Beauty Review: Dr. Susan Taylor's RX for Brown Skin Virtual Peel

Oooo, this was a bad one. I'll tell you right off the bat that I did not like this product. At all.

Those of you who read Essence regularly will probably be familiar with Dr. Susan Taylor. She's a renowned New York-based dermatologist specializing in the skincare needs of people of color. I personally would love to be treated by her -- I have yet to come across a dermatologist who really, truly cares about the unique needs of Asian women, and while I couldn't, in all good conscience, recommend this particular product, I will say that I'm pleased that there's finally some notice being taken of our demographic.

Anyway, having said that, on with the review of Rx for Brown Skin's Virtual Peel Ultra Gentle Mask and Booster Kit. First, what it is: the kit contains 4 mask applications and a little pump bottle of the line's Ultra Gentle Hydrating Booster with hyaluronic acid. Each mask consists of two halves: one for the upper half of the face, and the other for the lower half. You peel off the thin plastic adhesive mask from its papery backing and press it on your face. So the upper half, for example, is shaped to go over your forehead, around the hairline, and has holes for your eyes. The bottom half is shaped to go around your jawline and has an opening for your mouth.

So I dutifully read the instructions and smoothed on the mask. Now, at that moment I was already getting a little nervous. There is no product insert in the box that tells you exactly what the mask has in it that makes it so exfoliating, other than the fact that it's basically stuck to your face. The eye openings aren't big enough to accommodate the eyebrows, so I sat there wondering if they're going to end up getting peeled off, too. They weren't even large enough to leave breathing space for the skin under the eyes, which you know is super-delicate and should not be exfoliated, especially not this roughly. Everytime I blinked, I could feel the poor undereye skin stretch and whine.

The mask for the upper half of the face also too large for my forehead, so the mask actually overlapped onto my hairline. Note to those of you with regular-sized faces: do not let the mask overlap onto your hairline! You will regret it deeply when it comes time to peel it off. If you must, try and cut the mask before you peel off the backing so that it fits over your forehead without having to overlap with anything near your hair.

Anyway, so after the requisite 5 minutes, I attempted to "very gently peel each half of the mask off beginning on one side and continuing across the face," as the instructions on the back of the box said. Ooooooooooooooooooo. It. Hurts. Seriously.

As I peeled off the mask, I watched in horror as my skin actually lifted up along with the mask as I ever-so-slowly pulled it across my face. I mean, it was like watching some villain in a Marvel Comics film peel off his mask -- you see the skin actually stretch like it's being pinched and pulled hard. Oh, my poor, poor face.

When it came time to peel off the upper half, I had to actually yank my hair from the adhesive, as strands along the hairline stubbornly stayed put on the sticky surface. Again, it hurt. I was so relieved to finally be rid of the plastic masks that I threw them both in the bin.

My face? It did look smooth, if slightly flushed, but I suspect you'd get the same result if you applied duct tape all over your face. I pumped a few drops of the Hydrating Booster into the palm of my hand and applied it to my face, which did feel good. The gentle, clear fluid is the best thing about this kit, as it did seem to soothe and calm whatever trauma my skin went through with the mask. I would use the Booster again, but not the mask. That was just too much to ask of my skin.

I'm very disappointed that a dermatologist would create this product for anyone, let alone women of color. It's never ever ever good to stretch or pull on your skin, and God knows that we women of color kinda like having a lot of hair on our hairline. It seems to have been poorly formulated, and the cheap-looking packaging doesn't help boost one's confidence in the line. I know that the last thing we should worry about is the packaging, but skincare companies invest millions of dollars in ensuring that their products look as luxe as possible, as we women like feeling pampered by beautiful things. Plus, if I'm going to pay $50 for 4 treatment masks from Sephora, at least give me a sturdier, prettier box rather than this flimsy paperboard.

Bottom line: This is definitely not recommended. The Hydrating Booster is great, but you can find other, similar hyaluronic acid products (like Vichy's) without having to buy painful masks, too.

Price: US$50 for 4 mask applications and a 0.5 fl-oz/15-ml Hydrating Booster serum. Available at Sephora and at Dr. Susan Taylor's Rx for Brown Skin Web site.