acting as an exfoliant. Salicylic Acid improves collagen production and the thickness of the skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties.
But the main thing I love about Micropeel is IT IS GOOD FOR ALL FITZPATRICKS! The Fitzpatrick scale is what we use to rate skin’s pigment... with 1 being the fairest and 6 being the darkest. Skins that are higher on the Fitzpatrick scale pigment very easily, because of their high amounts of melanin. Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH) occurs in response to trauma or inflammation... think marks after acne. In lighter skins they are typically red or pink... and can turn brown as melanin fires to protect the underlying wound. But in darker skins, that protective melanin fires even more readily... and why many peels are a no-no. The wounding action of a typical peel can set off that melanin reaction and make PIH worse! It’s like quicksand... the more you wound the skin to get the pigment out, the worse it gets.
But not Mighty Micropeel! The results on higher Fitzpatricks are literally incredible. My satisfaction in using this tool for that tricky immense issue is why I’m obsessed with it. The peels are best done in a course... 3 to 6 about a month apart depending on the issue. And unlike a normal peel where your best results are just after you shed, with the Micropeel the best results are a full month after. This is because you will shed slowly, rather than all at once... which cuts the downtime! Your skin will feel rough and flakey, and some people do peel a bit. But nothing near a typical old school, big peel.
And this is why Micropeel is one of my few Fall favorites. To celebrate its introduction, we will be offering a free mini Betagel to support recovery with your Micropeel through October. Book yours today and find out what Peel season is all about!