Glycolic Acid 30% Gel Peel - Enhanced with Retinol and Green Tea Extract (Professional Chemical Peel)- 1 fl oz 30mL

This is my first review ever. I never take the time to write them, however I always read them before a purchase. I trust you guys to lead me to my final choice often. This is the first product I've ever bought for my skin that has surpassed any of my expectations. A little about me: mid 20's, male, constant acne and cystic acne (aprox. 5-10 zits/cysts on face at any given time), oily skin (beyond oily...), active, fit, healthy, dairy free 99% of the time, have tried all OTC acne/oil control, bought everything they could sell me at Neimans/Saks/Sephora, Clarasonic, tried light therapy, dedicated the "needed time" to perscriptons and creams from numerous dermatologists, diet change, candita test, allergy tests, get regular sleep, take twice daily a perscripton antibiotic (Bactrim)....I could go on and on. I was blessed with perfect skin my entire life until I moved for college. I will also, as humbly as possible say, I am aesthetically pleasing, well built, smart, successful, personable, etc... Since moving, the past seven years have been hell for me emotionally. My acne has controlled my life causing constant anxiety, fear of looking people in the face, and fear of walking through a room. I position myself in a chair where the lighting will not enhance my condition at a restaurant (if I even decided to go). It has cost me opportunities at school, work, and in relationships...if you can relate, you have my sympathy. I understand. I'm a 28 guy, and would be on the verge of tears because I couldn't even look in the mirror. I'm describing this not for pity, but only for those of you who read this who are suffering at my level (because some may be worse, some may be better). I purchased this product because my friend recommended me to this "miracle skin doctor" in Miami. I checked her out, saw her procedures, set an appointment, paid the $250 consultation, and took home a piece of paper telling me my treatment plan for the next six months (to the tune of over $2,800). Desperate, and fortunate enough to afford, I booked my first appointment. I checked out what was being done, googled it, saw a similar product to this come up on Amazon, researched countless products for two days, purchased this and the brush. It arrived two days later. Hesitant to apply, due to the fact I had no clue what the FU&K I was doing, and from reading the reviews about the burning and other side effects, I applied my first treatment. Started on my forehead, down my face, cheeks, nose, jawline, chin. It stung and burned a bit, but nothing as close to some others have experienced. It was tolerable enough; I applied a second layer. Waited the for about 20 seconds, then it was burning. I washed off with cold water. My skin felt a little "raw," I had to pat my face dry lightly. It felt a bit tingly. Right away applied an oil free green tea moisturizer (the freebie from my proactiv plus kit). Then I took a nap. I woke up, looked in the mirror, and was shocked. Instant difference in my tone and texture. Yes. Acne still there, but my face looked much "clearer." It's hard to describe. I Woke up the next morning and almost screamed. My active acne had shrunk considerably, with some completely gone. I went about my routine...Proactic plus face wash, pore minimizing toner (with alcohol and it did not burn my face to my surprise), proactiv plus pore minimizing serum, proactiv plus moisturizer. I did that for five days with my regular routine at night. Night: same face wash, 10% BP "spot treatment" on almost my entire face, sulfur mask as spot treatment on active acne. Every day got better and better. I usually have to use 5-10 oil blotting sheets a day. On day four, I went to blot out of habit before getting out of my car and the sheet had minimal oil spots. Blotted again at work. Same thing. Blotted again later at work. Same thing. Minimal oil. I was shocked. Day five came, did another peel, same feeling during the first trearment and about the same time. When drying my face, my face just felt clean. Not raw. I applied my moisturizer, and went about my day at home cleaning. Canceled my appts with the "miracle skin doctor." It's been three days since my second treatment. My EXCESSIVLY oily skin I used to suffer from is like gone! No BS. I do not have to blot nearly as often, only about twice a day. My skin tone is more even. My scars are already more faint. I even "picked" a scar off while shaving the other morning to discover even toned skin underneath. My face is clear except for a few spots. I have three small nodules; two that would have been cysts on my jaw line and one on my temple that would have been one of those deep soar under the skin mountains. They are currently small, I mean small, small little bumps. All other acne...gone. I use my skin routine described above still, I use a BP spot treatment on the three bumps also in the day. I used a mud mask (the origins black one) once since my first treatment. Some helpful tips, keep away from your eyes and the soft skin underneath. Close them really tight when rinsing off so the water with the product doesn't get into your eyes. Splash rinse cool water fast and constant so nothing is on your eyelids too long during the rinse period. Same goes for lips. Use a calming moisturizer after. Peeling has not been an issue for me. Did have some mild happen, my moisturizer took care of it. I have not noticed a dramatic difference in my pore size. I have not noticed a difference in wrinkles (not really suffering from this). Whatever you feel, I'm telling you, GIVE THIS SH*T A SHOT!! It's like $25bucks. If it doesn't work, throw it away!! Hand to God, this has been my experience and am astonished by early on results. I hope you have similar results, I will post a follow up, if I can figure out how to, in some weeks to come. I hope I have not written this in vein, especially since I'm on my iPhone and trying to type this. I hope you were able to take something from my truth.

