Underneath

At long last: two weeks of overdue summer holidays! As a treat, I asked Jeanelle to give me an iSClinical® facial chemical peel. As a general rule, a chemical peel should not be performed during the harsh summer months, but by using a milder strength product and avoiding sun exposure and applying effective sunscreens afterwards, one can still safely have one performed.
There are various types of chemical peels available, which range from fruity glycolic acid concentrations, beta-hydroxy acids, tri-chloracetic acids to extreme phenol (Baker-Gordon Formula) procedures. During the summer months only the milder glycolic acid strengths are recommended to prevent inadvertent INCREASED sun damage. Such products are offered by iSClinical® and RegimA®

The iSClinical treatment consists of a relaxing facial cleansing using the Cleansing Complex which contains mild beta-hydroxy acid, mild glycolic acids, anti-oxidants and chamomile extract, to cleanse the pores and refresh the skin. Next the chemical peel treatment layers are applied and allowed to act from 5 to 15 minutes on the skin. A mild tingling and prickling sensation is felt, but it is not unpleasant. When these are removed afterwards, it tends to burn a bit, but only for a few minutes. The fragrances of these products are exotic and invigorating and an experience in themselves! Next the healing Pro Heal Serum® is applied and allowed to soak into the treated skin after which iSClinical SPF 25 UVA/UVB Sunscreen is applied to protect your newly treated skin for the rest of the day.

After treatment one can expect redness or flushing but this

 fades within a few hours and no severe flaking occurs

afterwards. Downtime is very little, if any at all.

Within a day or two, your skin is clearer, healthily glowing and smooth.

Don't Sweat It

As summer reaches it's sweltering peak in Cape Town, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep a cool and dry composure for those of us who prefer to impress during this hot season without sweating over our friends and colleagues in the process. Although we need to sweat to keep cool, the trick is to find the balance between cool control and wet armpits and sweaty palms.
Traditional antiperspirants tend to have a short effect and are not that dependable, but fresh from Denmark comes Perspirex®, a long-acting antiperspirant that promises to keep one dry through the hottest of days.

This product contains the active ingredient aluminium chloride to temporarily deactive the sweat glands. It should be applied at night to clean, dry, unbroken skin and usually lasts from 3 - 7 days between applications.

It is available in a roll-on and in a lotion formulation. Unfortunately there is no spray formulation yet available, but the roll-on tends to work best for underarms and the lotion for palms and feet.

I applied the roll-on 3 nights ago for 2 nights in a row. The product has a definitely chemical smell and burns slightly on application; you would definitely not want to use this just before a romantic night out. But the value lies in it's effectiveness: on the 4th day after using it, I have almost no sweating where it was applied. The chemical scent is gone after the following shower and you can apply your chosen deodorants as usual.

This is definitely an effective product which lives up to it's claims. It can be used to control excessive underarm wetness and sweating palms and feet (hyperhydrosis) as well as for general comfort. A definite essential for the summer season!