What does Cosmelan Peel do?
Cosmelan Peel is designed to help reduce the appearance of dark spots such as age spots, sun damage, and melasma. The first step is usually done in the clinic by a skin specialist and the following steps can be done at home with the homecare products. The treatment cost ranges between $1000-1600 in Australia, US and Singapore. Read on if you want to find out what is involved and if it has worked for me. Unaffiliated review.
Table of Contents
Why I decided to try Cosmelan Peel?
This review of Cosmelan peel is not affiliated with any Cosmelan products or clinics that offer them. I wanted to share my personal experience and results of the peel so you know what you are getting yourself into if you are in the research stages of the treatment.
I found out about Cosmelan peel after having multiple consultations with skin clinics around Sydney, because my dark spots were bugging me a fair bit.
I never used to leave the house without a thick layer of foundation, on hot days it wasn’t great. I wanted to find something that would permanently fix or at least significantly reduce my skin discoloration.
My spots were a combination of sun damage from sun exposure when I was younger, melasma from hormonal changes during pregnancy, age spots, and some acne scars. My skin wasn’t terrible, but I had uneven skin tone, especially around my cheeks, forehead, and temples.
After visiting a few clinics, I could find out about different opinions from skin specialists. Cosmelan treatment seemed to be the most recommended type of all the chemical peels out there for my specific issue.
After pondering on it for a year, (because of the cost), I decided to eventually take the plunge and do it. Because I simply had enough of my spots, I felt like they were ruining my otherwise okay face.
I was lucky enough to get a fantastic skin specialist who explained everything very well to me and prepared me for a lot of skin redness, swelling, and at least a week’s downtime. This didn’t deter me as long as it was temporary and for a good result, that she convinced me of.
What happened to my face in the first month after the peel?
It wasn’t painful, just a bit tender – first 24hrs.
The chemical didn’t seem to hurt or burn too much, occasionally I felt a little itchy while the mask was on. After I removed the mask I just felt a slight sunburn sensation, but as long as I didn’t touch or scratch my face it wasn’t painful or too uncomfortable.
The swelling, still no pain, but swollen a lot – days 2 and 3.
The next morning: I swelled up quite a lot, it looked exactly like a very bad sunburn. I had to stay indoors for a few days. Lucky for me masks are a norm these days after Covid pandemic, so I could pop into the shops wearing one with sunglasses and a hat.
The combination of swelling and redness looked pretty awful. Thankfully my husband is used to my shenanigans with skin treatments, fillers, and all kinds of crazy stuff I put myself through. So he just referred to me as “his beloved tomato”.
The peeling and itchiness – days 4 and 5.
The peeling of the skin began sooner than I expected, I started itching a fair bit as the skin layers were shedding off like on a molting snake. The itchiness was a little annoying, but I could distract myself with work and just kept smothering my face with more and more cream, which helped every time I reapplied it. The itchiness lasted on and off for about 2 days and then the skin fully peeled off.
I desperately needed all those creams, my skin felt tight and dry. But the creams made a big difference. I just had to keep reapplying them every few hours to soothe the dryness and tightness.
The tenderness and dryness – days 6 and 7.
This is where things started to get a little better, no more swelling or itchiness, just tightness of the skin and a bit of pink hue.
What happened to my face in the second week?
The swelling went down, the skin still looked a little pinkish, but easy to cover up with makeup. The texture of the skin felt like a baby’s bottom, which was amazing. The treatment definitely got rid of all the dead skin cells.
I still could see some of my stubborn spots on the cheeks though. The darkness around the mouth seemed to have disappeared. And my melasma spots weren’t very visible anymore, (pretty much gone).
What happened to my face after 2-3 weeks post-initial treatment?
The texture of the skin felt amazing, fresh, new, and very smooth.
The stubborn sun spots faded around 60% but were not gone completely. I was ok with that.
I knew that as per instructions Cosmelan II cream was supposed to keep fighting the fight.
Best results: 5 weeks later.
