Send dull skin packing with Earthen Instant Peel
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If any of you know me, you’ll know that I love a good peel. Layering on some kind of chemical, waiting until you can’t stand the burning anymore and rinsing to find new, baby soft, albeit red, skin beneath! Ain’t suffering for beauty grand?
Well, after a thorough wht review period, I can tell you there is no suffering with this peel ladies! The Instant Peel by Earthen is truly different. Using natural fruit enzymes to slough off the dead skin (and reveal the new skin that’s been hiding beneath), it is free of detergents and colorants, hypoallergenic and oil free (which I always look for, as an acne prone gal).
Plus, this peel is safe for any skin type, and claims to dramatically improve your skins texture, elasticity and firmness (all of which I need!) It’s formulated for your face and neck, but it’s fine to use it anywhere on the body. Scaly elbows and bumpy arms, beware!
The company’s directions for use tell you to take this peel into the shower. Let me say, I just love any product that you can use in the shower – you get to multitask and make a mundane shower more like a spa experience. So, once your skin has had a chance to get nice and steamed and soft, open the single use packet and start peeling. You are to use strong strokes and peel until you no longer feel your own skin peeling off– scary!
I was a bit nervous when I read the directions. Earthen claims to peel the old skin off and it will manifest itself as rolled up balls of skin (as shown above). Hmm… Would I be left with a red face for days? Would I be able to go to work? This sounds pretty harsh! Well, quite the opposite. After some fumbling in the shower trying to get the packett open (wet hands + packet= trouble for Steph), I took a deep breath and went for it.
The peel is milky in consistency and texture. I started on my forehead first (the area I most need help with). At first nothing was happening, but as I kept rubbing with vigorous strokes….it happened! I felt a few ‘skin balls’ (gross, I know) lifting from my forehead. I moved onto my cheeks and eventually chin and nose. The skin kept coming off. I began to get nervous that all my skin would be gone, but persevered. I rinsed and my skin felt soft and smooth.
Once out of the shower, I reluctantly looked in the mirror. Success! My skin not only felt great, but looked great as well. Smooth, clear and bright and it was not even a little bit red! I am used to Alpha Hydroxy or glycolic peels, where the skin is red and stingy, but not this one. My skin felt fairly normal, so I smoothed on some basic moisturizer and went about my business.
How easy is that for a busy lady in need of a quick facial or pampering?! A box of Instant Peel Packets has 6 single-use 1.07 oz. packets and retails for $50, which equals about $8 for a simple, effective mini facial – not bad! I have used this peel a few times now and I give this product a rating of 5 stars!
we heartsters and testers, are you rolling with it too? Share your reviews of the Instant Peel in the comments!
Stephanie was born in France and travels there every year to visit her mom and relatives. She now lives Stateside with her fiancee, and their two-year old kitties; Bubba, Winston and Clementine. Makeup is her passion (she worked as a makeup artist for Laura Mercier), she also loves to cook, do artsy stuff and garden.
Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. It also contains an affiliate link, a link that gives us a small commission if you purchase the item. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.
This product looks interesting. Any peel that causes peeling excites me, because usually you can’t achieve that without doing a peel from an esthetician. And the reviews of it are really good!
I must have ESP beacuse I used this peel again just the other day- it is wonderful! I give it a solid 5 stars!!!
I *do* know @glamazon56, and it’s true, she does love a good peel! Coming from her, this rave review is all I need to convince me that Earthen Instant Peel is effective and worth every penny. Great post, @glamazon56!
Oooo, @glamazon56, you’ve got me SO interested!
I’ve never had a peel, they kinda of freak me out. Plus, I’m prone to hypo-pigmentation, so I try to avoid anything that might make my skin freak out and ruin my day….
But I am completely fascinated with things like Biore pore strips, so I do love me some products with the “EWW….cool…” factor! (I think it’s left over from my grade school days where putting Elmer’s glue on my hand and peeling it off was oddly satisfying…)
Great review, I must try!
@lysaachelle – this totally reminds me of peeling Elmer’s glue off your fingers! Also rubber cement (that was my cover-your fingers-in-glue of choice!) It’s also nearly identical to an old school product called Pretty Hands and Feet. Anyone ever use that? I LOVE it. Anyone who’s used Earthen, imagine taking it to your dry heels. It’s almost like a drug, it’s so satisfying!
