“Vi Peel Review”

I had a VI peel one week ago; I would not call it pain free. I have had constant pain, like bad sunburn, but for 24 hrs a day for 7 days now. I have swollen and dry eyes and I have scabby areas under my eyes. The area is dry and red and uneven in color. I fear that I will have a scar under my left eye because the area is very raw and weepy. I do not believe there is any infection. I was told one week to beautiful skin but realistically I hope to be fully healed in 2 weeks. This has been a horrible experience for me and I would caution anyone considering a peel that it is not to be taken lightly. It is a very serious procedure.

When you say that one treatment is not enough and that you need a series of treatments, do the treatments need to be done all at once of over a period of weeks? Thanks for your help!

so i am on my 3rd peel cause i bought the package. i am dark skinned and it was recommended to me by dermatologist. got it friday @ 1pm. started peeling sunday morning. by sunday night i was dry and cracking. used the vi moisturizer which made my skin burn, like constantly. couldn't take the pain so i washed it off and i was fine but my face was super dry. this moning monday a wash my face and put on th moisturizer again and it burns like all hell. i took this whole week off cause i knew i wouldn't dare show my face in public. My face was so dry this afternoon I took two tylenols and used the moisturizer with hydrocortizone. it took an hour but i got enough relief and was able to sleep. they say don't use hydrocort cause it will stop the peeling process but honestly the pain is son unbearable that at this point i don't care.

Nami, I'm black and have medium brown skin. I have a vi peel scheduled for next week. I'm thinking that i might cancel... The reviews are mixed but it sounds like you have had a hard time with it? How was the first 2 peels? Thanks, Leshawn

I decided not to do the Vi peel. too many bad comments about it... Just going to do the regular stuff and wait it out...

I did the Vi-peel today so I've decided to post my day to day experience. I was terrified going in and read every blog/post I could find online. I canceled and rescheduled my appt. about 4 times. I finally held my breath and jumped. ABOUT ME:I am in my 30's, tan skin with brown hair and dirty blond hair. I've had a lot of sun in my life as I'm an ocean lover and have lived on 3 islands spending lots of time on boats etc...Within the last couple of years I've had some melasma looking brown spots appear on my forehead and my moustache area. I've used every possible cream, gel etc... out there but honestly it was getting expensive and I just hated being so addicted to all these ointments. Plus the second I stopped using hydroquinine etc... they would come back within a week. DAY 1: I had it done about 11am.It hasn't been too bad so far. Estetician swiped my face w/ acetone and applied several coats of the mixture with a booster-Precision- for my forehead where the problem was worse. It burned for the first 15-30 seconds and instantly resided. My face looks like I had a really bad sunburn. It's red. She swiped my eyelids too, which I was nervous about. She had me put some hydrocortisone on about 4pm and tonight she wants me to use one of the towelettes and then put another coat of cortisone. All one hour before bed. I will post more tomorrow, Day 2! MM

DAY 2 of Vi-Peel: Today my skin just looks like I've been on top of a mountain in a windstorm, is the best way I can describe it. It's like a serious sunburn that has turned kind of tan. I have darker patches where some of my lighter melasma and rough patches are. It actually doesn't hurt and looks pretty even and tan. I hope it peels! No signs of peeling yet. Stay tuned.. MM

Hi Mitzie, I couldn't log on yesterday for some reason. Anyway, I'm on Day 4 I guess it is? The peel is peeling away nicely, exactly as I was told it was going to happen. Yesterday-Day 3 it started to peel around my nose and mouth. I looked like I had a serious tan. The skin is paper thin, almost like when you would put glue on your hands when you were little and then peel it off? Anyway, absolutely no pain whatsoever. I wouldn't worry about any pain. The only time I felt anything was when it first was put on. It burned for about 20 seconds but if you fan yourself it goes away instantly. Really not that bad at all, I swear. It's more mental fear than anything. Do have to say, I have been absolutely religious with sunblock, staying out of the sun completely not picking and using Hydro cortisone twice a day--which I think is the key. The cortisone helps the inflammation and its greasy so you don't get that itchy dry sensation a lot of people complain about. I also think who administers the peel is very important. Cause these people who are having terrible experiences makes me wonder. Today is Day 4 and literally it's peeling up from the bottom of my face up. It's up to about mid cheek right now. the skin under looks all dewey, and fresh and even. Very excited for it to all peel off. Also, it seems any really bad sun damage I had turned to dark brown patches. Hope this helps! If you are in L.A. and want the name of who I used I'm happy to tell you.

Oh and I have yet to use the moisturizer as I'm using the sunblock, letting it soak in and then I use hydrocortisone (pea sized) on top. I do this in the morning after I was my face and then twice throughout the day I reapply sunblock and lastly at night I wash my face and rub a little more of the cortisone in. I may add a little moisturizer tonight before bed. The combination has kept me skin pretty calm and not too dry at all. No pain at all. In fact it gets a little greasy during the day. The cortisone has not stopped the peeling at all. Esthetician explained the cortisone helps with the melanocites? so it prevents scarring and inflammation. She said it's a MUST. She was adamant that it was crucial to use the hydro cortisone...

