My First Chemical Peel Review with Pictures- Mocha Girls Pit Stop

Pimple Face

Up until my junior year of high school I had the clearest skin you ever did see! I mean seriously my face was blemish free and smooth as a baby’s bottom. However, my senior year of high school I was plagued with acne (I know I’m dramatic)… and I mean bad acne. The kind with puss filled bumps invading almost every inch of my face along with red spots and acne scars. It was embarrassing and definitely deflated my self-esteem. I honestly think that my phase of acne was a result of bad karma. There was this girl in middle school named Amanda who had really bad acne. Everyone used to tease her, including me. People called her all kinds of names, “pimple face” was the most popular. I’m ashamed because I partook in the teasing. I know this was years ago but if I knew then what I know now, I would have kept my mouth shut. One because it’s just mean to talk about someone’s physical appearance and two, because I now know what it’s like to be a pimple face.

Long story short, after years of struggling with acne I recently decided to have a chemical peel called the VI Peel to clear up some acne blemishes and reveal a much smoother skin tone. I’m telling you, I’d pay money to have that high school skin back 🙂

Here’s a definition of the VI Peel straight from the peel’s website: “The VI Peel contains a synergistic blend of powerful ingredients suitable for all skin types. This peel provides dramatic results with virtually no pain, no skin preparation and little downtime. Why wait weeks or months for results? Enjoy radiant, younger looking skin in about a week with the VI Peel.”

Before the Peel

Unfortunately my before pictures didn’t capture the blemishes that I was hoping to reveal. I have a few dark blemishes and acne scars on my face (specifically my cheeks) from when I had acne as a teen. My hope was to lighten or eliminate the blemishes with this peel.

The Process

I went to Dr. Emma Benjamin in Brooklyn. Her address and phone number: 2769 Coney Island Ave, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11235 (718)676-0305. The price of the peel is $225, though I’d shop around for other reputable doctors in your area. The prices vary by state and practice. Dr. Benjamin was very personable and made me feel comfortable because she explained every step of the process as she completed it. Basically I sat on her exam table, she cleaned my face with rubbing alcohol to remove any make up or oils and proceeded to wipe my face with the VI Peel Towelette about 4 times with breaks in between. Between each set she’d fan my face because the solution on the towelette caused a slight burning sensation.

The process literally took 20 to 25 minutes. After the procedure you’re free to go home, however there are a few daily self-care instructions that must be followed in order to get the best results. I took the following two photos immediately after the peel.

The take home kit contained 3 post-peel towelettes, sun screen, moisturizer and daily instructions for the 7 day peeling process.

Day 1 &2:

The first two days of the peel were a breeze. No peeling took place though my face had a slight burning sensation. I didn’t bother to take any pictures because my face looked pretty much the same.

Day 3:

This is typically when the peeling process begins. Take a look at my snaky skin below. It was pretty cool at first but I got tired of it real quick once I realized that I was basically confined to the house. I wasn’t going out with dead skin peeling off of my face lol I wore a headscarf for the rougher days!

Day 4:

Day 4 was a tough day for me. For the majority of the day my face was irritated. There was an unquenchable burning sensation that my sunscreen and moisturizer couldn’t relieve so I slept a lot to alleviate the irritation. I really questioned whether or not I should have done the peel on Day 4. I was extremely uncomfortable.

Day 5:

Day 5 was similar to Day 4. At this point I was ready for my face to feel normal again. Sometimes it felt really tight, as if someone put a thin layer of Elmer’s glue on my face and let it dry.

Day 6 & 7:

By this time the peeling process was about 90% complete. My face felt much better and I was comfortable leaving the house without wearing my head scarf. Also, I thought it was pretty strange that I had a pretty intense breakout on my forehead around this time. I’m thinking it’s because I wore a headscarf for a few days when I had to run errands.

Conclusion:

I’m glad that I went through with this peel because I’ve been thinking about it for a while. As far as results, I feel like my face is a little bit brighter and I noticed that the bags under my eyes aren’t as puffy as they were before. Other than that I haven’t really noticed any other changes. I probably won’t go through with this process again. The results aren’t what I expected but hopefully this review will give you more insight into the VI Peel if you’re interested.