Anyhoo…I like this product. It does leave you with very smooth skin. But for me, it’s a little tricky to work with. I do not take it in the shower (because what’s the joy of peeling your skin off in lil’ balls if you can’t see it happening?) And you def. don’t want this to dry on your face or it’s not peeling anywhere. So in the beginning it feels a bit too wet to be doing any sort of peeling. Then once it starts to dry, you have to move quick.
And I guess I’m a bit of a pessimist because I wonder how much skin is really in those lil’ balls and how much of it is just the product balling up. Honestly, I think it’s more product. But, it does leave your skin very smooth~so something is going on!
All in all, I think this is a great peel for anyone who may be peel shy, because it’s not harsh at all. But personally, I prefer my peel to bring in the big guns. I don’t mind a bit of pain in exchange for super glowy skin. So Earthen gets a 3 from me.
While I was never big on the “cover your fingers in glue” trick (it always skeeved me out a bit) I do love peeling a good sun burn.
This peel looks interesting, but like @Stef I like to pull out the big guns when it comes to facial treatments. (Maybe it’s that old notion that if I can’t feel it working it’s not.) In any case, this looks like a great peel to use in between the more serious treatments! Great review @Glamazon56 !
I can’t believe I’ve never tried this peel, but I’m very intrigued by the rubber cement comparison – but especially by the Pretty Feet & Hands one! I loved that stuff too!
And I used to like the “big gun” sort of products too @stef, but lately my skin seems more sensitive to strong products. This natural and low key peel sounds like a good match for my skin.
Thanks for adding to my ‘products to buy’ list @glamazon56 !
I liked this peel a lot. Most a-peel-ing (sorry) to me is the single use packets. No guess, no waste.
I use a product much like this from my fave, Mario Badescu, called “Rolling Skin Peel” with Alpha Hydroxy Acids. That product comes in a tube and is wonderful to use once a week or so (followed by a calming toner). Both products are a bit of a workout, requiring a firm and continuous rubbing until you start to pill like an old cashmere sweater.
Unlike @glamazon56 I did experience redness–more than a glow and less than raw. Using the Mario Badescu advice of a calming toner (and good moisturizer with sunscreen) helps with this quite a bit. I find I do look better the day after, but that is not to say that there is any real downtime.
I love InstantPeel almost as much as my Mario (which does seem more agressive.) and am quite taken with those single use packets. Use this the day before a big event. 4 stars.
@glamazon56, you had me at “take this peel into the shower.”
I too love multitasking, so if I can wash it off in the shower, I’m game!
My sensitive/weird/breakout prone skin really wants this. I love weird peeling face products. Awesome review and kudos for the funky photo! :)
This looks interested, not sure if I would be willing to spend $50 to try it out. I like that it’s single use packets and they are a great deal individually, but I’m afraid my skin wouldn’t react well and then I’d be stuck with the rest of the packets. If anyone finds a way to buy them individually to test 1 out first let me know!
I have to say, I LOVE a good peel. There’s something satisfying about the sting and the feel of pore-clogging gunk being dissolved to reveal brighter, newer skin.
This peel is a little bit different from most peels. I don’t know that it’s really so much of a peel as a skin eraser. I don’t really think the chunks are my skin–it seemed to me that the milky peel as it dried, chunked up as it dried (kind of like if you put watered down Elmer’s glue on your face and rubbed it around until it started to dry). I think the action of rubbing these chunks around helped remove dead skin and blackheads, kind of like rubbing an eraser on paper. I definitely felt like I had rubbed skin off of my face, but I didn’t feel like my skin got the same glow as it did with previous peels. It also made my skin incredibly oily a couple hours later, a side effect I don’t usually experience with peels that rely on stronger active ingredients instead of this rubbing process.
Overall, I think for what it is, there are better peels out there. This one isn’t bad, but the single use packets are not my favorite in the shower—they’re very difficult to open when your hands are wet. The consistency is like a watery face mask—it looked like the ingredients had separated in the packet. I think this would be better in a tube and at about half the price. It just wasn’t incredible enough for me to justify the price tag.
3 stars from me.
Thank you all for the feedback! Peel away, ladies!!
I tried this a couple of years back and absolutely *loved* it ! Its still hands done one of my best discoveries to get rid of dull skin. I dont know how many many friends I have recommended this to ! Though I thought the single packet was way too much for one use. However saving it is not recommended so I used it on hands n feet too