With the abundance of skin care treatments available for home use, we’re spoilt for choice nowadays. Whether it’s a daily facial scrub, weekly exfoliation or full on micro-dermabrasion, many of us will try anything to eradicate signs of aging and recapture the soft, dewy skin of our youth.


I for one, have tried pretty much all of them. Being unhappy with noticeable sun damage on my face that no amount of vicious exfoliation or dermabrasion would remove, it seemed my last option was a chemical peel. And not being brave enough for the full-on deep peel available only in clinics, I decided the Skin Culture peel was worth a go.

I chose the home chemical peel treatment from Skin Culture because I liked the idea of doing the treatment myself while in the comfort of my own home. I was also encouraged by the longevity of the company producing it – Skin Culture was developed in 1937, and by the many positive testimonials provided by other users.

The Skin Culture 4000 Peel is a 6-day facial peeling treatment that used in the privacy of your home. It evenly removes several layers of skin cells, revealing the fresh, new skin underneath and is safe and very effective.

Prior to undergoing the treatment you are advised to phone their helpline then do a six day patch test to make sure you don’t suffer from any adverse reactions. There is, of course, a detailed instruction booklet with a step by step guide.

In this review, I’ll provide some details about the product I’m reviewing. Following on from that, I’ll give my own step by step experiences of using the Skin Culture Peel 4000 and my results

Purchase and Cost

I haven’t seen this product available in any store. However, it’s readily available online from Skin Culture. I purchased my Skin Culture Peel 4000 at the beginning of December while it was on a special Christmas half price offer. Although it retails for around £165/$218, watch out for regular special offers.
Included in your peel kits is a plastic pocket containing four tiny pots of cerate 39xxx peeling cream (four pots because I was doing the peel 4000) and one x 28g pot of normalizer cream. The normalizer cream is used after you’ve finished your four peeling treatments.

Suitability

The Skin Culture Peel can be used on any skin color and can help improve the following conditions:

* Fine Lines - this includes laugh lines, crow's feet, brow lines, and crinkly skin.
* Acne Scarring - reduces and removes, dark marks, red spots, rough skin, & blocked pores.
* Sun Damage - reverses & removes the photo-aged and sun-damaged outer skin layers.
* Age Spots - lightens and removes dark spots, and blotches.
* Blackheads - open blocked pores eliminating black/whiteheads, smooths rough skin.
* Uneven Skin Tone - lightens, brightens revealing an even colored skin tone.
* Large Pores - reduce the size, look, and appearance of large pores.
* Hyper-pigmentation - reduces & improves the look of darkened skin patches and spots.
* Other Complexion Irregularities.

Different Peels

There are four levels of peels available, 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000. Of these, the Peel 4000 is the strongest. It is a maximum strength peeling treatment, removing years of deep, ingrained dirt, as well as rough, thickened skin. It aims to restore softness while firming and renewing natural skin tones. Ultimately, it promises to give your skin a second life!
  
I decided to use the Peel 4000 treatment. After years spent sun worshiping, I was paying for it in the form of hyper-pigmentation and brown spots. I had high hopes for this peel.

Using the Peel

On your first day you must thoroughly cleanse your face then apply the first peeling treatment with a spatula. After waiting the recommended 90 minutes, you wipe it off using dry cotton wool, and remove any residue with Vaseline. It’s recommended you do the treatments in the evening  as you cannot wash your face for eight hours after the peel.  The following morning you must wash your face with warm water followed by cold water then leave it. Nothing else is allowed on your face until the second peeling treatment which must be done at the same time as the first.

This routine is to repeated over four nights. On the fifth night the normalizer cream must be applied and left on for 90 minutes after which time any excess cream is removed.

In most cases, peeling occurs on days five and six but may start earlier or take longer. You must use a high factor sun screen of at least SPF 30 for the month following the treatment. If you wish, you can even undergo another peeling treatment a month later.

Before undergoing such a treatment at home, make sure you factor in down time where you won’t want to ‘face the world’ outside. This is when your face begins to peel and it’s not a pretty sight!

My Experiences

I didn’t experience any adverse reactions to the patch test. However, I’m fortunate that my skin isn’t at all sensitive and I’ve never suffered from any adverse reactions to face creams.