A little background - I'm in my late 20's and have been suffering from acne since I was 11. After many, MANY visits to the dermatologist, two courses of Accutane (once at 13, again at 22), and every OTC product you can dream of on my face, my problem is SOLVED. I initially started with 2 minutes on my face, and increased it by 30 seconds at every application, which occurs every 5 days. For me there is a slight stinging, which is relieved by fanning my face, and my face is red for about 5 minutes after rinsing off the peel. After the first treatment I noticed an obvious brightening of my skin. It was also incredibly smooth. By the third treatment, all the tiny little red bumps that covered my forehead and cheeks were GONE. Not just going away. But completely gone. And as for any actual "peeling", I have had just a little bit around my nose. As for poor size decreasing or fine lines disappearing...I honestly haven't noticed that yet, and I'm about 4 or 5 treatments in. But I'm so in love with this smooth, clear face that I really don't care about that other stuff right now. I know it's gotta be doing something right, and I'm fairly certain I'll noticed a change in those areas by the end of the bottle. My suggestions to you are 1) buy a good moisturizer and use it twice a day. 2)Try to avoid the sun and makeup the day of AND the day after your peel. 3)Put all of your exfoliating products under the sink. You won't need them. And you shouldn't use them. 4)Buy a bunch of alcohol wipes. You need to clean your face with those right before the peel (it's in the directions). All in all, a miracle product for a woman that's been looking for something that works as well as Accutane without destroying my liver. This. Is. It. UPDATE: 12/14/12- My bottle is almost empty. Since I used this product primarily for acne control, once my skin cleared up I found doing a "maintenance" peel once a week for a minute was enough to keep it clear. I still haven't noticed a difference in my fine lines or pores. To be fair, my pores are a force to be reckoned with, and my fine lines are only visible in a magnifying mirror (the blessing of oily skin, I suppose). I will say that there is not a single blemish on my face. I do get one or two little ones at a certain time of the month, but I can't really expect a peel to control my hormones, right? So no complaints there. I stand by my review for this product in regards to acne. It worked for me when literally nothing else besides Accutane ever did. If I could give this 10 stars I would. My skin is glowing, as smooth as my 1 year old's skin, and I'm finally COMFORTABLE with my face. I went out in public the other week without makeup on for the first time since, well, the last time I took Accutane. If you or a loved one is suffering from acne, please please try this out! I can't speak for cystic acne, but for stubborn white heads and red bumps, this might just be the answer!

I am a 30 year old female, Caucasian, I have VERY fair skin and it's sensitive to some products. Not many but some. I have mild adult acne and the post acne marks and red spots from pimples stay with me a long time and are very noticeable on my light skin. Anyway I decided to give this peel a try after watching videos/reading reviews about it. I was terrified of course and shaking when I started my first application. I purchased a fan brush, and a professional neutraliser for post peel ph balancing. The first time I applied this I washed my face with a gentle cleanser, and afterward used witch hazel toner. I applied some aquaphor to my lips and all around the sensitive eye area; lids all the way up to my eyebrows and under eye. I applied the peel with my fan brush and left it on for about 2 minutes. I brushed my face the entire time so as not to focus too much on the stinging sensation. It did tingle and then start to burn. I rinsed with cold water and I noticed my skin had a rough feel. I then applied my neutraliser and rinsed again, and followed that with my witch hazel toner. I used EGF wonder serum as per my usual beauty regime, acne free moisturising lotion, and a little Rose Hip Seed oil around areas that were redder such as around my mouth and chin. At night after washing my face I apply Vernal Hyaluronic acid serum and moisturiser along with my EGF wonder serum and Rose Hip Seed oil again. The oil helps to rejuvenate and replenish your skin and you can add a few drops of this to any of your nightly or daily moisturiser or just apply a few drops to your fingers and massage into the skin. My face was red for about 2 days after and started to peel on day 2 and 3. By day 4 my face was normal again and I used the peel exactly 7 days later. I left it on about 30 seconds longer because that's all I could stand and it still scares me doing this to myself. However after the first use a brown mark from a pimple that had been gone a few weeks just peeled right off! It has also helped minimise some of the large pores on my cheeks and nose. I was amazed and I have high hopes that this will help with the lines I'm starting to get around my mouth. It has helped lighten some sun spots I have as well. I always apply sunscreen in the morning and I do this treatment on Friday night so I can stay indoors all weekend and let my skin heal properly. I hope this helps some of you who have concerns about trying this on your fair or sensitive skin. Thanks!

