Jen's Column / Chemical Peels

Last week, my Adventure Club embarked on our scariest, most nerve-wracking adventure yet: chemical peels.

Getting a chemical peel — a procedure that involves putting acid on one's face — wasn't exactly on my to-do list. I mean, I'm such a wimp that I've never even gotten my ears pierced and I refuse to have my eyebrows waxed.

But when Heidi Horstmann-Novak of The Element Hair Studio contacted me, her enthusiasm was contagious. "I have a great idea for your next girls' night out," she wrote. "Chemical peels! They'll make you look younger, and you would have a blast with them!"

I pictured steaming chemical burns all over my face. "Yah, I don't know…" I thought.
But then Heidi mentioned she'd provide snacks and sangria. "Well, why not?" I said.

Eight of us showed up at The Element that night for the Peel-A-Palooza. (There was one noticeable absence. Stephanie, who hadn't missed an adventure yet, stayed home. Her reaction to getting a chemical peel was, and I quote, "Hell no.")

Heidi and her fellow peeler, Jayne Schulte, greeted us at the door and gave us the lowdown on the night's adventure. They explained how chemical peels reduce wrinkles and fine lines by removing several layers of skin. "First, we'll cleanse your skin," Heidi said. "And then you can opt to use the microderm blade."

"Bleed?" shrieked Theresa. "A microderm bleed?"

"Blade," corrected Heidi. "It removes layers of skin. After the blade, we apply glycolic acid to your face. It's kind of like a curling iron burn — but without the redness. It removes more layers of skin, promotes cell turnover and fuller, plumper skin."

We stared at her.

"It doesn't hurt," Jayne piped in. "It might sting a little. But at its worst, it's like a rug burn."

Their little talk did nothing to calm my nerves.

"So who's first?" Heidi asked.

I took a step backward and looked at my shoes. Lisa, the only one of us to have been peeled before, volunteered. We huddled around the door and watched as Heidi ran the microderm blade over her face.

"Wait, I think it's smoking!" Jennifer hissed to us. "Is it smoking?"

Heidi assured us that what we were seeing wasn't smoke. It might've been mist, I suppose. Or even layers of skin evaporating into the air. I don't know. It looked like smoke to me.

I was the last one to crawl up on the table and expose my face at the end of the night. "Did you want to do the blade?" Heidi asked.

"Yes," I said. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it all!" But I only said that because everyone was watching.

The process was actually quite comfortable until Heidi started applying the glycolic acid with her basting brush-like tool.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I'm OK," I said. "I mean, I can feel it… it's tingly… it's just feels like astringent… it's OH MY CHIN, MY CHIN!"

"Your chin stings?" she asked. "Right here?" And then ran her sponge below my lip to remove the acid.

"Oh… that's better," I sighed. "Thanks."

"You have an angry chin," Heidi said. "It's pretty red and rough. You're going to feel the acid a little more on those areas."

No kidding.

She left the rest of the acid — which felt just fine — for about 30 seconds longer, then removed it and added moisturizer.

I ran to the mirror when I was done. My skin was blotchy at first, but it was evening out fast — and it felt moist and healthy and full. I couldn't quit touching it. "It's so soft," I repeated every three seconds. "It feels so smooth."

Before we left, we stood around the lobby asking questions and getting sample sprays of DMAE on our faces. (DMAE, it seems, is the next big thing in wrinkle removal. It also happens to smell like dead, rotting fish.)

"For your next adventure, we'll have to do a big waxing party," Heidi suggested playfully.

But I don't think so. I'm all for doing another Peel-A-Palooza. Heidi and Jayne were as fun as they were skilled — and I can still tell the difference in my face. But really. I draw the line at group waxing.