Day 1: After cleansing my face thoroughly and letting it dry for five minutes, I opened one of the little pots of cerate 39XXX. Inside is a putrid yellowish looking paste which doesn’t look pleasant and the smell is worse. After tying my hair back, I took out the spatula and spread the paste all over my face, while taking care not to rub it in.

The smell is all encompassing and anyone venturing near you will recoil in horror. It’s best to go through this part while you’re alone. As indicated in the instructions, as soon as I applied the paste over my face, I began experiencing the hot and stinging sensation as described. It was bearable but after five minutes I began debating whether I’d be strong enough to see this through for another 90 minutes. However, after 10 minutes, the stinging did subside and I couldn’t feel it at all. Unfortunately, the smell remained as strong throughout.

It was an enormous relief once the 90 minutes were up and I could scrape off the paste. After removing the residue with Vaseline, I left my face alone. My lifetime routine of applying moisturizer before going to bed had to be abandoned. My face felt very tight and looked slightly red on the first day and I could still go out and about and face the world.

Day 2: I repeated last night’s scenario. The same hot stinging sensation was felt and this time when I removed the paste, my face looked redder than the previous night. The following day my face had taken on a somewhat robust look, but didn’t look too abnormal.

Day 3: The same process again. I was quite scared about applying the paste to my poor skin by now. My face stung for 10 minutes then the pain subsided. I now looked red once the cream came off. I felt a bit self conscious the next day when out and about.

Day 4: What a relief when it was the last day. Once this last pot of paste was removed, my face was very red, like a bad sunburn. I could still go outside although I had begun the peeling process around my mouth. It was starting to flake off in tiny amounts, but still wasn’t noticeable enough to prohibit me from mixing with the great wide world.

Day 5: I was extremely happy to be able to smother my face with normalizer cream. This cream is white and very thick with barely any perceptible smell. It certainly provided a welcome relief to my poor tortured skin. Again I had to leave it on for 90 minutes before wiping off any excess and couldn’t wash my face until the morning.

My skin was peeling mostly around the mouth area but nowhere else. The rest of my skin looked like it was covered in a layer of cling film. When I smiled or pulled extreme facial expressions, my skin looked quite terrifying. In fact, it gave me a glimpse into the future where I could see what I might look like aged 80. I tried not to make too many facial expressions because it scared my kids. I did warn them that my face would be falling off in a few days so they must be prepared.

Day 6: Still not much in the way of peeling. The instructions said the peeling mainly occurs on days five and six. In some cases it completes over days seven and eight. I fell into the category of ‘some cases’, whereby my facial peeling was nowhere near complete on day six. This was annoying as it meant I had to cancel visiting plans over Christmas.

The shedding of my skin was working up from around my mouth to the sides of my nose. I had to continue using the normalizer cream until all peeling was finished. I was no longer in any fit state to present my face to the outside world and was confined to my house. That wasn’t too bad since it was the school and Christmas holidays. Friends were banned from visiting.

Day 7: The peeling was spreading out much more now. Most of my nose was done, and half of my cheeks.

Day 8: Still peeling and not finished yet but I did get my first real glimpse of the peel’s effects. One of my greatest hopes was to achieve a more even skintone. The instructions warn you NOT to peel or pull at your skin and to let it shed naturally. I found this impossible at times but I didn’t ever pull skin that wasn’t ready to be removed.

Day 11: I exfoliated the last remaining flecks of skin, mainly around the edges of my face and top of my forehead. I’d been able to face the world for the past three days and was back to normal.

My Verdict

Once the peeling was complete I could fully examine the results. I could honestly say my skin was in better condition than I could remember. My skin seemed positively dewy, just as described on the website. The minor brown spots had faded somewhat but not completely.

I was very excited at the results on my under eye lines. I wasn’t too hopeful with regards to wrinkle or line improvement, but after a bit of skin came off from under one eye, there was barely a fine line to be seen. Blackheads and a couple of whiteheads were significantly reduced and my skin tone was greatly improved.

I’d certainly recommend this treatment as the ultimate exfoliation kit. You do need to be aware of the time it takes and that you’ll likely want to stay hidden away from the world while you shed your skin! But once that’s over and done, the results are completely worthwhile. It's not a miracle cure for wrinkles, but it does give your skin a new lease of life.