Skincare Advice using Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peels and The Inkey List products

[jkuhhh]

Hi! I'm 29 years old with combination skin (oily t-zone, everywhere else pretty normal) I have a lot of hyperpigmentation, dull skin and occasional break outs. I recently purchased the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta extra strength daily peels and a few items from The Inkey List - glycolic acid toner, alpha arbutin serum and the niacinimide serum. I was wondering how I should incorporate the toner and the peels to my routine. Should I do the peel at night and use that toner in the morning or is that too much for my skin? Or should I switch them - peel one night, next night toner? Thank you

[21dreamer]

I’m going through the same things.. I’ve gone to the dermatologist and I was Prescribed aczone and amzeeq foam for acne. I love the laneige products specially the cream skin toner. The anti wrinkle patches from peace out are really good too

[tg1973]

Holy moly, you aren't fooling around! Okay, so the Alpha Beta Peels, follow the instructions carefully and use those at night. You aren't necessarily going to start out using those every day, because they are quite strong. At the slightest sign of overexfoliating--redness, itchiness, dryness combined with extreme oil production-- stop using all acids and get your skin rehydrated before you use them again. You risk giving yourself a real actual chemical burn. The glycolic toner you shouldn't be using at all as the Alpha Beta Peels already have Glycolic acid. In theory you could eventually use it in the morning and the peels at night, but very few people achieve that level of acid tolerance or need to. Save the glycolic toner for when you run out of the Alpha Beta Peels, which are expensive af. Once you've gotten all the old dead skin off and have purged all your blocked pores (you're going to break out a bit or a lot depending on how congested your skin is), you will reach a stage where you are just maintaining fabulous clear skin and that's when you stop selling organs to support your Alpha Beta Peels habit and switch to simple acids, like the Glycolic Toner. The Niacinamide Serum is designed to reduce oil production, so it makes sense to use it in the morning to keep your makeup from melting during the day, but give the peels a second to make sure they don't burn your face off before you add it, as you may need that oil to keep your skin healthy. I would personally not use it at night to let your skin produce as much oil as it wants, so you can monitor how your oil pumps are running. The Alpha Arbutin Serum from the Inkey List doesn't contain any acids (the one from The Ordinary does) and the instructions say to use it twice a day, but again, wait until you have gotten the other products down before you add that in, and start slowly once a day. Any time you add a bunch of new products you want to go one at a time so you know which ones your skin likes or hates, but especially with powerful actives, you want to give your skin adjustment time between each addition to avoid feeling like you dipped your face in battery acid. Once you go too far and overexfoliate badly, it can take weeks or even months to heal your skin back to the starting point. I've done it, it's awful, looking in the mirror made me cry. Most importantly, don't use ANY of this stuff until your SPF is sorted, not just an SPF 50+/++++ to put on in the morning, but a product like a powder or spray you can use to reapply over your makeup while you're out and about every two hours. I don't care if you work inside, uv light comes through the windows and from computer screens. This is not just a token warning, this is not a drill!! You're going hardcore, and if you don't protect your skin during this process, you will end up with extremely smooth skin that is covered in age spots and/or cancer. I'd also recommend you drink a mega forkton of water every day while you're doing this, to minimize the potential for dehydration. You're giving your skin a purge, so keep your pipes flowing with clean water accordingly. It will also help minimize breakouts and help your skin rehydrate without getting burned. I'm not kidding, don't start down this road until you have sunscreen you like and know how you're going to reapply. Buy a cute SPF 50 hat off Amazon or wherever and make it your new summer look. You're going through a lot of hard work and $$$$ to get clear, bright skin. I wish you the best of results and the skin of your dreams!! May the Glow be with you!!

[jkuhhh]

Thank you for the advice!! I stored away the glycolic acid toner and have just been using the peel pads at night. I'm currently on day 3 and so far my skins been brighter, pores are smaller, had 1 break out and some dryness around my nose. so far so good! Definitely will invest in a cute SPF hat, haha been using SPF during the day and wearing a baseball cap whenever i step out 🙂 

[GG84]

@tg1973 

You can use DDG pads day or night, I prefer AM as long as you wear sunscreen. 

[tg1973]

Sure, it can be used whenever. But for the first few times, as there is a chance it will turn the face red or generally horrify one's skin, I figure it's safer to take that risk at night.