So when I first started on these, I got the 50%. I thought since I was on .01 tretinoin gel, I could handle it. Ok no. Trust me when I say to work up in strength! This is not some cheap drugstore formula that you never feel it working. I purchased the 30% strength. I want to feel it but don’t want to burn my face off lol. This get is a good tween strength. This level is not for sensitive skin. Especially right out of the gate. You have to move fast and start in high tolerance areas first. Set a timer and pay attention to that and how your skin feels! I use my fingers. I start on my nose, then forehead, then chin. Then I quickly put on cheeks then upper lip area (mouth area is always fastest). Then I pay attention to how it feels. Tingle fine. Watch the timer. When you start feeling a burn start rinsing with cold water! It takes quite a few rinse passes to get it all off. Don’t mess around with this part. Rinse as much and as fast as you can. Until you don’t feel the burn anymore. Then IMMEDIATELY apply a moisturizing face cream with no fragrance or oils. I do not do my usual routine. I get the super moisturizing product lined up and open. I do this once a week. I don’t peel but I do notice my skin is way smoother and moisturized. Products go right in. Sometimes I do a couple layers of cream. Your face does feel tight but that is normal. I don’t break out from this. Don’t have breakouts when I stick to this. It works. Be patient and do not rush to the highest level. Read the instructions! I don’t keep this on for more than 30 seconds tops! I am rinsing around the 15-20 second marker. If you burned your face, you did it wrong. You either started with a too strong of a level or you left it on too long. For sensitive skin or beginners, I highly recommend the lowest level. Start in one area then rinse. Go to another area then rinse. 6 sections. Forehead. L and R cheek. Nose. Chin. Upper lip/mouth area. You have more control on how long to leave it. 1x/week. When the whole bottle is gone and your skin has tolerated this with absolutely no discomfort, then you can think about going to the next level. If you’re skin is still reactive, stay on the lower % for another bottle. This bottle should last a good 3 months. You don’t need a lot! Hope this helps. If anyone has questions about my review I’d be happy to answer!

I’ve been using this peel for about 4 months now. I choose to use it lightly so that I can use it more frequently. I believe that it is a good product that has the acidity it claims and is good quality. So reading though some of these reviews I thought I would go through my routine. First I wash my face twice with a gentle makeup remover. Then I wipe my face with an alcohol pad to make sure my face is really clean. Then I will put on gloves, and add glycolic acid to a clean makeup remover pad and time myself, start to finish, for 2 minutes. Usually I only do one layer and maybe a second layer on the skin that is thicker. Some skin is thinner than most and I think it’s important to note that. Also I use swim googles when I’m applying. This stuff is concentrated and could really damage your eyes. It seems silly until I accidentally flung a bit onto the googles, and then I was so thankful my eyes were protected. After 2 minutes I use baking soda dissolved in water to neutralize the peel. I use this excesssively because small amounts leftover could insidiously burn you over time. Especially if you’re doing it before bed. I then rinse my face with cool water and pat dry with a clean towel. Then I apply my oils and moisturizers. Also depending on how much of my face I’m doing I’ll use vasonline to coat my lips, eyebrows, and nostril creases. It hurts to get the acid on these parts. Things I’ve noticed: Dark marks fade quickly. I do peel sometimes but not always. It usually just dries my face out then given a week to heal I’ll begin exfoliating and getting rid of the dead skin. I do notice an improvement in my acne scars. They’re very shallow, but I would say that another 9 months of this and they might be more or less gone. I’ve also used it on a raised scar on my forehead from childhood, and that’s improved as well. This stuff can burn you. A thicker glob will burn more than the rest of your face so evenness is important. I’ve read that you can leave it one for 5-10 minutes. I really wouldn’t. 2 minutes is enough for me and I think the longest I’ve gone is 3 and I my face noticed. It was pretty red afterwards. Of course everyone is different. But this stuff is no joke. From start to finish it’s a 30 minute process and I make sure to keep things as clean as posssible. Keep in mind the more you damage your skin the more sterile you need to be, and at that point I think you need to be in an office. Overall my skin looks better. And as a final note avoid the sun! You will make your skin worse if you do this and go in the sun unprotected.

I've been using this glycolic peel for probably 10 years now, usually once a month. I've tried some cheaper brands of peels over the years but always go back to this one. People are actually shocked when I tell them my age, at 34 I don't really have any noticeable fine lines and I attribute it mostly to this peel as I really don't use anything else other than a light retinol serum and a basic face cream. It also helps with preventing breakouts, when I don't use this consistently my face starts breaking out in areas. I just wash my face, apply the peel evenly and leave it on for about 5-10 minutes, then wash it off with soap and cold water. There is slight irritation and some redness while it's on my face (which is to be expected with a chemical peel) but it's very tolerable and goes away shortly after washing off the peel. A bottle of this lasts me about a year, SO much paying $300 every few months getting chemical peels at a dermatologist or med spa.