In the fifth week, I made the following observations:
Skin texture; amazing, youthful, fresh, bright.
Melasma; is almost gone.
The dark area around the mouth; significantly faded.
Stubborn brown spots; about 60-70% faded, but not completely gone.
Overall experience: Glad I gave it a go, satisfied with the reduction of the spots. But can’t say I am ecstatic, I was hoping they would be 90% gone.
One year later.
Some pigmentation has returned, but not as heavy as before. Subtle melasma on the forehead area is still noticeable.
The 3 stubborn dark spots are still there and I still feel the need to conceal them.
My final verdict: I feel like a single Cosmelan treatment is a step towards improving skin tone and removal of pigmentation, but not a complete 100% effective treatment that permanently removes all pigmentation in one session.
But: I did it again a year later.
Why: simply because I had some of the Cosmelan depigmentation treatment mask leftover in my fridge, so I took the bravery and slapped it on myself at home. Not recommended by a skin specialist, but I didn’t really see the reason why I couldn’t just apply the mask myself since that is all they did in the clinic.
Because I already knew the process I felt confident to know what to expect and what to do.
I purchased some of the creams online as I used up the ones from previous treatments which ended up costing me a fraction of the price of the full treatment.
Would I do it 3rd time?
Yes, if it didn’t cost so much or if I was rich. lol, I believe after doing Cosmelan treatment yearly a few times, the spots and brown patches will eventually be unnoticeable as the skin regenerates each time and collagen reproduces in the skin.
But I don’t think it’s a one-time fix. The skin specialist at the clinic actually told me that I may need a few treatments at least a year apart each, so I was not deceived in that regard.
I knew that 1 treatment may not be enough. She also recommended to me a few sessions of micro-needling which I didn’t do because I didn’t have all the extra $$$ to spend.
But something want to try in the future as I have heard great things about it from people I personally know. Stay tuned I will be posting the results and process to this blog site when I do it.
The treatment plan steps - this is what was done.
Step 1: The mask application.
The application was done by the skin specialist in the clinic. It had to stay on for 10 hours before washing it off with lukewarm water at home. It was fun walking back to the car park in the middle of Cronulla with a poo-like thick layer of sticky stuff on my face. So I walked very fast with my head down. lol
Step 2: Wash off and hydrating cream applications.
After I washed off the mask I had to apply 2 of the creams that were given to me in a large very nice cosmetics bag. These were part of the treatment plan.
Inside was an instructional leaflet so I knew the order in which I had to apply the products after the main treatment for the next few days. I have to admit these products felt amazing on my raw, sensitive skin. They were very hydrating and soothing.
Step 3: Hydravital Mask.
I had to use a mask every night for the next 4 nights and rinse it off. After week one I could scale down to every other night.
Step 4: Sun protection.
The most important instruction was to avoid sun exposure altogether and wear sun protection at all times, so I invested in a very large hat as I work outdoors as a personal trainer. (not ideal). I used a very thick, tinted 50+ sunscreen that was provided as part of the treatment package.
Step 5: Cosmelan ii maintenance cream for 3-5 months.
The initial peel was just the 1st step of the 2 part treatment. Step 2 commenced on day 5 and only be applied to the spots and areas that were still dark. This needed to continue until the jar is finished, around 4-5 months.
It is basically a weaker version of the Cosmelan 1 mask, designed to continue gradually fighting the stubborn spots where melanin is overproduced.
However, having to apply Cosmelan cream was a little bit inconvenient as it was thick and yellowish-brown and hard to cover up with makeup. But I was patient and followed instructions. Being a fitness coach I know well and truly that good results don’t happen overnight. So I kept a strict adherence to the plan. I was very eager to make it work.
Is the Cosmelan Peel treatment worth it?
The cheapest in-clinic treatment I could find that included all of the homecare products as well as a consultation and application of the product was $1200 In Sydney. I feel like it’s a bit steep for a chemical peel and wish it was a little cheaper.
Dark spots were reduced, but not completely diminished.
