Glycolic Acid 35% Gel Peel, 30ml (Professional) Review. Level 1) Glycolic/35, Lactic/35, Salicylic/20
Level 2) Glycolac/60, Lactic/50 - Twice as strong as L1
Level 3) Glycolic/50, Lactic/70, BHA+, HQ+ - Twice as strong as L2
Choosing a Peel:
Glycolic: stimulates collagen growth more effectively than any of the other peels. It's small molecule allows it to slip beneath the epidermis to reach the collagen fibers below and results in 15%-25% thickening over 12 weeks. Glycolic acid generally causes little or no visible peeling.
Lactic: works on the surface of the skin to treat tone, texture, and pigmentation. The Lactic acid molecule works to pull moisture into the cells, and exfoliate surface cells which helps to perfect the skin's surface and restore the skin's natural glow.
Glycolac: With a combination of Glycolic (25%) with Lactic (35%), it provides hydration and tone improvements of the Lactic, with the increased collagen stimulation of the glycolic. It is generally well tolerated because the lactic and glycolic work on different levels...
"This product is my Holy Grail" 2009-03-08
By Mrs Coltutt (SE US)
My skin and I haven't been on speaking terms for years. Horrible, brutal, stubborn, disfiguring cystic acne, so viciously tenacious that I had to go through...yes, count 'em...not one, but TWO rounds of Accutane to rid my self of it, and I STILL get a nice cyst on my back or chest every once in a while. I had pockmarks on top of pockmarks...forehead, cheeks, temples, chin, bridge of my nose even. I hate my skin, I really do. I've gone through 2 deep dermabrasions (through a plastic surgeon, not the micro kind), plus about 30 DEEP chemical peels. My scarring improved a lot.
But professional options get expensive, and taking weeks at a time off while my skin healed wasn't feasible. So I tried other methods to get rid of the rest of the scarring.
Over-the-counter products like Mederma didn't help. Then as I aged, I got grayish, blotchy, dull, oily-here-wrinkly-there skin to add to my scars.
Lovely.
I've used salicylic acid, makes my skin red and papery. I've used Mederma, nothing.
Sorry for the big lead in, but I wanted to give y'all a good idea of what I was already "facing" (sorry for the bad pun).
I saw this Skin Laboratories 35% Glycolic Acid peel advertised, decided it certainly couldn't hurt.
Bought it, received it very quickly, followed the easy-to-follow directions, love it. The lifeless, grayish appearance of my skin is gone. My smaller scars and pores are much diminished, after only 5 weeks of use, so much so that I can actually COUNT the number of scars I have left. (There were so many before, it was useless to count).
I will admit, I modified the instructions to fit my needs. I leave it on ten minutes at a time. Remember, I am a veteran of strong deep (EXPENSIVE) professional chemical peels, so my skin is quite tolerant to acid. I don't get a visible see-your-skin-flake-off "peel" from this product either (something a few of you have complained about), but that's so much the better! I don't have to miss work for a week at a time to let my skin heal, like with the strong chemical peels. But believe me, the skin cells ARE sloughing off and being replaced. You know how that 10 pounds just snuck up on you after the holidays, and you didn't notice? The skin rejuvenation you will get using this product is the same way: you don't notice it until it's done it's work.
I use this product once a week. After next week (my 6th), I'll wait a month before I go through the cycle again.
I'm also going to start using this product on my chest, which of course, is also scarred and weather-beaten.
Skin Laboratories, I Bow Before You. This is a superior product.
"WOW... WOW.. WOW" 2008-06-11
By Emmly (Midwest)
I always tend to stay away from chemical peels because of the horror stories I hear and because I have fair, oily, acne prone skin.
I purchased the 35% peel just to try it; to see if I'm missing anything. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to try it sooner. :o)
It is absolutely fantastic. I had a couple of breakouts I could not, for the life of me, get rid of. I put this on with a cotton ball, and I did wait the full 4 minutes; it tingled, but did not burn in any way. I washed it off and thought "okay, no miracles here". My face did feel smoother but that's about it.
The next two days I noticed quite the improvement. My chin cleared up and my face was, again, smoother, and more even and most importantly, no breakouts. I did not need to even put on powder (which I did not live without).
You do have to use a moisturizer after the peel. I did the first time, but because my face is oily, I didn't use one the second time. BIG mistake! My face was red and it still tingled 20 minutes after I rinsed off the peel.
As soon as I put moisturizer on, my face felt better and the redness went away.
This peel works wonders for me. I will keep on using it. It's definitely worth the money.
"Glycolic Acid 35%" 2007-10-29
By Mish (Santa Monica, CA USA)
Have been using Natura Bisse Glycopeel for years and decided to give this a try. Definitely not as gentle as the Natura Bisse product, but equally effective if you don't mind a little faster peel and the accompanying redness (which goes away in a day or so). And, what a value compared to Department store product prices!! Will purchase again.
"Great Peel- Low Price" 2008-02-20
By MD2008 (NY USA)
This product works great for me. I have mild, sometimes moderate, acne and noticed results right away with this peel. I use it before bedtime and wake up with softer skin- any blemishes that I might have that day appear reduced in the AM. It also seems to shrink pores/blackheads and styme oil production. I have also tried the 20% salicyclic acid peel which is more specific to acne treatment, but I find the glycolic peel works better for me. My suggestion is to try both. Of note, my skin is not particulary sensitive to chemical peels, so I didn't notice the irritation that the other reviewers mentioned. It does, however, appear to fade old scars and heal current blemishes more quickly.
