Friday, March 13, 2009

Skin Care: Chemical Peels


Our exclusive poll has revealed that 62 percent of you lovely ladies are worried about ageing. Whilst chemical peels have been the beauty secret of the rich and famous for years, a new breed of DIY kits are now on the market, claiming to give you A-list skin, all in the comfort of your own home. This week our gorgeous gokettes will be putting four products through their paces, but what do these peels actually do?

Well essentially a peel is a means of being cruel to be kind. The theory is that by stripping off the top layers of skin you can get rid of various surface imperfections and allow new fresh skin to rise to the surface. Typically these peels will use a combination of alphahydroxy and betahydroxy acids and as the affect is only light, regular treatments are required to maintain the effect.


A normal DIY peel will need to be left for between 2-15 minutes, after which it can be washed off. Typically it will produce some mild stinging and make the skin go slightly pink for a few hours afterwards. There may also be faint white discolouration and blotches, but the skin should then return to normal.

As with any treatment of this sort, you should be aware of the risks. It is possible that your skin could get infected and your skin will almost certainly feel tight and swollen for a while. As you'll have shed a few skin layers, the beach should be avoided, as you'll be hypersensitive to sunlight for a time.