The 2 Minute Peel | Beauty in the City
Last month I was lucky enough to get sent a couple of products from Beautyrx by Dr. Schultz to test out. I've talked about some of the ones I've tried so far over on Instagram, but for those of you who haven't heard me chat about them-- the main call to action of the brand is to provide anti-aging skincare through the use of glycolic acid. I pray at the alter of chemical of exfoliation on the daily so needless to say, I was excited to try out the line!
In addition to their lineup of products, they also offer 40% glycolic acid peels at salons across the country. When first asked if I would be interested in receiving a peel, I was a bit hesitant. While my skin has built up a tolerance to acids, that doesn't mean I don't worry about turning into Deadpool. After a few bouts of over-exfoliation, I've gained a healthy dose of fear and respect for acids. But after reading up on the procedure I learned it isn't like a traditional peel-- ie your skin won't literally peel after the procedure. Instead, it's meant to be a quick and gentle (but still effective) peel that only takes 15 minutes from start to finish. It's so gentle you can apparently even wear makeup afterward! To find out if all those claims came true for me, read on 😉
Location
I received my peel at Butterfly Studio in Flatiron. Their hours of operation are Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 12-7pm plus Wednesday and Saturday 9am-5pm.
Beautyrx also offers the peels at both Blushington locations in the city so basically whether you're in downtown, midtown, or uptown, you can get your peel on. They also offer the peel in various other cities across the US-- you can find the full list here on their site.
For those of you who are curious, here's a little map with Butterfly Studio salon's location-- 149 5th avenue (the studio itself is located on the second floor.) The map is mostly here because I wanted an excuse to embed a map in this post 🙈
Price
The peel has a flat-rate cost of $50 at whichever location you visit. In addition to the facial peel, they also offer a hand peel. Like I mentioned in my intro, I received my peel complimentary.
Peel Time!
Now onto the good stuff-- the peel itself! The entire process went by very quickly. I checked into the salon and was quickly sent over to the Peel Bar area.
Because I haven't received any sort of peel before, I wasn't sure of how to go about preparing for it. I knew not to exfoliate or shave for 2 days beforehand, which I didn't. I also forwent wearing any makeup. Of course I still layered on some hydrating layers and sunscreen because I can't imagine walking around NYC without any sort of barrier on my face.
The first thing the aesthetician did was use some sort of micellar water or makeup remover to remove whatever was on my face at the moment. After my skin was clean she applied a toner to my face-- I'm going to assume it was to help lower the pH of my skin to prep it for the peel. After the toner dried off (which took around a minute) she applied the peel with a cotton swab. I did experience some very light tingling, but honestly, I was shocked at how mild it was. I've experienced more tingling from using Pixi's glow tonic!
The aesthetician set the timer to 2 minutes and chat a bit about the brand and service. Apparently, the Peel Bar that I went to was the first one ever/ the flagship!
When the two minutes were over she used some cotton pads soaked in water to neutralize and wash off the peel. Afterward, she pat my skin dry and applied some moisturizer and sunscreen on my face. Like I said, it was my first peel experience so I wasn't sure what to expect. I had a brought a travel sized sunscreen with me because I didn't want to go out into the sun without any protection after the peel. I was pleased that I didn't even need my own sunscreen!
Overall the experience really did take 15 minutes and that includes my taking a few photos of the peel bar and a quick trip to the restroom. If you're in a crunch for time, it's totally something that's doable during your lunch break.
For the next few days I made sure to be extra diligent with my sunscreen-- as AHAs make your skin photosensitive. I was also on the lookout for any extra dryness or peeling but it never happened. My skin was as dry as it usually is-- no more and no less. While I didn't choose to apply makeup right after my peel, I could have if I wanted to.
Results
Right after my peel was done my skin felt a bit softer and a bit smoother but the real results happened over the weekend. I received my peel on a Thursday afternoon and the feeling of softer and smoother skin did last through Friday, but it was on Saturday and Sunday (2-3 days after my peel) that my skin started looking a lot brighter! One of my main skincare concerns is lightening and fading marks of acne past-- the peel definitely made a strong impact on them.
Over the weekend my skin literally glowed! As I didn't use any sort of chemical exfoliants since the peel, it's the only thing the glow can be attributed to. I would say the result was the same type of results I get from applying a mild exfoliant to my face daily for a few weeks. But of course instead of a few weeks, I gained the results within 2-3 days.
I tried taking some before and after photos on my phone, but the weather was all over the place that weekend so the lighting is not very consistent. As a result, it's hard to make a direct comparison in the photos. I'll try editing them again later today and upload them if it's a success!
Bottom Line
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my peel and will definitely be going back sometime in the future!
It's not something I can see myself getting regularly on a weekly or monthly basis-- because of budget limitations and because I don't need it. I regularly exfoliate and have a whole host of acids in my skincare routine and stash. But I think it's a good treat yo self sort of service and is something I would get before a big event like attending a wedding or going on a vacation.
I think the peel would also be perfect for people who don't regularly use chemical exfoliants or are low-key about their everyday skincare routine. People who are concerned with how their skin looks and don't mind investing in it. I say that because that's the kind of person my mom is. She's okay with investing in her skincare as she's attached to her lineup of Estee Lauder products but at the same time starts zoning out when I offer her product recs as she has no interest in testing out 294398 different products. She doesn't regularly use chemical exfoliants but does enjoy an occasional trip to the spa. Naturally, I recommended that she try getting a peel the next time she's looking to treat herself to a skincare treatment.
I can't say how the experience compares to a traditional peel as I've never gotten one before, and honestly I probably won't ever. If I can get glowing and smooth skin without worrying about flaking and peeling, why would I put myself through a traditional peel?
Have you ever gotten a peel before? How did it go? Would you do it again?
Disclaimer: I received the peel complimentary from the brand and salon. This is not a sponsored post and I was not under obligation to share my thoughts on the experience. As I enjoyed it I wanted to share a post on it with the interwebs!
