We have a very special treat for you – one of our new AYA^™ Medical Spa patients had a great first experience with one of our skincare treatments and was so impressed, she wanted to tell everyone about it! 29-year-old Dee came to our Phipps Plaza location for a complimentary skincare analysis because she was a long-time acne and hyperpigmentation sufferer who was ready to give her skin a bit of TLC. She knew she wanted clearer skin but wasn’t sure what to do for her very first cosmetic skincare treatment, but luckily we found something that worked well – chemical peels! If you’ve ever wondered, “what’s a chemical peel like?” check out Dee’s firsthand account:

“If I had to describe my skincare routine at the start of this year it’d be this: wake up, get dressed, go to work. So basically, nonexistent. Growing up, I was a huge tomboy who couldn’t tell eyeliner from a black colored pencil but as I started to get into my mid-20s I started experiencing eczema, acne scarring, hyperpigmentation, and other stubborn skin conditions that unfortunately I didn’t take seriously. I was breaking out more and my skin seemed to produce a rash every other day, so saying I had sensitive skin became an understatement.

As I entered the workforce, I became more and more self-conscious of my skin’s condition as I spent hours surrounded by women and men who looked like their faces had been virtually photoshopped and I desperately wanted that for myself. But where do you start when you come from a history of going “au natural” and having zero clue about cosmetics and skincare? For me, it was the internet and my trusty guide Google. I poured hours into reading beauty blogs and even watching YouTube videos on a bunch of different treatments until I was more confused than ever. After a recommendation from a friend of mine, I gave AYA^™ a call, told them I was a newbie to skincare and what I wanted to focus on. They set me up with Dana for what they call a skincare analysis and it was as easy as that.

When I showed up for my appointment (aside from being dazzled by the med spa itself, the vibes I got when I walked in were so relaxing and the AYA^™ team was so welcoming) Dana got to know more about my history of skincare, or in my case lack thereof. I tend to let myself get embarrassed for feelings of being inept at this type of thing but Dana was great in reassuring me that I was not the first, or last, person with the same mentality to work with her. I was going to be heading out of town on a vacation and didn’t want to do an aggressive treatment to start but she recommended a chemical peel specifically to treat the topical blemishes (dark spots and REALLY dry skin) that luckily were treatable. HOORAY! Then it was time to get started.

We went with the Vitalize Peel because I was worried about how my sensitive and easily dark-pigmented skin would react (I have to use non-scented, hypoallergenic everything, so I was afraid of flare-ups). First Dana cleaned off my skin before covering my entire face with this mask-type solution. I didn’t touch it but it was such thin coverage that now looking back, I’m quite impressed it was able to pack such a powerful punch. She then gave me an electronic kind of handpiece that blew delicate cool air on my face while we waited for the chemical peel to work its magic (I honestly didn’t think it was needed but it just felt nice and was really for added comfort). I felt like I had only been relaxing in the chair in my procedure room for a few minutes before Dana popped back into the room to start wrapping up my treatment. With this particular peel, once it’s dried, it sits for about 4 hours before you’re able to wash off the solution and Dana even added a bit of sunscreen before I left to give my skin a little extra protection against the sun.

As we wrapped up she went over the after-care instructions which I was told would be the key to getting the best results. She even gave me a ton of Revision^® Skincare and Phyto-C samples to try too because there was no excuse not to maintain my future results; I ended up falling in love with the Revision^® moisturizer and the Phyto-C Superheal O-Live Serum. The first few days were business as usual and around day 3 and 4 I started to see the peeling start to happen. I was a bit concerned that I would end up looking like a monster whose skin was flopping off the cheeks but it wasn’t anything like that! The key was to make sure I kept gingerly applying moisturizer and NOT picking the skin. It literally naturally sheds itself on its own.

I had read that it could be as short as 10 days or up to 3 weeks of peeling after a chemical peel treatment but everyone’s different so you have to take that with a grain of salt. For me, I would say it was about two and a half weeks until the peeling was essentially gone and it made such a big difference. My skin had more of a dewy, fresh look and my dark spots had dramatically faded! What was even better was that the results kept improving over the next few weeks and my skin looked better than I could even remember far back enough.

To say my first chemical peel experience was a success is an understatement. I went in clueless and came out having learned way more than I could have possibly learned through internet searching. I think that’s what I most appreciated about my first time: I felt comfortable, not judged or embarrassed, and came out much happier about my appearance. This will certainly not be my last peel and I honestly am looking forward to trying some of the other skincare treatments that AYA^™ has to offer in the future.

My words of advice to anyone who may have the same apprehensions towards starting skincare in your adult years: just give it a try. Choose a place that has staff that REALLY know what they’re doing because it’s your face, or the moneymaker as my mom calls it, so it should be treated delicately. Even if you have no clue where to start, the professionals do and it can make a world of difference.”