"works great" 2008-04-16
By Mel
I had some mild post inflammatory hyperpigmentation for which i was using a hyquinone fade cream and this peel has helped tremedously. I have used it about 3 times and have noticed a huge difference in my skins tone. it's almost perfectly even again. I would highly recommend this product, especially considering that the price is a fraction of what a spa would charge for a single peel.
Level 2) Glycolac/60, Lactic/50 - Twice as strong as L1
Level 3) Glycolic/50, Lactic/70, BHA+, HQ+ - Twice as strong as L2
Choosing a Peel:
Glycolic: stimulates collagen growth more effectively than any of the other peels. It's small molecule allows it to slip beneath the epidermis to reach the collagen fibers below and results in 15%-25% thickening over 12 weeks. Glycolic acid generally causes little or no visible peeling.
Lactic: works on the surface of the skin to treat tone, texture, and pigmentation. The Lactic acid molecule works to pull moisture into the cells, and exfoliate surface cells which helps to perfect the skin's surface and restore the skin's natural glow.
Glycolac: With a combination of Glycolic (25%) with Lactic (35%), it provides hydration and tone improvements of the Lactic, with the increased collagen stimulation of the glycolic. It is generally well tolerated because the lactic and glycolic work on different levels...
By Mrs Coltutt (SE US)
My skin and I haven't been on speaking terms for years. Horrible, brutal, stubborn, disfiguring cystic acne, so viciously tenacious that I had to go through...yes, count 'em...not one, but TWO rounds of Accutane to rid my self of it, and I STILL get a nice cyst on my back or chest every once in a while. I had pockmarks on top of pockmarks...forehead, cheeks, temples, chin, bridge of my nose even. I hate my skin, I really do. I've gone through 2 deep dermabrasions (through a plastic surgeon, not the micro kind), plus about 30 DEEP chemical peels. My scarring improved a lot.
But professional options get expensive, and taking weeks at a time off while my skin healed wasn't feasible. So I tried other methods to get rid of the rest of the scarring.
Over-the-counter products like Mederma didn't help. Then as I aged, I got grayish, blotchy, dull, oily-here-wrinkly-there skin to add to my scars.
Lovely.
I've used salicylic acid, makes my skin red and papery. I've used Mederma, nothing.
Sorry for the big lead in, but I wanted to give y'all a good idea of what I was already "facing" (sorry for the bad pun).
I saw this Skin Laboratories 35% Glycolic Acid peel advertised, decided it certainly couldn't hurt.
Bought it, received it very quickly, followed the easy-to-follow directions, love it. The lifeless, grayish appearance of my skin is gone. My smaller scars and pores are much diminished, after only 5 weeks of use, so much so that I can actually COUNT the number of scars I have left. (There were so many before, it was useless to count).
I will admit, I modified the instructions to fit my needs. I leave it on ten minutes at a time. Remember, I am a veteran of strong deep (EXPENSIVE) professional chemical peels, so my skin is quite tolerant to acid. I don't get a visible see-your-skin-flake-off "peel" from this product either (something a few of you have complained about), but that's so much the better! I don't have to miss work for a week at a time to let my skin heal, like with the strong chemical peels. But believe me, the skin cells ARE sloughing off and being replaced. You know how that 10 pounds just snuck up on you after the holidays, and you didn't notice? The skin rejuvenation you will get using this product is the same way: you don't notice it until it's done it's work.
I use this product once a week. After next week (my 6th), I'll wait a month before I go through the cycle again.
I'm also going to start using this product on my chest, which of course, is also scarred and weather-beaten.
Skin Laboratories, I Bow Before You. This is a superior product.
By Emmly (Midwest)
I always tend to stay away from chemical peels because of the horror stories I hear and because I have fair, oily, acne prone skin.
I purchased the 35% peel just to try it; to see if I'm missing anything. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to try it sooner. :o)
It is absolutely fantastic. I had a couple of breakouts I could not, for the life of me, get rid of. I put this on with a cotton ball, and I did wait the full 4 minutes; it tingled, but did not burn in any way. I washed it off and thought "okay, no miracles here". My face did feel smoother but that's about it.
The next two days I noticed quite the improvement. My chin cleared up and my face was, again, smoother, and more even and most importantly, no breakouts. I did not need to even put on powder (which I did not live without).
You do have to use a moisturizer after the peel. I did the first time, but because my face is oily, I didn't use one the second time. BIG mistake! My face was red and it still tingled 20 minutes after I rinsed off the peel.
As soon as I put moisturizer on, my face felt better and the redness went away.
This peel works wonders for me. I will keep on using it. It's definitely worth the money.
By Mish (Santa Monica, CA USA)
Have been using Natura Bisse Glycopeel for years and decided to give this a try. Definitely not as gentle as the Natura Bisse product, but equally effective if you don't mind a little faster peel and the accompanying redness (which goes away in a day or so). And, what a value compared to Department store product prices!! Will purchase again.
By MD2008 (NY USA)
This product works great for me. I have mild, sometimes moderate, acne and noticed results right away with this peel. I use it before bedtime and wake up with softer skin- any blemishes that I might have that day appear reduced in the AM. It also seems to shrink pores/blackheads and styme oil production. I have also tried the 20% salicyclic acid peel which is more specific to acne treatment, but I find the glycolic peel works better for me. My suggestion is to try both. Of note, my skin is not particulary sensitive to chemical peels, so I didn't notice the irritation that the other reviewers mentioned. It does, however, appear to fade old scars and heal current blemishes more quickly.
By Mel
I had some mild post inflammatory hyperpigmentation for which i was using a hyquinone fade cream and this peel has helped tremedously. I have used it about 3 times and have noticed a huge difference in my skins tone. it's almost perfectly even again. I would highly recommend this product, especially considering that the price is a fraction of what a spa would charge for a single peel.
