Shani Darden has magic fingers. Spend an hour or so within the esthetician’s Los Angeles studio and also you’ll leave with glowing skin — stars including Shay Mitchell, Kelly Rowland, and Laura Harrier can all attest. Should you can’t snag an appointment on the Shani Darden studio (sighs on the east coast), you’ll be able to get the identical results of the glow-inducing facials in her skin-care collection.

The Hydration Peptide Cream is my favorite from the gathering, but after hearing my fellow Allure editors rave concerning the Shani Darden Triple Acid Signature Peel (it even won a Better of Beauty Award), I had a sense it could replace the cream as my recent Shani Darden go-to.

I’ve only had one chemical peel in my entire life and it was enough to scare me into never doing one again. Don’t get me mistaken, the outcomes were great and my skin was beaming however the three to 5 days of peeling were ugly, to say the least. Since that have a couple of years ago, I’ve been sticking to potent acid-based products that also give me effective exfoliation without excessive peeling, which is why I used to be desirous to put Shani Darden’s signature peel to the test.

Behind the formula

After the ingredients list, cosmetic chemist Amanda Lam was impressed that this peel has “no excessive use of ‘sprinkle’ ingredients for marketing purposes.” By sprinkle she means ingredients that aren’t serving any real purpose.  The “triple acid” within the name refers to latic, mandelic, and glycolic acids that are the most important stars of the peel — though they don’t seem to be the one acids within the formula. “The usage of multiple acids helps goal different skin concerns,” says Lam. “Alpha hydroxy acids work more on the skin’s surface to exfoliate dead skin cells while beta hydroxy acids penetrate somewhat deeper into the skin to exfoliate.”

Board-certified dermatologist Mona GoharaMD is a fan of the two-step system that the peel follows and says the ingredients may be useful to anyone who desires to even out their skin tone, minimize tremendous lines, and reduce sun spots. Dr. Gohara does warn against using the peel if you could have any inflammation in your skin or have sensitive skin as the mixture of acids may be too harsh.

The way to apply the Shani Darden Triple Acid Signature Peel

At first glance, the Shani Darden Peel seems more involved than your normal exfoliating toner or face mask. This peel is a little more just like what you may get at a dermatologist or esthetician’s office. The 2-step peel kit comes with a triple acid exfoliation solution that is available in a small grey pod, a Kaolin Clay Neutralizing Mask, and an application brush.