Reddit reviews Skin Obsession 30% Glycolic Acid Peel ~ Treats Acne Scars, Acne, Dark Circles, Fine Lines

I was going to post this yesterday but it was late and I wanted it to get at least a little notice: the 30% glycolic peel I (unintentionally) timed horribly with my poison ivy is a gosh darn miracle worker.
I never had terrible skin, but for the past year or two the area near my nose/eyebrows/chin were always so pink and I had to actively start using foundation/concealer on those areas for the first time in my life (I don't even know the difference between foundation and concealer, tbh, because I've only ever used whatever it is -- probably concealer -- to hide little bits of redness/etc.).

I thought it was maybe rosacea of a sort or something else and my skin was never fully soft, just kind of pebbled and unhappy, despite the fact that I was using moisturizer to try to help because it was also dry.

A week after using the peel, I can't stop touching my cheeks (I know I need to, but they're SO SOFT) and the redness is almost completely gone. There's a tiny bit of pink left but this weekend when I woke up at "Jim"'s place, I used a micellar face wipe and some 100% argan oil (both from TJ's) and could have left the house without any embarrassment whatsoever.
Word to the wise, definitely don't leave it on too long if your skin isn't used to it, as the first few days were rough (there was some poison ivy and also some marks from the peel itself) because I put it on for 4 minutes.

However, I really cannot say enough good things about what it's done for me a full week in (and after 3ish days I could tell it was doing a lot) and I intend to keep it up (though for a shorter time) as a regular thing.

It sounds so stupid but it has been a HUGE confidence booster. Nothing else I did was working, so I am very thankful.

I believe it was u/genreand (nope: u/HedgehogLeapfrog, but both have recommended it so thank you both!) that convinced me to get it, but if that's wrong I'll update.
Link to what I used is here

I did an at-home chemical peel on Friday (this one thanks to a rec from this sub!) and yesterday I kept catching myself checking out my skin in the bathroom mirror while washing my hands, which is out of character for me! I have acne scarring, both hyperpigmentation and uneven texture, and I thought I was stuck with this for life (too cheap/chicken to go to the dermatologist) and generally would avoid looking in the mirror the rest of the day after putting on make up. The treatment didn't work miracles yet (if I do it consistently, I should see real results in like 6 months) but I do think I notice some brightening and maybe a sliiightly smoother texture. I'm just so excited to have hope that my skin could look normal/nice one day!

Sorry what does SC stand for?

And wow thank you so much for sharing, I had no idea. I'm going to take a good look through the link you shared when I get home. I've seen the at home use glycolic acid on Amazon at larger percentage doses and I wondered if it was effective being so high.

Is something like this similar to the higher concentration AHA that you speak of?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018ZMU04/?coliid=I86IZSFJ10O56&colid=1XSTSEV5WENOB&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

is once a week ok or too often?

Sounds like the azelaic will definitely suit you then! I really like the squalane too, and if you plan to order from The Ordinary and you can swing it, you may as well grab both because their inventory can be a little touch and go.

The best thing for my redness and irritation has definitely been a heavy focus on moisturizing--I use a hyaluronic acid, the squalane oil, a lightish gel moisturizer and, often, aquaphor, and every time I add a moisturizing step my skin gets happier. (Obviously this is a lot! But none of these steps require any wait time so it's really only a ten-minute routine.) Azelaic and squalane will both contribute to that.

As far as the glycolic: I use [this one](https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Obsession-Glycolic-Acid-Chemical/dp/B0018ZMU04/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1524965896&sr=8-3&keywords=skin+obsessions+30%25+glycolic+acid&dpID=31BVLrMZF5L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch] once a week for six or so weeks at a time (though the paper that comes with it will suggest no more than every three weeks...that is very conservative, and I have very sensitive skin). It's done a lot for my sun damage--knocked out the recent stuff very quickly and refined a lot of my older texture issues. That same blog that I keep linking has a pretty in depth guide to chemical peels. Glycolic will brighten your complexion and refine skin texture from the first peel and improve scarring and that orange peel texture as you go through the series. 30% is a pretty mild concentration but you'll still want to start short--I started with two minutes with, again, very sensitive redness-prone skin. It's been great for me. I'm also very interested in this Fade Peel but I'm currently pregnant and breastfeeding so I can't use the BHAs in in. This appears to be a harsher peel though--probably not advisable during the summer.