Guinea Pigging: New GR8SKN Products

My skin hasn't been in the best shape lately. I can blame the stress of graduate school (thesis anyone?) or fluctuating hormones—yes, even at 26. Whatever the cause—or my age—my pocked jaw-line looks like it belongs on the pages of a high school year book rather than on a twenty-something supposedly out of the Woods of Puberty.

However, when I came to work yesterday, Janine, the founder and president of GR8SKN, had the solution waiting for me—in three un-labeled, right-out-of-R&D bottles.

"These are our new products, fresh from the lab," she said. "A pre-cleansing oil, a peel, and a mask."

With clear directions, she sent me on my way.

When I met my boyfriend at the train station later that evening, he told me about his day, the highlight of which was a "back facial." (I am lucky to have a guy who invests in personal grooming.) 

"At the end, the aesthetician put on this thing that really burned--and I have a high pain tolerance," he explained, emphasizing his masculine ability to withstand pain to perhaps mitigate latent guilt of going to a salon. "It's supposed to make my skin peel off."

Oh great, I thought to myself. Not only did I now have a molting reptile for a boyfriend, I had to undergo the same treatment myself.

Before bed that night, I procrastinated applying the peel. I meticulously massaged the oil into every crevice of my face, before rinsing with Clean. But I couldn't delay any longer.

The peel certainly tingled when I rubbed the clear serum onto my face, but it wasn't intolerable. The sensation began to subside as the peel hardened. After five minutes or so, I washed it off, applied the mask and went to bed, imagining a flawless, magazine-ready complexion in the morning.

My expectations might have been a little ambitious, but my skin definitely showed improvement. Those jaw-line breakouts, while not invisible, had noticeably shrunk and my whole face felt smoother, cleaner.

I plan to "peel" again next week and will report back with results. Until then, fingers crossed that no signs of reptilian skin symptoms manifest...