DAY 5 & DAY 6: Day 5 my forehead and edges of my face were all that was left to peel. By the end of the day it ws pretty much complete. My skin looks great. The only comment I have is that I broke out a little. Like 4-5 small surface white heads here and there. But not big ones. Almost imperceptible. Think it may be from the cortisone? Day 6-today: The peel is pretty much complete I would say. My morning wash washed off the last of the remnants of little bit of dead skin that just rolled off in the water. My skin looks great. The melasma patch on my forehead-which was the worst thing I had is almost all gone. It's barely faintly there. I would say it removed 60-70% of it. The skin looks dewey and a lot more fresh and even. I'm happy. Still applying constant sunblock. I give the vi-peel a thumbs up!

Today is day 9 of doing the vi-peel. My skin looks good, definitely brighter however the melasma is still faintly there. I think the peel is a great refresher but don't think it's a major difference. I would say 50% better. I do know they recommend 2 so that may be when it would be a more drastic difference..

Glad my posts helped! I did it cause when I was getting ready to do it there seemed to be mainly negative experiences on line so when mine went well I figured I'd share! Good luck with it. I'm still happy with the results and will do it again..

I guess, either my pain tollerance is much higher or because I had very bad sunburns before, but I dont think vi peel is that bad at all. Today is my third day. Had it done on Friday at noon. The small was pretty bad, and skin felt little bit tight, just like if you get good scrubbing in the shower with scrub and hot water. By the night my face started getting redish, kind of like if I was laying out outside. Day two some stigning here and there but not to bed, I put moistaraizer and it was all better. Day 3 is today, my face still red, but not as bad as yesterday, I wouldn't want to go outside like that, but I have done it before with very bad sunburns, except I was all one color not just my face. lol I can see I'm starting to flake in some places, but not to bad yet. I have been taking ibuprofen for my foot pain, so maybe that was helping to relieve some pain too. But I definitely didnt have any kind of unbearable burning as described by some. I'm a redhead, so I have pretty much paperwhite colored skin. I can't wai to see what my skin will look like atfer a week. I think Im going to love it.

I guess, either my pain tollerance is much higher or because I had very bad sunburns before, but I dont think vi peel is that bad at all. Today is my third day. Had it done on Friday at noon. The small was pretty bad, and skin felt little bit tight, just like if you get good scrubbing in the shower with scrub and hot water. By the night my face started getting redish, kind of like if I was laying out outside. Day two some stigning here and there but not to bed, I put moistaraizer and it was all better. Day 3 is today, my face still red, but not as bad as yesterday, I wouldn't want to go outside like that, but I have done it before with very bad sunburns, except I was all one color not just my face. lol I can see I'm starting to flake in some places, but not to bad yet. I have been taking ibuprofen for my foot pain, so maybe that was helping to relieve some pain too. But I definitely didnt have any kind of unbearable burning as described by some. I'm a redhead, so I have pretty much paperwhite colored skin. I can't wai to see what my skin will look like atfer a week. I think Im going to love it.

Thank you for posting your Vi Peel experience. I'm thinking of getting one and like to know if I should plan to take time off from work. It doesn't sound like a weekend is enough time for the peeling to complete. Thanks.

I would take a few days off. I had mine done on a Friday, and I went back to Work Monday, and I wished I had taken a couple extra days off.

for those who had the vi peel done, did you wear sunscreen even if you didnt go outside? i had mine done four days ago and havent used any sunscreen because i havent gone outside, but i do have some windows. not sure what to do. i want my skin to stay dry so it will peel. Also, my dr didnt mention to use cortisone...can yall explain why they told u to use it

I don't understand all of the women complaining of terrible "pain." I had a Vi Peel done and the pain was minimal. Yes it hurt a tiny bit, but really "pain" is not the word I would use. I'm still peeling - it's Saturday and I had the peel on Wednesday night. I washed my face the next morning, and that night I used the first towelette - which stung for a minute. The next day I started peeling around chin and nose area. The next night I used the second towelette with zero pain. Today the rest of the face is peeling up to the hair line. I had brown spots from sun damage, and most of them are gone! I've never had acne so I can't speak about acne scarring issues, but thus far I'm very impressed by this peel. I'm sure if I did a series of four - one every 3 months my skin will be amazing. The results, even now, are quite stunning. I wonder if the women that are suffering from quite a bit of pain had too much of the solution applied to their face. I know that the doctor that did my peel used the one bottle, and applied it to my face all the way down my neck. Anyway, the results have been great - little to no pain. Hope this offers a different perspective.

