Elemis, Philosophy and Declèor: The best peeling products

This might not be the thing for a beauty editor to admit, but I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to the strong stuff. In the 15 years since it moved from neurotoxic protein to wrinkle paralyser, I’ve never been remotely tempted by Botox, while the idea of fillers (and the potential of a trout pout) leave me running for the hills. 

If celebrities who can afford the best doctors in the world simply look like they have had work done (we always know when something has been tweaked – it’s never so good you can’t tell) what hope is there for those of us whose budgets only stretch to high-street services?

Even skin peels used to make me nervous. The infamous scene from Sex And The City in which Samantha turns up to Carrie’s book launch with a face the colour of a baboon’s backside was enough to persuade me that acid was best left in car batteries.  

This reticence can probably be traced back to my mid-twenties when, from nowhere, I experienced a three-year breakout of adult acne. Having spent the previous seven years happily slapping on any products that were sent my way, I decided it was time to pare back and have avoided anything too science-y ever since (think retinols and lactic acid). Luckily for me, there are always plenty of people queuing up to test things out for this column on my behalf.

Then, over lunch recently, I found myself listening to a lovely lady from Lancôme extolling the virtues of its new Visionnaire Crescendo Progressive Night Peel (£60; nationwide). Now firmly the wrong side of 35, the idea of brighter, younger-looking skin, diminished wrinkles and improved texture was certainly appealing. Best of all, this peel is done gradually over a period of four weeks with no downtime. Even a refusnik like me could be persuaded to give that a go.

Plus, I figured, I could stop at any time if I didn’t like what was happening.

The product comes in a double-ended pump dispenser. Phase one for the first 14 nights is low intensity, using natural fruit acids and quinoa husk extract (the superfood can exfoliate too, apparently) in order to eliminate the top layers of dead skin cells and boost renewal.

I was ridiculously nervous on the first night, cleansing and then applying three pumps of the runny orange liquid everywhere except near my eyes or on the lips. I didn’t get the tingle or burn I’d anticipated, though my skin felt and looked momentarily reddened. By morning, my complexion was marginally brighter and a little softer, but it wasn’t going to cause any head turns around town. 

A week in and I was beginning to wonder if this first fortnight was doing anything at all. Nothing really seemed to have changed. But when you’re seeing something all the time, you don’t notice incremental change. So it was only on day 10, when my mother remarked how well I was looking, that I knew it was working. 

Phase two, or the “acceleration phase”, is a dark-green liquid that contains 10 per cent acid – 0.5 per cent salicylic acid and 9.5 per cent glycolic acid. These active ingredients are loved by dermatologists and this is the highest dose allowed in at-home treatments.

Two days later and my chin was breaking out in a way it hadn’t for a decade, while the whole area felt itchy and irritated. I did what anyone in the same situation would do – I turned to Dr Google. A good bit of searching later, I discovered this was known as the “purging” phase of a peel that some people will experience. Essentially, as your skin turnover is sped up, it brings impurities to the surface much faster than usual – and all at the same time. While some advised stopping immediately, others said to push on through, which was the way I decided to go after chatting to a dermatologist friend.

Basically, I didn’t want to stir everything up without completing the process properly or the problem would remain festering just under my skin. 

Thankfully, the perseverance paid off and within a week most of the problem had resolved itself – the unpleasant sensation was entirely gone and most of the blemishes had vanished. 

But in their place was the sort of flaking you would normally only see after seven days without sun protection in the Sahara. While most of my face was fine, my chin looked like desiccated coconut. And I had a wedding to go to. Luckily, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be (largely) disguised with a generous dollop of moisturiser. 

The last few nights were pretty uneventful and once the flaking had subsided (48 hours after the final application on day 28), I was mightily impressed with the results. 

My skin feels so much silkier to the touch and the wrinkles between my brows (the ones that come courtesy of being a glasses wearer) are less obvious. I was amazed to find that the acne pitting I have lived with for a decade had been considerably reduced – something I hadn’t expected at all – while my skin has a new glow about it. 

Almost a month on and the compliments keep coming. Should I admit I already have another bottle stashed away so I can do it all again in a few months’ time?