Chemical Peels Candler NC

By Linda Formichelli

You’re washing and moisturizing, not to mention applying sunscreen obsessively, and yet you’ve been noticing dry patches, oily spots, fine lines, or pores big enough for their own zip code. A mask or peel can bring your skin back into balance. “If you do the same thing for a long time, your skin gets used to it, and you hit a plateau,” explains Hanan Tayeb-Doe, an aesthetician at Essential Bodyworks Day Spa in Danville, California. “When you change it up by adding a weekly mask or peel, your skin will respond to it.”

Typical chemical peels, however, literally burn the skin, leaving it thin and vulnerable, and some brands of masks contain ingredients like parabens, which may impair fertility and raise cancer risk, according to the Environmental Working Group. Harmful chemicals can be absorbed through the skin, says Valori Treloar, MD, owner of Integrative Dermatology in Newton, Massachusetts, and author of The Clear Skin Diet (Cumberland House Publishing, 2007), so choose masks and peels that rely on natural ingredients instead of harsh, synthetic chemicals.

Ingredients derived from fruits, plants, flowers, milk, and honey boast compounds that perform different functions in a mask or peel. For example, fruits like apples, grapes, and lemons contain natural alpha-hydroxy acids that break down the “intracellular cement” that holds old cells on your skin in rough clumps. The acids work just like the chemical exfoliators in more conventional masks and peels but with gentler intensity. Honey, a humectant, draws water into the skin, while seaweed nourishes the complexion with soothing minerals. Plant-based ingredients offer antioxidants that help fight cell damage from UV light. Check out the chart on page TK for more details on the ingredients in natural masks and peels.

Don’t know the difference between masks and peels? “A mask puts things [such as minerals and moisture] back into the skin, while peels actually remove the debris and dead skin,” says Shelley Birnbaum, co-owner of ReNew Organic Day Spa, an eco-friendly spa in Baltimore, Maryland. While peels typically use ingredients like fruit acids to exfoliate the skin, which reduces flakiness, dry patches, and the appearance of fine lines, masks can be formulated to solve a variety of skin flaws. For example, hydrating masks work best for dry, tight skin, and contain moisturizing ingredients like seaweed and honey. Pore refining masks rely on clay to draw out impurities, and acne masks also use clay—which contains acne-fighting minerals like zinc and magnesium—along with antibacterial ingredients such as tea tree oil. Antiaging masks usually include antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins to replenish the skin as well as hydrating ingredients to keep it soft.

September is the perfect time to start a regimen of masks or peels. “Most people neglect their skin during the busy summer months, and sun, saltwater, and air conditioning can wreak havoc on the skin,” says Birnbaum...

Author: Linda Formichelli

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