I am someone who writes both the positives and negatives of products. This honest review I feel is very important that I get it out there to others. I am a seasoned customer and user of retinol, acids(all types and brands), vitamin c, peels, masks, light therapy. So this product should have been no different. Directions stated to leave on for 1 minute, I left it on my face for only about 30 seconds and knew I had to remove it due to the INTENSE burning. Followed directions for removal and then that day and all of the evening my face was so red, bumpy, very dark spots, felt dry like leather and burned beyond anything I've ever felt. Hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep, because I couldn't put my face down on a pillow. Next morning went to ER and sure enough this product had burned my face. Now I'm on a steroid, antibiotics, cream and I have to stay out of the sun for the rest of the summer, possibly longer. This is a nightmare that I'm warning others about and praying my face at some point returns to normal.

I have always suffered from moderate acne, and my lack of self control led to picking at the relatively few pimples marring my face. All of that compulsive behavior only worsened my complexion - prolonging breakouts and resulting in scarring. Thanks to this product, I have cleared all active acne from my skin and lightened dark blemishes. I still have some residual scarring to eliminate, but am well on my way to a brighter, more even complexion. Thanks to the efficacy of this glycolic acid, I have been able to ditch many of my expensive beauty products and now use gentle products such as obagi face wash and/or cetaphil (both face wash and lotion). So...does it sting? Yes, absolutely! However the dramatic results make the temporary discomfort well worth it. As other reviewers have noted, it is crucial to prepare your skin by cleansing it and sweeping a cotton ball or gauze wetted with rubbing alcohol. Also, I like to have a bowl or basin filled with a mixture of cold water and about two teaspoons of baking soda standing by to neutralize the acid. Trust me, you don't want to be frantically searching for the baking soda while your face feels like it is on fire. Once you have prepared the skin, applying the gel peel with a cotton ball is quick and easy. I have used other brands of glycolic acid, and prefer the texture of this gel - much easier to apply. To ease the tingling pain of the glycolic acid, I like to fan my face as I gaze wistfully into my freezer - yes, it might look funny...but it is incredibly soothing! Now that my skin is accustomed to the treatment, I leave it on for 3-4 minutes, but I initially only left it on for a minute or two and I would recommend that others new to the treatment err on the side of caution as well. I always use a kitchen timer as the fiery facial feeling alters my perception of time ;-). Then I splash my face with the baking soda/water solution and follow up with several splashes of cold water. I apply cetaphil lotion and spf 30. My skin is slightly red for about a half hour then returns to normal. Others have recommended avoiding makeup the day of the treatment, but I follow my usual makeup routine and have not noticed any repercussions. In short, I wholeheartedly endorse this chemical peel! Hope this helps you on your journey to beautiful skin.

Perfect for glowing skin

For the past 6 months I've been getting a facial once a month to help improve my blackheads and overall acne condition. It was recommended to me to start getting chemical peels to help. I decided to try this instead and it is one of the best purchases I have made. Most Glycolic acid products only have a max of 3-5% strength. This is a medical strength product which is great if you use it safely and do some research. I have done this once a week for the past three weeks and I've noticed a big difference in my skin. It burns like a son of a B but its so worth it. I can only leave it on for about 4 minutes. I would highly recommend this to anyone with adult acne or blackhead issues, but make sure you where sunscreen if you go outside.

I've waited a while before writing this review so that I could test the results and I must say... this product has improved my skin quite a bit. I have combination skin and larger pores so my skin gets bumpy and uneven. At first I did not see too much change until about the 3rd time I used it. It stings a bit but it's tolerable and slowly your skin will start to look more even and soft. During recovery days I use st.ives apricot scrub to softly exfoliate some of the dead skin that flakes. I also use sun block everyday to prevent sun damage on fresh skin and I put ice on my face after treatments because my face feels a bit hot afterwards. I do not have sensitive skin so I was able to do upto 4 and a half minutes so far. I did it once a week for the first 4 treatments and now I do it every 2 weeks.

For those that have never had a professional chemical peel or never done it yourself at home, you need to be very careful and follow the enclosed instructions to the letter. The lotion is very potent at 30% and if you keep it on longer than the one minute, you will likely experience a much more deeper peel (extreme redness, sunburn look and heavy skin sloughing) than expected and you'll need more social downtime than expected. So, build up your tolerance carefully. I am happy with the product results.

This was my first time ever attempting any kind of facial peel and I love it. I've been using it once a week and it works great. I have combination skin and HAD very large pores. My skin was really dull and dry as well as oily and i love what it's done so far. My pores are smaller, face is smoother, make up goes on better, tone is improving, less oily and less dry. Not sure how it does what it does but I love it!