The Peel

THE PEEL

I’m not aging as gracefully as I’d like. This isn’t a comforting thought to someone now doing a good bit of speaking, in a culture where 50 is the new 30. So I was intrigued when I was invited to a “peel party,” where a registered n dermatologist’s nurse would give light chemical facials called peels.

The hostess gets these peels often, and says they minimize the appearance of age spots and fine wrinkles. Although her age is within a few years of mine, she appears much younger. I decided I should try either peels or her makeup. Since I don’t bother with much makeup, I decided to attend the party.

It was interesting. The nurse asked questions, I filled out the inevitable forms, and then she applied the peel to my face. It burned, but not so much I couldn’t stand it.

I glowed the next day, like I’d been sunbathing, but nothing else happened. On day two, I started to flake a little, scattering little pieces of my DNA wherever I walked. You aren’t supposed to pick at the peeling spots, but who can resist a little tug? Not me. It was gratifying to see that beneath the scales of dead skin, my face did look fresher.

By day three, I looked like a molting iguana. I washed my face often, applied lotion, and wore white or cream colored tops, so I wouldn’t look like I was suffering from a case of runaway dandruff.

In the midst of this skin-sloughing process, my aunt came to visit.

She’s a really cool auntie. She’s retired now, and spends half the year traveling all over the country in her fifth wheel. Sometimes she travels with a friend, but most of the time it’s just her and her pound pup, traveling wherever the spirit moves, dropping in on relatives who are always overjoyed to see her.

I wondered a little about that. She came at a particularly busy time for me, but I was delighted to see her and didn’t mind a bit. Why is that?

I came to the conclusion it’s because she’s been “peeling” for years. Life has brought her a lot of pain. She’s used these experiences to sand off the less desirable aspects of human personality: selfishness, pride, pretensions, and judgment. The process has revealed the easy-going, generous, humble woman God created her to be. She’s not perfect, but she’s a lovely work in progress.

I may do more of the facial peels. I haven’t decided yet. But I have decided to make sure I’m doing constant character peels. In the final analysis, while I’d like to look youthful and attractive, it’s inner-beauty I want to spend the majority of my time and energy on.