A small package of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Peel Extra Strength Formula was included in a Cult Beauty Summer Goody Bag 2017 as a sample for testing.
I love all peels, except for a mechanical one! Some of you have a bee in the bonnet about hair, some about perfect eyebrows and I about smooth skin. I was drooling over this pack after I received it. I desperately wanted to apply this product all over my face at once, but firstly, it was very dangerous to expose to the sun after applying the AHA product and secondly, I didn’t want to remove my beautiful tan, so I decided to put off the whole pack till this winter.
Now it seems, it was the right decision. Well, first things first.
The peel is packed in a two-language package that promises to rebuild our skin in literally 2 minutes.
The pack comes with 5 pairs of pads: the one exfoliates and smoothes out skin and the second one performs like an anti-aging product.
The product is designed to restore the glow of your skin… in case you lost it.
The list of the ingredients can be found on the package:
Let’s take a look:
EXTRA STRENGTH STEP 1: Water, Alcohol Denat., Glycolic Acid, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Salicylic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Soy Isoflavones, Disodium Edta, Copper Pca, Zinc Pca, Fragrance, Sodium Benzoate.
EXTRA STRENGTH STEP 2: Water, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Retinyl Palmitate, Retinol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Resveratrol, Ubiquinone, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Soy Isoflavones, Phospholipids, Copper Pca, Sodium Pca, Zinc Pca, Simethicone, Octoxynol-9, Tetrasodium Edta, Sodium Benzoate, And Phenoxyethanol.
There is an abundance of awesome ingredients. If I was to evaluate this product for ingredients only, I would give it 5 stars, especially given that the product is cruelty-free.
Made in USA.
On the packaging you can also find the suggested use.
As for the ingredients, you can find this information on each sachet also, so let’s talk about it a little later.
Inside, the package is divided into two parts:
In my opinion, there was no sense in doing so. The manufacturer only saved the room for more information in different languages. Also, here is a disclaimer saying that the manufacturer is not responsible for the products we purchase from unauthorized retailers. Well, fair enough.
Inside the pack you can find 10 joined sachets.
You can know the first and second step by the numbers 1 and 2 written on the red field.
On the back you can find the suggested use and an important caution in both languages:
Each side of the sachet has a cut that makes it easier to open.
The pads are small and well saturated.
Step 1
Both tissues look exactly the same.
Step 2
I didn’t have much patience to massage my face with this pad till it’s completely dry, because a pad doesn’t dry out too quickly. Anyway, they promised a two-minute treatment, so I was massaging my skin with each pad for somewhere a minute and half.
At first, my skin felt very tingly after step 1, which is the second reason the procedure didn’t last long. Step 2 didn’t soothe my skin or eliminate the tingling sensation, but only added a sticky feeling to my skin with a film that was left after step 1.
After use my skin was irritated and red. Moreover, it had a disgusting sticky film. It cried for cold water and so I was washing it with cold water. It soothed my burning face a little, but the redness didn’t fade instantaneously anyway. In addition, I couldn’t always conceal it with a foundation. Sometimes I looked like a tomato all day.
After trying to use this peel every day, I gave up and used it once a week only. The only result I had was super-sensitive skin. My skin reacted on every sneeze. As a result, I had red and irritated skin. Also, I didn’t notice that my skin tone got smoother and brighter. 90% of my peeling products, exfoliants and even scrubs provide better cleaning of my skin. They refresh my skin better without causing any side effects like this constant redness.
Well, my impressions are surely subjective. Most of the reviews I found were actually positive, but this product didn’t suit my skin at all.
It’s not that bad like with, for example, the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment, but still there are not many positive things about this peel. I’m glad I didn’t purchase it but received a sample to try out 
Also, the good news is that I didn’t try it in the summer!
The Cult Beauty website sells such a set for £16.50 and a pack with 30 pads retails here for £81. By the way, there are no packs like this one at the official website. They sell only 30 pads for $88 and 60 pads for $150.
