Demon Face-A LOVE Story

The box arrives

It stared at me yesterday. From the top of the refrigerator, where I had placed the medicinal looking cobalt blue bottles in their plastic pouch. I could see them from the living room, mocking me.

In truth, I was a little afraid. The idea of actually peeling my skin off on purpose is not a new one, but there are STORIES. I'm talking crazy, permanently disfiguring stories.

I'm pretty sure the bottles sensed my fear. They appeared to grow larger as the day went on, largely because I ordered the wrong strength. You see, there was a problem with the code the company had sent me, and I thought the problem was with me. I had removed the ten percent peel from my cart and put in a kit, because I thought that was why my code wasn't working.

Um, no. So when I heard back from the company, I just completed check out, not realizing I'd never put the milder strength peel back in the cart.

So here I am, with this absolutely gorgeous facial peel set, ready to puke my guts out at the thought of putting it on my skin. Completely unnecessarily, I might add, as the kit includes a step up daily exfoliator.

You put the two percent solution on with a gauze pad for one to three minutes for an entire a week before you attempt the 30 percent peel. I laughed out loud at that point, since two percent was much less scary then the ten percent the company had originally suggested for me. I liked that. And with all the stars in a line..the kiddos went to bed in tandem and my husband was out for the night...I applied the two percent solution.

It stung. Not an unbearable pain, but I definitely knew something was on my skin. I would say it felt kind of like the point you realize you've got sunburn. I set a stop watch for three minutes, but took it off after about a minute and a half, because I heard the baby stirring and I didn't want to wind up running around the house with acid on my face. After rinsing, I could still feel the peel working for a bit, as I ran to check on the kids.

Still sleeping. It was the stupid dog rustling around. And then I looked in the mirror, was totally unprepared for what I saw. I had developed white raised patches and sunken red spots, the skin on my nose appeared wrinkled and made of plastic, the whole of my face seemed stretched too tight.

My face looked like Anyanka. A la Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Fortunately, it lasted about twelve seconds. As soon as I applied the hyaluronic moisturizer, it subsided...although my skin still looked a little too tight and plastic-y. I completed 7 days worth of the exfoliator. After the first day, "Demon Face" didn't really make a second appearance. I was kind of disappointed, because I was ready to show my husband AND take a picture, but the next night the exfoliator didn't even sting. The exfoliator is now my all time favorite product. 7 days in, and my skin has NEVER looked better. Not even pregnant. And I had GOOD pregnant skin.

I would love to stop this review RIGHT HERE. I don't want to stop using the exfoliator for five days while I patch test the peel, then for another week after the peel. I'm emotionally attached to the exfoliator- the orange peel skin around my nose is much less profound, my chicken pox scar next to my nose much less noticeable. And I haven't had a new zit in a week. I want to bathe my neck and shoulders in it, daily, and never be without it again.

This from a girl who will wipe her face with a baby wipe and call it a bed time cleansing. This stuff works. Well.

The big day!!!

Well, on to the peel. I've finished it, about an hour ago, and I just took an ibuprofen, because my nose REALLY stings. Again, the feeling is reminiscent of sunburn, but, sunburn sucks. The peel feels almost exactly like the exfoliator, first day, only slightly more intense. I left it on for a scant minute-my nose is very slightly red around the nostrils, my face feels very smooth.

TWO DAYS LATER POST PEEL

The skin on my nose is peeling. It's not evil or ugly, it's simply noticeable and a little icky, but it's not a big deal. I don't feel like I should be hiding under a rock. The orange peel skin around my nose is DEFINITELY smoother. My nose, which has large craters that subsequently fill with NASTY blackheads is completely clear. My skin has sun damage- I like to hike, I used to fake bake, and my skin is *ahem* thirty-ish. I'm VERY pleased with the results of this product, and I can't WAIT to get back to my beloved exfoliator in two more days.

I'm in awe of this stuff.

Utter Awe.

The bottom line.

This is EASILY the best product I've ever used on my face. Ever. I'm a fully recovered product junkie-in my heyday, I used fourteen products a day on my skin. I'm a Sephora VIP, I still read Allure faithfully, but I'm stingy with my cosmetic dollars. I don't run out and buy every new thing. There are seven places to spend every dollar that walks in the door- very little of it actually goes to me.

This product is worth spending birthday money on. It's worth putting a couple bucks a week away for. It's worth being the "one thing" that you do for yourself. It actually WORKS. For me, the results are actually visible- smaller pores after the first application of the exfoliator- skin completely clear within two weeks. Icky blackheads gone. NOSE icky blackheads. Those are the worst ones, and they are gone.

Right now, The Natural Skin Shop has all kinds of great deals going on. Huge, fabulous, great deals. There's a code for 20 percent off an order, a really fabulous peel sampler set (How fun would that be for a girls night party?)

The best part is, if you are unsure about what to buy, they'll walk you through it. There's an 800 number for you to call, and a chat service for online ease. I've LOVED working with this company. I love their products.

Chemical peels can help solve a host of skin problems, and the Natural Skin Shop offers a fabulous variety to suit almost every need. They have a really high strength glycolic acid at a fabulous price.

Read about the different kinds of peels here:
Glycolic Acid
Jessner Peels
Alpha-Beta Peels
salicylic peels

The fine print: I received a salicylic peel kit to review for a promotion I heard about on SheBlogs.org. This is my honest experience, yours may vary.