When I first started this blog I was petrified of facials. In fact, just scared of anyone touching my face. I worked so hard to learn my skin’s likes and dislikes, knew exactly how to cleanse it, apply products, what to use while minimising aggravation and avoiding flare ups. The idea of letting a stranger play around with my face for an hour while I ‘relaxed’ was laughable. But in the past year or so I’ve had some incredible facials that have proved to me that you just need to do your research and find treatments that suit you and practitioners who will understand your fears. I had been to the Premier Laser Clinic before (for THIS treatment) but was excited to try the Vitamin C Peel*.
The word ‘peel’ is a very loaded one. I think of bright red, weeping skin. Women hiding indoors for days until their skin goes back to normal. Amazing results but with a scary and intense recovery period. But my fears were unfounded because this isn’t that kind of peel. It uses a 4 step process to brighten, plump and hydrate skin and is very popular with women who want to leave the treatment room and go straight out or go back to work as there is absolutely no down time which is always music to my ears! Their description of the peel says that it uses “pharmaceutical Grade Vitamin C, Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acids and fruit enzymes speed up cellular turnover for lightening, tightening and brightening all skin types.”
Vitamin C Peel Facial at the Premier Laser Clinic, Soho
I mentioned the 4 stages of the facial and I have photos of each stage. To start, my face was thoroughly cleansed (missing out my eye area as the products are not used on the delicate eye area) so you can see how my skin was looking beforehand.
The first step of the facial was a retinol serum (containing vitamins A,C and E and Hyaluronic Acid) designed to boost collagen production for plumping the skin and deeply hydrate the skin.
I was warned that this would feel quite tingly and I was actually a little bit worried as it went beyond ‘a bit tingly’ in my opinion, but as you can see from the photo below my skin wasn’t super red, just a little flushed on the apples of my cheeks. And that feeling of heat soon disappeared as the other products were applied over the top so it’s probably only 10 minutes of slight discomfort.
On top of the serum, Alexandra applied a white paste for the deep exfoliation stage. As she as applying it, it felt quite gritty which worried me a bit as I’m not the biggest fan of manual exfoliation. This was left on my face for a few minutes, before being lightly massaged into the skin. This wasn’t uncomfortable or sore and my skin didn’t react at all, which shows how gentle Alexandra was being – I think she felt how much I tensed up at this point! I have quite a few stubborn rough patches (between my eyebrows, near my hairline) and this completely blitzed them without leaving them feeling dry or sore.
The next step was a soothing gel with a mixture of botanical stem cells to revitalise the skin. With all the gentle stroking of the product onto my skin and the cooling sensation I was almost falling asleep and then – while we waited for this step’s products to work their magic – Alexandra gave me a mini shoulder massage. I’m surprised I wasn’t snoring!
The last product used was a clarifying serum with Kojic extract for a final brightening step that left my skin glowy and healthy looking.
When I saw my skin after the Vitamin C Peel I was pretty surprised that I wasn’t any more red than I was when I arrived. My skin is usually pretty grumpy after treatments as it doesn’t like being touched too much, especially considering that some of these steps were quite full-on with some manual exfoliation and lots of removal and application of layers of products.
My skin felt even better in the days afterwards and I really noticed that my skin was glowing and much softer. The results can last up to 6-8 weeks and is extremely popular as it’s suitable for most people – even those with sensitive skin like me. The only restriction is that it’s not advised that you expose yourself to the sun for 2 weeks after the treatment, so bear that in mind if you’re planning to book in.
As I mentioned in my previous review, the Premier Laser Clinic is a really smart white, modern office and the treatments are very much focused on results rather than a spa-like atmosphere. Although I would say I found the Vitamin C Peel was relaxing, that is not the main focus of the facial. And I’m okay with that – give me tangible results over a 45 minute snooze any day!
Are you intrigued by the Vitamin C Peel? Let me know in the comments below!
Lex
*Provided to me as a PR sample, for more information please see my disclaimer page.
Oh boy, the thought of this terrifies me! I’m just like you and if I started feeling a burning sensation I’d probably start to bawl. That said, you’ve given me a bit of confidence to look around for something similar in my neck of the woods.
Author
I’m so glad this blog post helped inspire you! I have learnt to tell the difference between ‘bad tingling’ and ‘products working tingling’ – it took a while but I think I’ve got it down now. Still panics me a bit!