I totally agree with Michelez. I don't know why some women experience "pain". I'm on my second Vi-Peel and I have never felt pain. The word I would use is "burning" during the 1st day, while they apply the acetone and is only for about 30 seconds... Then I felt a light stinging when I used the first towelette at night. I'm on my 3rd day, last night I applied the second one and it stung less than the first one. The first day my face was bright red like a tomatoe, the second day it went down a little.. Today my face is tight, dry, peeling around my nose and mouth.The red is gone. I can't wait to finish peeling. When it itches I use a dab of cortisone in addtion to the mosturizer and sunblock. I'm so excited to see my final results. It takes me about 4 to 5 days to totally heal. I usually stay home. I'm in my 30's, fair skin. I had brown spots and light tiny acne scars. Before my 1st peel, I could not leave the house without make up on. Well, all that is part of the past. Now is all almost gone. My face has a glow again, is lighter and even tone. I stopped wearing make up. My daily routine consists of mosturizer, sunblock, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick...I'm so proud to say that. The only time I wear make up is when I take pictures to cover the shine. Having the Vi-peel done was the best decision I made. It really works. You'll be surprised how beautiful your face looks afterwards...All I can say is Don't be afraid. If you don't try it, you will never know.

Hi, I had the Vi peel done on (day 1) Saturday mid-day and today is Wed (day 5). I should have read these reviews before but just saw them now. I want to clue you in on my experience. About me and my misbehaving skin: 39-white-italian chick so I have medium-olive skin tone. Not considered severe acne but breakouts, brown spots, old spots from past breakouts etc. Just getting into facials and a really serious (and expensive) skin care regimen. My facialist did the Vi Peel after a diamond micro-derm abrasion. She had me hold a small fan while she swiped on the solution and it felt like wiping your skin with alcohol, cold, a tiny bit stingy but absolutely no biggie and with fan, almost stopped stinging instantly. She repeated the swiping process I think 3 times and by the end my “mustache” was stinging…lovely but again nothing to run out of the room about. Just noticeable. Sat night as instructed I used the swipy pad an hour before bed and stung but again nothing bad at all.It stinks more than anything. I personally decided to avoid the upper lip area- so whatever chemicals she administered it got, but I didn’t put any additional on it. I felt like I had a sunburn and was red but I was optimistic. Next morning washed with a gentle cleanser she sent me home with. Sun (day 2) no peeling yet, used the moisturizer and yes it burns. I was wondering if I was the only one but based on this blog I am not-and not a pretty color –light tan- is it?! I was especially burning in the corners of my nose. Mon (day 3) started peeling and continued with the moisturizer and sunscreen which came in the peel kit. When I walked into work, I just made a broad announcement that I had a chemical peel, I know my nose looked like it was peeling off and there was nothing I could do about it. Everybody was like- cool. Tues (day 4) still peeling but looked like it was almost done. Today is Wed (day 5) and the corners of my nose are irritated constantly but 90% done peeling. Looks like the hairline and under my chin are the last to go. I wouldn’t say I had sheets of peeling, just little ones and lots of flakies. I think most came off when I gently washed my face –they kind of just roll off. I did not try to exfoliate it or anything just hands, water and gentle cleanser. Couple of things: I have worn very little but some powder and concealer since day 3 (going back to work) but certainly did not take time off of work for it but was off for the weekend. I have a history of very sensitive lips and get fever blisters from excessive sun or severe chapping so I was worried about my lips and upper lip. My lips have been irritated and on fire since I have done it. Obviously I did not do my lips but I guess a bit of the solution leaks into the area. OMG. They feel like they are going to split. I have been religious with the application of my Carmex but not sure it is helping. I did not get my eye lids done and feel like it was the best decision of my week- I cannot imagine. The corners of my eyes are not happy either (again not an area which was focused on but I guess leakage??). They feel like they are cracking, stingy and irritated (and red). My facialist did not say anything about a cortisone cream, so when I read your posts this was the first I heard of it. The new skin looks better than the old, but I still have old acne marks and guess it would need to take a few more of these to make them go away but the jury is still out for me. I’m also only on day 5 and not completely done yet. I am not convinced just yet the juice is worth the squeeze. It’s not THAT bad at all, but irritating, irritating, irritating. I hope this helps ladies and gents. Go, Be Beautiful….

I had VI Peel a month ago this week and I have not been able to really leave house at all. The procedure was not that bad although as the hours passed I had intense burning and ended up with migraine and had to go home which ruined the rest of the day for me as it was my BD. I peeled for at least 7 days maybe a few more. Afterwards my acne breakout are worse than ever. I can't see any real improvement in skin firmness or reduction of pore size. Also, during this month I've had a terribly itchy, bumpy rash on my decollate (area between neck and top of breasts. Even though the peel solution wasn't done there I have to feel like it had something to do with it. I've never had anything like it before. The itching and burning was so intense I had to apply ice packs and hydrocortisone ointment to the area repeatedly for about a week. The person who did the treatment advised me to start using the AHA cleansing wash immediately. I feel like that is too harsh and have stuck with the basic soap for extremely sensitive skin. I look so bad I won't leave the house or be seen in public. Makeup can't hide these huge zits. The aesthetician said I probably need another treatment. I"m thinking she has to be kidding to go thru this again. I have a high pain tolerance but I really could have used something for pain the first couple of days. I was miserable and still am. My wallet is lighter, so is my face (I'm white as a sheet) except for these huge red zits. I don't know what to do. I've done 3 out of 4 fraxel's and I don't think I'll go have the last one done.