Green Peel®
A professional herbal treatment that uses controlled stimulation and dual exfoliation to encourage a targeted skin-renewal response.
Available at Woodland Skin Renewal in North Pickering, serving Uxbridge, Claremont and surrounding Durham Region.
How GREEN PEEL® works
Finely powdered herbs are massaged into the skin, creating microtraumatization and temporarily challenging the skin barrier.
The skin initiates a local inflammatory and repair response, with increased circulation and oxygen supply to the treated tissue.
Herbal components provide dual exfoliation, helping to loosen and shed keratinized cells at the surface.
Following controlled stimulation and exfoliation, the skin initiates its repair response as epidermal turnover continues and newly formed cells move toward the surface.
GREEN PEEL® combines finely powdered herbs with a specialized massage technique to stimulate skin renewal and improve texture, clarity and overall skin health.
GREEN PEEL® combines nine selected herbs that work together to stimulate the skin, guide its response, and provide dual exfoliation.
Horsetail · Marigold · Water Horsetail
These herbs create the stimulating component of the treatment. Their finely powdered plant material, including silica-rich structures and natural plant crystals, contributes to the characteristic prickling sensation and helps initiate the skin’s renewal response.
Algae · Aloe Vera · Chamomile
These herbs provide compounds that help support and guide the skin through its healing response, offering soothing, hydrating and antioxidant properties.
Pansy · Ribwort · Lungwort
These herbs provide two complementary exfoliation pathways. Lungwort contributes an enzymatic component, while pansy and ribwort contain naturally occurring salicylic acid, giving a lipophilic (BHA-type) exfoliating action.
NATURAL BOTANICALS. REAL BIOLOGY.
Contribute to the mechanical stimulation and characteristic prickling sensation.
A naturally occurring BHA that helps loosen and shed keratinized cells.
The skin's response to stimulation brings more oxygen and nutrients to the treated tissue.
A complex blend of minerals, polyphenols, enzymes and polysaccharides support the renewal process.
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF RENEWAL
PROGRESSIVE RENEWAL
✓ Stimulates skin renewal with little to no visible peeling
✓ Helps improve texture, clarity and radiance
✓ Shorter downtime
✓ Suitable for those new to GREEN PEEL® or looking for a more subtle result
INTENSIVE RENEWAL
✓ Full stimulation and exfoliation process
✓ Visible peeling over several days
✓ More intensive results
✓ Recommended for specific skin concerns and those ready for a deeper renewal
Not sure which GREEN PEEL® is right for you?
You don't need to decide before you arrive. We'll assess your skin, your concerns and the amount of downtime you're comfortable with before recommending the appropriate protocol.
The right choice depends on your skin concerns, the results we’re aiming for and the downtime that fits your lifestyle.
A gentler treatment designed for visible skin renewal with minimal downtime.
A more intensive treatment for deeper skin concerns, with several days of visible peeling and a structured recovery period.
FAQ
The prickling sensation is physical. The finely ground herbal mixture contains tiny rigid plant particles and crystals, particularly from silica-rich plants such as horsetail. When the herbs are massaged into the skin, these microscopic structures press against and become temporarily embedded within the outermost layers of the skin.
That is what creates GREEN PEEL®’s characteristic “tiny shards of glass” sensation. With the more intensive Classic treatment, you may continue to feel the prickling when the skin is touched for a day or two afterward as the skin moves through its controlled renewal response.
FUN FACT: Plants use microscopic crystals as part of their own defence systems. In some species, crystal structures make plant tissue irritating or unpleasant for herbivores to eat - essentially a built-in “don’t eat me” strategy.
No. “Seaweed peel” and “algae peel” are broad marketing terms, not standardized treatment methods. Many of the treatments currently marketed under these names rely on microscopic silica-rich spicules derived from marine or freshwater sponges. These rigid, needle-like structures physically disrupt the outer skin barrier and can enhance penetration of topical ingredients.
GREEN PEEL® is a specific, trademarked herbal peeling system with a defined formulation and treatment protocol. The original method was developed in 1958 and has subsequently been refined under dermatological direction. It is performed by trained, certified professionals using standardized treatment protocols rather than referring to a general category of “herbal,” “seaweed,” or “algae” peel.
While GREEN PEEL® does contain algae-derived ingredients, algae are only one component of its botanical system and are not what defines its peeling mechanism. So although GREEN PEEL® may sometimes be grouped online with seaweed or algae peels because the treatments can produce similar prickling and peeling, they should not be assumed to be the same treatment.
“Liquid microneedling” and “bio microneedling” are marketing terms - NOT STANDARDIZED TREATMENTS. They generally describe procedures that massage microscopic structures into the skin to create mechanical stimulation. Newer versions typically use silica-based sponge spicules; GREEN PEEL® creates similar physical stimulation through its finely ground herbal mixture.
The terminology is misleading: there are no needles, no controlled needle depth and no true microneedling. GREEN PEEL® has been creating this type of mechanical stimulation since 1958 - decades before “bio microneedling” became a trend.
And you won’t hear us use either term in the clinic. We prefer to call treatments what they actually are.
NO, GREEN PEEL® would not be my first-choice treatment for melasma.
Melasma is not simply excess pigment sitting at the surface of the skin. It is a chronic, biologically complex pigment disorder influenced by melanocyte activity, UV and visible-light exposure, hormones, vascular signalling and inflammation. Treatments that deliberately create significant inflammation can be problematic because inflammation itself can stimulate melanogenesis and contribute to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, particularly in more melanated skin.
Exfoliation may temporarily improve the appearance of superficial pigment, but removing pigmented keratinocytes does not address the underlying tendency to produce melanin. For that reason, I would favour a melasma strategy built around strict photoprotection, pigment regulation, barrier support and carefully selected low-inflammatory treatments rather than deliberately pursuing a strong peeling response.
Yes - but it isn’t necessarily where we start. GREEN PEEL® can be useful for acne-prone skin by increasing exfoliation and helping reduce the buildup of keratinized cells that contributes to follicular congestion. However, active inflammatory acne requires a different approach; more stimulation is not always better.
At Woodland, Aerolase NeoClear is often our first choice for active, inflamed acne, while GREEN PEEL® may be more appropriate when congestion, texture and post-acne changes are a larger part of the picture.
Having both technologies matters. Because we offer both GREEN PEEL® and Aerolase, we don’t need to make one treatment fit every type of acne. Your treatment is selected based on what is happening in your skin - not simply the treatment we happen to have available.
