If you've read any of our reviews, you've probably come across a common theme: my sensitive skin. (See here, here, and here for examples.) It's not like I want to talk about my sensitive skin all the time (it's boring, I know!), but because I test new products on a weekly basis, I have to keep my rash-prone skin in mind. Especially when introducing my face to ingredients it's not quite used to, like glycolic acid, which is one of the main ingredients in the m-61 Power Glow Peel Pads.
m-61's peel pads are palm-sized cloths drenched in exfoliating ingredients — both alpha and beta hydroxy acids — to gently slough off dead skin cells, smooth texture, and brighten skin. More specifically, there's glycolic acid to smooth texture and even out tone, salicylic acid to target enlarged pores, and lavender to soothe skin simultaneously.
Going back to my sensitive skin (again, sorry!), the ingredient I was most concerned about was glycolic acid, which isn't known for being the most gentle. That's because, on a molecular level, it's the smallest of the alpha-hydroxy acids, meaning it's also the strongest because it easily gets into the skin.
"There's a reason glycolic is the acid used the most in products and doctor's-office peels," Ranella Hirsch, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, previously told Allure. "It does the job."
That said, sensitive skin types like myself should ease into peel pads, though, in my experience, most have been too harsh for my liking. Luckily, the m-61 pads are gentle enough for me. After a quick patch test across the back of my hand, I gently rubbed the wet cloth on from my hairline to my décolletage. Almost immediately, my face began to tingle, but it wasn't an overpowering sort of stinging sensation, as it died down about 20 seconds into the peel. Appearance-wise, my face was slightly pink (but not flushed), and simmered down to its natural pale disposition within minutes following the treatment.
Along with the whole easy-on-my-sensitive skin thing, another positive of the peel pad is that it literally takes a minute or less to use. Like, who doesn't have 60 seconds? My nighttime skin-care would argue otherwise, but alas, once a week, it's worth an extra minute. I just swap it out with my retinol and then follow it up with a hyaluronic acid serum and my moisturizer. Coming morning, my skin glows — without the usual rash, hives, or flushing from past peels.
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