PeakVibe

Scouting Report: If you’re looking for a spa-quality facial at home, you need the Active Peel System.

Who doesn’t love a good facial? Not only are spa visits calming, relaxing, and rejuvenating, but you also leave looking great. Whether it be blemishes, fine lines, wrinkles, scars, or uneven tone, facials feel almost magical. I try to treat myself to a facial every month, but with traveling, pandemic scares, and life in general, I'll often end up going months without a treatment. As such, I decided to find something I could use at home that could tide me over between facial appointments.

I checked in with my long-time aesthetician, Agnes (shout out to Graceful Touch by Agnes!) who recommended the iS Clinical Active Peel System, which I promptly ordered online. Initially, I was intimidated by the word “system," wrongly assuming the product would require a laborious, multi-step endeavor similar to the complicated facials she’s given me for over a decade. Wrong. This system is actually simple. It's a two-step system that comes with two individually-wrapped facial pads. You just cleanse your face, wipe your face and neck with the first pad, wait three minutes, then wipe your face and neck with the second pad.

Now, let me be clear, chemical peel facials are very different from extraction facials (where technicians squeeze all the junk out of your pores) and purely pampering facials, which may just include a series of cleansers, moisturizers, and facial massage. Chemical peel facials literally peel away the damaged top layers of skin with a chemical solution. The process improves the tone and texture of your skin by sloughing away dead skin, fine lines, and texture to reveal a younger-looking.

iS Clinical Active Peel System

The IS Clinical Active Peel System is a botanical-based system that uses ingredients like sugar cane and fruit extracts to “resurface and polish” your skin. The first step exfoliates and the second step hydrates and rejuvenates. The box suggests using the system every other day but Agnes warned me that using it more than once a week would be too drying for my skin type (dry and sensitive). According to her, “people who need serious resurfacing, or who have acne or pigmentation can use the pads daily for two weeks but then need to stop for a while. Not everyone can use them daily because it will over dry their skin.”

One quick thing to note about the peel pads—they burn! No, it’s not terribly painful, and these home peels burn far less than spa peels, but there is definitely some brief discomfort. After all, beauty is pain, right? It feels kind of like a cold burn—sort of like if you were in a sports drink commercial, being splashed with some refreshing “cold arctic breeze” flavor. Now that I’ve been using the system for a few weeks, I feel like my skin looks more refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to serve as a face model in a “cold arctic breeze” sports drink commercial, should the opportunity arise.

Scouted selects products independently and prices reflect what was available at the time of publish. Prices are accurate at the time of publication, but are subject to change. Sign up for our newsletter for more recommendations and deals. If you buy something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEnZiipKmXsqK%2F02eaqKVfnsBur8uipaKbkaF6oq%2FToq2eZaCasq15z5qbrGWimsOqsdY%3D