Somewhat Painful but Worth It - New Skin is Soft, Smooth and Glowing - Westport, CT

I'm not a big spa-type person and had thought facials, peels and other such treatments were basically bogus. However, during the process of getting consults for eyelid surgery, I spoke to an aesthetician at one of the doctor's offices and she really changed my thinking about skin treatments and skin care. I discovered it wasn't all "fluff" after all.I decided to get a peel before moving forward with my eyelid surgery and other procedures I was considering- I wanted to be "as good as I could be" before deciding what I really needed. My aesthetician recommended the Vi Peel, since she said it was the right depth to give me the maximum benefit with minimal risk. It is equivalent to about a 30% TCA peel but more predictable and she'd seen excellent results.The application of the peel was relatively painless- it stung a bit but then numbed itself out. I had it applied on a Thursday evening, applied the Retin A wipes Friday and Saturday as instructed, and by Saturday afternoon the skin around my mouth had started to crack and peel. By my follow up visit Monday evening the majority of the peeling was over (though I must confess I did "help" it along a bit despite strong warnings to just leave it alone- I just couldn't stop myself. Fortunately I didn't seem to have an adverse effect).Before the peeling started, my face swelled up and my skin became reddish brown, leathery, and very itchy. I felt a bit "under the weather" but mostly kept up my regular routine. My aesthetician had advised me to refrain from any exercise, but the Vi Peel instructions and website did not list this restriction, so I took one day off but resumed after that. I'd been given some 2.5% Cortisone cream, which helped the itching somewhat, but I was still uncomfortable at times. (NOTE: You can't use that concentration around your eyes because it can migrate into your eyes and cause blindness -which I only found out after I'd already applied some near my eyelids-oops! But fortunately, I had no ill effects from that either)Once the new skin was revealed underneath, I was delighted! The skin was baby soft and smooth, wrinkles were greatly reduced, even some moles and a scar were lightened. I became a convert to proper skin care and religious about sunscreen- I wanted to protect my beautiful new skin! (and in fact, it is brand new skin, as the peel takes off all 5 layers and you grow a whole new epidermis).The glowing-ness did lessen slightly after the skin fully re-epithelialized, but overall I love the way my skin looks now. I plan to have another peel in the fall, to remove any lingering scars from my eye surgery as well as any summer sun damage. Although it was rather pricey, the care I got from the staff was well worth it and I don't think I would attempt this sort of peel on my own.