I’ve always been pretty diligent with my skincare routines. But—due to a certain pandemic or a maybe due to laziness, who’s to say?—I had neglected getting regular in-clinic facials. And for a while I thought I was doing OK on my own. But then I went on a skincare journey with Clear Skincare Clinics and now I am back on the “get regular facials” bandwagon.
The way I look at it is this: you can exercise at home, but a session or two with a personal trainer keeps you on track, right? So yeah you can do all your normal skincare at home, but a session with a professional keeps you on track to reach your skin goals. In-clinic facials = gym for your face.
My main skincare goal when I began my journey was to stop my pigmentation from getting worse. Hormones, am I right? So my main goal when chatting with my lovely skincare therapist at Clear Skincare Clinics Cannon Hill was: please stop my face from getting worse.
It’s melasma and I am having hormone issues, so I am under no illusions that they will be able to make it go away completely, but I am hoping we can make it go away a little.
The skincare journey process
With my goals in mind (and with a little info about my skin type) we decided a MediPeel regimen would be best for kicking pigmentation’s butt. This involved facials every two to four weeks, with alternating Clear Skincare’s Signature Peel and their Overnight Peel.
I then also go home with a collection of Clear Skincare skin products to continue my regimen at home.
The Signature Peel use the power of natural acids to invigorate cell turnover and clear away dead and damaged skin. Signature Peels can target your individual skin concerns with their potency dialled up or down depending on your skin tolerance.
If you’re a busy, lazy girl like me, this peel is IDEAL. It clears away all the surface dead skin cells you miss at home and can be easily done in a lunch break. Nip in, quick peel, nip back home, skin glowing for the 12:30 meeting.
The Overnight Peel not so much… or at least not if you’re going to see anyone afterwards that might care about how you look. It’s definitely not as dramatic as I was expecting but I looked pretty shiny, as documented on my social media.
This powerhouse peel clears stubborn acne and repairs your skin while you sleep. Containing kojic and azelaic acid, the Overnight Peel can fade even the most persistent pigmentation, sun damage and melasma, and is suitable for all skin types and tones. The active ingredients are said to provide superior exfoliation and cell turnover.
It tingles a little when it first goes on, and I have glassy skin afterwards. I am meant to leave the peel on for 12 hours but by the time mine went on, it means sleeping in it.
My at-home regimen
I go home with seven products, all geared towards making my pigmentation lessen, and my skin softer and more hydrated. The morning routine consists of: Clear Skincare Brightening Serum (a vitamin C complex), Brightening Eye Cream (with caffeine and vitamin C), Restoring Serum (1% copper peptide), and Hydrating Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+. The nighttime routine is as follows: Restoring Serum again, Perfect Pigment Serum (3% tranexamic acid) and the Lighten Cream (0.4% arbutin).
I am not a morning person, and consequently I am also not a morning skincare person. Splash of water, bit of sunscreen, let’s go. So this new morning regimen takes a little getting used to. I only forget three or four times (in the first week). I had it sorted, mostly by the second.
My therapist wrote it all down for me so it’s easy to remember at least, plus the boxes have what step in my routine the product should be written on them.
The skincare journey results
Over the course of a few months, I alternate between fortnightly peels and my at home skin regimen. After the first Overnight Peel I wake up GLOWING. My skin feels soft, and smooth and looks alive. And since I have been looking dead lately, this is a big improvement.
Over the weeks I definitely notice my skin getting lighter where it’s darker. As I said, I have a bunch of hormonal issues so while I did see some improvement it didn’t nix it all. But my doctor had told me to expect my pigmentation to get worse with my hormonal happenings and it definitely didn’t, so I am calling that a big win.
The verdict
I make a promise to myself that going to make time in my schedule for regular facials. I am back in the habit of going to my skin’s personal trainer to amplify the results I get at home, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
