The week I stopped pushing peels on everyone

I had a client with persistent redness who'd been told by two other places she just needed a stronger chemical peel. I suggested we stop all actives for a month and focus on barrier repair instead, which felt like esthetician heresy. Her skin calmed down more in those four weeks than it had in a year of aggressive treatments. Anyone else feel like we sometimes over-prescribe the 'big guns' for simple barrier issues?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_hayden2mo agoMost Upvoted

My friend went through something just like this! Her face was so red and sore, and she kept getting told to try another acid or peel. It was a mess. She finally saw someone who told her to just wash with water and use a basic moisturizer for a few weeks. Honestly, it was like magic watching all that irritation just fade away. It really shows how sometimes the best fix is to stop fixing and just let the skin heal.

kimr912mo ago

My clinic sees this all the time. People come in with angry skin after being told to just peel more. A simple reset often works way better than another harsh treatment.

ray6133d agoMost Upvoted

It's wild how this same thing plays out everywhere, not just with skin. Like when your back hurts and someone says to stretch more, but you're already stretching and it's making it worse. Or when you're stressed and people say just do more yoga, more meditation, more whatever. Sometimes the answer is just stop doing so much and let your body catch up. My buddy kept adding more gym time to fix his sore knees until a coach told him to take a week off. Knees felt better than they had in months. Everyone wants to add something instead of taking away.

dakotag262mo ago

Totally. But honestly, a reset is still a treatment. It's just a gentler one focused on repair.