I can say confidently that Neostrata is one of my favorite brands. A lot of their products have changed my life or in a less dramatic way, my skincare routine. I’ a huge fan of so many of their products like their gel cleanser (review here) or their Skin Renewal Peel Solution (review here). I swear by that peel. I’ve been using these products for years, however Neostrata recently went through a lil’ revamp when they were bought out by Johnson & Johnson. Now, I’m not going to lie. I was a little terried when I heard this news. I thought for sure Johnson & JOhnson was going to take full control and change everything. But don’t you fret, all seems to be well. From what I’ve noticed and the products I’ve tried, it seems Neostrata and Johnson & Johnson just tweaked the formulas a little and changed the packaging but kept most of the products the same. I think. Hard to say. Wow Taylor, you’re a great beauty blogger. That was super informative. (*Insert eye roll here*).
So, as mentioned earlier, one of my favorite products from Neostrata are the peel solutions. In the old range, there were three different ones: the brightening peel solution, the anti-aging peel solution and the skin-renewal peel solution. My favorite was definitely the brightening one as it had a 25% exfoliating complex with AHAs, PHAs and fruit enzyme plus a brightening peptide to get rid of dark spots, uneven skin tone, dilated pores and rough skin texture. But once again, do not fear. It seems Neostrata kept these three products in their revamp of the line. There is now the Antiaging Peel, the Brightening Peel and the Clarifying Peel. Same products, different names? I believe so.
But not the exact same. Let’s get that cleared up. I have been using the OG Brightening Peel Solution for a few years now so I am quite the expert on it. So, when I was sent the new Enlighten Dual Acid Brightening Peel, I instantly started comparing the two. It was like one of those “spot the difference” picture games, ya feel? The ingredients seem to be very similar with both peels having 10% Glycolic Acid (AHA) and 10% Polyhydroxy Acid (PHA). However the old formula also included 5% fruit enzyme (papaya to be exact) and 2% Genowhite (a trademarked form of brightening peptides). Both of these ingredients are not listed on the new formula so I’m very curious why Neostrata did not include these ingredients. In addition, the texture of the product differs a little bit. The old version had very fine exfoliating particles in it to help aid the smoothing of skin texture while the new formula is much more liquid-y and clear with no particles in it at all. But while the ingredient list differs quite a bit between the two versions, I can’t say I notice different results. The new version seems to work just as good as the old one even though it has much fewer ingredients. Very interesting indeed.
So what exactly does this Neostrata Dual Acid Brightening Peel do? I like to put it on three times a week (if I’m lucky and taking good care of my skin) with a cotton pad, leaving it on for up to 20 minutes. It helps to even out skin tone and texture which – surprise, surprise – is definitely one of my most important skincare goals at the moment since I’ve been trying to tackle my acne scars for 10 years now. I find this peel really does help to fade my acne marks and provide my skin with a much more radiant, healthy look! And with any peel, it’s super important to protect your skin so make sure to wear a sunscreen every single day when using a peel the night before (or regardless of that) and follow up your peel with a recovery cream like the Neostrata Bionic Face Cream to soothe and moisturize the skin!