Image Clinical Skin Peel: Review!

Hey guys,


As a skin-care fanatic, I am a hard gal to impress when it comes to products and facials....but after my Image Clinical Peel I got this week, I felt compelled to blog about it! I booked myself in for an Image peel at Cork Laser Care on Tuesday with lovely Gerri. I have had treatments with Gerri before so I knew I was in capable hands.

Before I go on......I think there is a stigma attached to the word"peel" and especially when the word "skin" comes before it.......I blame Samantha from Sex and The City for this lol....................

No you will NOT look like this after an Image skin peel....

I am a firm believer that if you want to make a significant change/improvement to your skin, then you need to find skin treatments and products that dig deep into the skin cells and do what they are supposed to do. Image is a skincare range which was developed by an American plastic surgeon. It is formulated with cosmeceutical ingredients which are scientifically designed to get deep into the skin cell. If you suffer from acne,deep pore congestion, pre-mature aging, pigmentation, sun damage or wrinkles/fine lines, then non-cosmeceutical ingredients can only do so much. To rectify your skin concern and to improve your skins condition,  ingredients need to be driven deep into the pore to do their job....why? because for all the skin concerns listed above, the cells responsible for the improvement of the skin are situated deep in the skins layers......HELLO IMAGE SKIN CARE!!

I use alot of image skin care products in my everyday routine, which I will be doing a blog post about soon so I knew I would love this Image clinical Peel.

After a consultation with Gerri, she showed me through to her facial room and told me to make myself cosy. Gerri decided that the Image Signature Facelift would be perfect for me. I was already impressed the second I heard "facelift"..! The Image peel treatment consisted of  facial cleanse,de-greasing the skin which preps it for the 2nd part of the peel.....which is done in 4 layers. High doses of Vitamin C and glycolic are used to totally rejuvenate the skin. In layman's terms, the glycolic scoops out the dirt embedded deep in the pore and the vitamin c feeds and plumps out your starving/thirsty skin cells! :-)

Below is a picture of me before the Peel:

During the Peel:

After the Peel:

My skin felt so amazing after the treatment, clean, fresh and glowing!! It has been a few days since I had the treatment and I can still see the benefits of this skin treatment and that to me is a sign of a good facial! I have had  alot of facials in the past where my skin looks and feels amazing after the facial but that only lasts a few hours max! This peel boosts your skin cells so much and kicks them into action so your skin continually improves after the facial! My skin wasn't red at all afterward so there was no down-time with this facial- Now I can understand why this is known as a red carpet treatment!

Image Clinical Peels have quite an array of treatments available which can cater for any skin condition and concern. Go to this website to see where your nearest Image skincare centre is.....http://www.renaissance-skincare.com/skincare-centres/

Niamh xx

Science behind beauty.....

Hello All,

I know I cant promise a blog post daily but I will try my best to do one weekly! As some of you may know, I have a science degree...Nutritional Science in fact. Go me! :) So when I read or purchase a new skincare product, the scientist in me needs to know how it works.......


First up is Retinol!!!

A bit of sciency background....Retinol has been the beauty buzz word for quite some time now and has even been described as a "miracle ingredient". It is a derivative of Vitamin A and is used in the Beauty Industry for its potent anti-ageing properties. Retinoic acid is the active form of retinol and is also used for acne treatments but is only available on prescription by a doctor or dermatologist!! ( boooo !!! ) Basically the retinol that we can get over the counter isn't as good as the bad boy you can get off the doctor, but certainly still worth using!

What does Retinol do?

Firstly it is an anti-oxidant which protects the skin from free radical-free radicals. Free Radicals are the demons that can cause pre-mature ageing, reduction in elasticity and suppleness, eh no thanks! The fact that retinol is an anti-oxidant means that is anti-ageing,even before I get into the nitty-gritty!!


As I've stated above, retinoic acid is the active form of retinol, a small amount of "over the counter" retinol is converted to this active form and is used by skin cells called dermal fibroblasts. We like fibroblasts, these guys make collagen which smooth out fine lines and wrinkles! As the skin matures, the fibroblasts get lazy, very lazy and produce less collagen......feed them retinol and they perk up! The more collagen...the less wrinkles! ;)

Another effect of maturing skin is that cell turnover is reduced...alot! Because of this, our skin is slower to shed itself....dead skin galore! yuck! Retinol has been proven to increase cell turnover which gets rid of the dead skin so that other beneficial ingredients can get to where they are needed in the skin. This is why retinol is used during acne, psoriasis and pigmentation treatment.

If you are thinking of adding retinol to your skin care routine, do it gradually and most importantly use it as advised by a skin therapist or dermatologist. No point is buying it if you are using it incorrectly! My advice is to go for a cosmeceutical brand rather than a non cosmeceutical brand. In a nut shell, cosmeceutical brands contain ingredients which penetrate deeper into the skin cells...if you logically think about it....your fibroblasts, the guys that make collagen, are deep in the skin layers, there is no point applying retinol to the top layers of skin ( in the case of non cosmeceutical brands ) ! you need the retinol to burrow through to where its needed!

Image is a GREAT example of a cosmeceutical brand. Find you local salon which stocks image,book in for a consultation and take it from there. I have worked with this brand...and many other skin brands, and it wins by miles.

Just a few pointers on Retinol:

• Use with Vitamin C for best results, this prevents sun damage!! :) 
• If using during the day, protect the skin with an SPF! 
• If you have prominent acne or pigmentation, perhaps ask your dermatologist for a more potent form!
• Be VERY VERY VERY careful not to over use retinol, it can cause your skin to go into overdrive and even cause damage to the skin so please use it correctly.
• you skin WILL peel while using retinol, this is due to the accelerated cell turnover.

Here is the IMAGE website .............. http://www.renaissance-skincare.com/products/image-skincare/

Retinol is the bomb!! Go get it!!