It is effective for reducing the pigmentation partially, but I feel like around $600-800 per treatment would be a little more justifiable. Given the fact that it didn’t completely fix my issue on the 1st or even 2nd attempt.
Skin texture and bounciness improved.
I was also happy with how great the texture of my skin looked. It made me realize how dull and flaky my old layer of skin was. So in retrospect, it addresses several skin concerns, not just pigmentation. For that alone, I give the treatment 10/10. But this could perhaps be achieved with other less expensive peels.
I think overall, Cosmelan peel improved my skin by about 50-60%. My conclusion is as we mature, we need to look at skin treatments as an annual thing rather than a one-off.
So we better be rich by 40, $$$ because all these treatments and skin care sure add up. lol
Next on the experiment list for me is Lazer. Stay tuned as I will be sharing all about it on this blog in 2024.
Does Cosmelan work for darker skin tones?
It is worth noting, that my skin complexion is quite fair and pale.
But based on feedback from a darker-skinned friend of mine who also did it, she had similar results and also saw noticeable improvement, but not complete disappearance of the dark spots.
Does the pigmentation come back after Cosmelan?
Yes, it did for me, but not as strong and dark as it was.
You have to be very careful to protect your face from the sun at all times from here on. Otherwise, pigmentation may return even more according to the skin specialist.
I apply 50+ and wear a big hat at all times, summer or winter months. Not just a baseball-style cap, but a full wide-brimmed hat. Sun reactivates melanin production making spots reappear again.
What is the downtime after the peel?
About 6 days before you can apply makeup and the swelling goes down. Also, the skin will fully peel off by then so it will look smooth, but still a little red and dry.
Full recovery is around 2 weeks, the skin rehydrates and regenerates. Collagen production fully kicks in and the skin starts to look very nice and fresh.
Does Cosmelan Peel have side effects?
I did not experience any long-term side effects. The only side effects were severe redness, swelling, and peeling in the first 4-5 days.
If you have very sensitive skin, allergies, or any kind of skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis make sure to consult with your skin specialist and perhaps a dermatologist. This peel is quite intense.
How long does Cosmelan Peel last?
It was around the 6-8 months mark until I started noticing that the spots were a touch darker again, but it did not completely go back to what it was. I felt like I wanted to do another treatment at around the 9-month mark.
How much does Cosmelan Peel cost?
How much does Cosmelan peel cost in Australia: In clinic between $1200-1700. You can purchase almost all of the Cosmelan products online except the Authentic Cosmelan 1 mask. Mesoesthetics the company that manufactures the product does not sell Cosmelan treatment without a consultation directly to the public.
How much does Cosmelan peel cost in the US: The average cost is around $800-1000 USD (in-clinic treatment options with homecare kit).
How much does Cosmelan peel cost in Singapore: $1400-1600 SGD. (in-clinic treatment options with home care kit).
How frequently can you do Cosmelan Peel?
Recommended once a year, but I did my 2nd application after 10 months and it was ok.
Are women over 40 good candidates for Cosmelan Peel?
Yes, I think a depigmentation peel like Cosmelan is ideal for someone suffering from age spots, melasma or skin blemishes. Which is very common for women over 40.
It also helps brighten and rejuvenate dull skin.
As we age our Collagen diminishes, so any treatment that promotes collagen production can be helpful to look more youthful. Chemical peels, laser treatments, and microneedling all promote collagen production.
What is the best skincare routine for women over 40?
I have recently shared my simple skincare routine that was recommended to me by my skin specialist. You can check it out right here: Morning and Evening Skincare Routine For Women Over 40.
What is in Cosmelan Peel that makes it so potent?
Kojic Acid (suppresses the overproduction of melanin in the skin).
Azelaic Acid (reduces inflammation, helps fight acne and scars).
Octadecenedioic Acid (skin whitening agent).
Vitamin C (brightening).
Arbutine (lightens dark spots).
Phytic Acid (exfoliates, brightens and contains antioxidant properties).
Ascorbic Acid (brightens, boosts collagen production).
Other related articles you might like to read...
