My skin has been so strange lately. I’ve noticed some dry patches, even though it’s summer and the weather has been quite humid. I was offered a complimentary facial at SoundShapes, and I never turn down free beauty services by reputable people/places, so I went for one earlier this week.
Ashleigh worked on me, and she explained to me that the dry patches are probably due to stress. Surprise, surprise! Why didn’t I think of that? I was busy with work and my Chinese Tea Ceremony/engagement party this past weekend. And Hurricane Arthur blowing through Boston on the date of my party (4th of July) did not help the situation! (I ended up having to move the party to the next day, and had to notify everyone attending of the changes. But that’s another story). Bottom line: Dry patches, skin reactions, are from stress.
We did a basic facial (cleansing, massage, extraction, etc.). But Ashleigh also did an enzyme peel. It sounds terrifying, right? “PEEL” But it wasn’t at all. Your skin has 4 layers, and the enzyme peel only takes off the top layer of your skin, which is where the dry, dead skin is. A chemical peel would take away more layers of your skin than the enzyme peel. For more details on chemical peels, refer to this WebMD link.
At SoundShapes, they use products by PCA, which can only be sold by and purchased at authorized/certified dealers and spas. Ashleigh used PCA’s pumpkin enzyme peel. It smells amazing. I just wanted to eat it. It’s basically a mask that is applied all over the face, and the feeling was a tingling sensation. It wasn’t painful at all. After a few minutes, the product is removed from the face with a warm, damp towel. There was no “peeling” associated with the product. Not like the masks I used when I was in middle school and high school, where you apply it and then once it dries, it becomes plastic-like, and you lift and peel it off your face. (That was FUN!).
I did not have any issues post peel. My skin feels super smooth, and was glowing from the awesome facial.
Ashleigh also gave me some products to try (cleanser, toner, moisturizer with SPF). And she recommended that I should start thinking about a chemical peel leading up to my wedding. She’s getting married really soon, and will be giving herself a peel. After reading about the various chemical peels on the WebMD link, I think the one she’s recommending is more on the “mild” side of the chemical peels out there. It’s more just glycolic acid based product. I will check with her and blog more about that later. It’s not completely out of the question for me to try it, especially if it’s on the milder side of the chemical peels.
Whenever I hear of “chemical peels,” I think back to “Sex and the City” when Samantha got a chemical peel before an event and ended up covering her face with a veil. I don’t want to end up like THAT.
I might want to try the peel after summer’s over, so it can remove all the dead skin from the summer sun.
If any of you have had chemical peels done before, let me know your thoughts on them!
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