Glycolic skin peels explained

The very utterance of the phrase ‘skin peel’ strikes fear within any Sex and the City loving female. Images of Samantha’s distressed face shedding its skin faster than a snake on speed has done nothing for this procedure’s PR.

Lying back on the bed I braced myself for a stinging sensation that wasn’t to come. Just like a ‘normal’ facial we went through the stages with the acid element lasting mere minutes.

So when the invitation came to sample sk:n Manchester’s Spring Revival Facial, with glycolic peel, this didn’t see the girls at Confidential doing their Linford Christie finest. There wasn’t even an orderly queue. “Dead body” and “over my” were amongst the words bouncing around the office. With no other willing subject, it looked like I had to step up.

Appointment timing was paramount. A 9am Saturday morning slot was available so I was keen to establish what I’d look like a few hours after with a girlie lunch booked in for 1.30pm. Assurances were made by the very helpful receptionist; this is a treatment you can do in your lunch hour with no long lasting after effects. The deal was done.

At the clinic, completion of a pre-treatment questionnaire was essential to ensure that my skin was suitable. Sitting down with the clinician I quick-fire questioned her, not dissimilar to a cross-examination, about all my preconceptions. Her responses were educational and nipped any fear in the bud.

Firstly there are different types of facial peel. Glycolic peels are a mild natural acid used for light superficial peels. They simply remove surface skin cells to reveal healthy skin underneath.

The SATC treatment comes under the umbrella of trichloroacetic acid, or TCAs, classed as a medium strength chemical peel that penetrates further into the skin to reduce acne scars, smaller wrinkles and even out skin tone. This is not a lunch-time treatment. Much more intense, the recovery period is longer and can take up to a few weeks.

sk:n Manchester’s Spring Revival Facial is in four steps. Gentle cleanse, glycolic peel, vitamin mask and finishing off with hydrating skin care products. 30 minutes, start to finish.

Lying back on the bed I braced myself for a stinging sensation that wasn’t to come. Just like a ‘normal’ facial we went through the stages with the acid element lasting mere minutes. The Glycolic solution is painted on, massaged for two minutes, left on for two minutes and then removed. There are different levels of strength starting at 10.4 per cent up to a maximum of 30 per cent. They will always start you off at the lowest scale if you’ve never had this treatment before.

Following the treatment my skin was barely blushed. It just looked bright and fresh - brimming with health. The clinic recommends a course of 6 treatments to be taken with weekly or fortnightly intervals and you can maintain this in the meantime with a Glycolic cleanser and moisturiser that can be used around three times a week.

Serum and a tinted moisturiser were applied to finish and I was good to go. I kept my face bare for the rest of the day with no need for any additional cleansing. I’ve previously had microdermabrasion and the following day my skin felt much the same as it did after that - silky smooth. The main difference to microdermabrasion is that it’s much less intensive, and if you have any broken veins a peel is better suited to your skin.

On the Monday morning in work one of my colleagues commented on how fresh faced I looked, which is always nice to hear. The facial definitely contributed to this as did the fact I called it a day at the lunch early doors and had a sensible night on the couch.

The Spring Revival Facial is currently half price until 31/03/2011 at £35 (normal price £70). Click here for more information.