Glo's peel ladder runs from Level 1 to Level 6. Levels 1 and 2 are the at-home kits, formulated for unsupervised use. Levels 3 to 6 are professional-exclusive back bar. Every new peel client starts at Level 3 on Flower Enzyme so the response can be read before anything is committed to, and progression follows tolerance and goals rather than client enthusiasm.
Key takeaways
- Levels 1 and 2 are the at-home kits. Levels 3 to 6 are back bar and never sold as home care.
- Start every new peel client at Level 3, whatever they tell you they have had elsewhere.
- Level 4 forks two ways: Hydra-Bright for dullness and pigmentation, Beta-Clarity for congestion.
- Levels 5 and 6 are for experienced peel clients with no contraindications.
- Five red flags stop the treatment regardless of what the client wants.
Glo was founded on chemical peels by a plastic surgeon, and the level system is the part of the range that carries that heritage most directly. It is also the part most likely to be used loosely, because clients arrive with a number in their head from another clinic and an expectation attached to it.
The ladder is a clinical sequence, not a menu. Here is how to read a consultation onto it.
The ladder
Levels 1 and 2, the at-home kits. Multi-step kits formulated for safe unsupervised use by clients at home, and the only part of the ladder that leaves the clinic in a bag. The Beta-Clarity AHA Clarifying Peel Kit is a Level 2 example: 20% mandelic with salicylic acid and vitamin C, a twenty-minute treatment, and recommended for all skin types except sensitive.
Level 3, Flower Enzyme. Enzymatic rather than acid-based, working through hibiscus flower extract, pumpkin ferment and ficin. Suits most skin types, though not extremely sensitive skin, and functions as the assessment step for everybody else.
Level 4, two options. Hydra-Bright AHA Glow Peel, 20% vegan lactic acid, for radiance, hydration and mild resurfacing on dull or pigmented skin across most skin types. Beta-Clarity AHA Clarifying Peel, 20% mandelic acid with salicylic acid, for congestion, uneven texture and post-blemish marks on oily and blemish-prone skin.
Level 5, GlyPro AHA Resurfacing Peel. 30% glycolic acid. Resurfacing and texture work for experienced peel clients with fine lines or sun damage.
Level 6, two options. GlyPro Power Peel+ at 60% glycolic acid, the highest professional-grade peel in the range. And Retinol + C Peel Boost Max, retinol with vitamin C, used standalone or as a booster added to another peel.
The naming overlap, and how to talk around it
Worth knowing before a client raises it. Several at-home kits carry the same name as their professional counterpart, so Beta-Clarity AHA Clarifying Peel exists both as a back bar peel you perform at Level 4 and inside a Level 2 at-home kit the client can buy.
The practical fix is one word. When you mean the retail product, say kit. When you mean the treatment, say the peel. A client who buys the kit believing it is the treatment they had in clinic will be disappointed by the result and will tell you the product did not work.
Where to start, and why it is always Level 3
A new peel client starts at Level 3. Not because their skin could not tolerate more, but because you have no reading yet on how it responds, and Flower Enzyme gives you that reading at the lowest possible cost to the client if the answer is unexpected.
This holds even when the client tells you they have had stronger peels elsewhere. What they have had, at what concentration, on what skin, at what interval, and with what home care running alongside is information you do not have and cannot verify in the chair. The enzyme peel establishes a baseline in your own clinic. One appointment.
Progression to Level 4 follows the response and the client's goals. Levels 5 and 6 are reserved for experienced peel clients with no contraindications, which in practice means clients you have peeled before and whose recovery pattern you know.
The Level 4 fork
Level 4 is where the ladder stops being a single line, and the choice between the two options is the acid decision rather than a strength decision. Dull, dehydrated or pigmented skin goes to Hydra-Bright. Oily, congested or blemish-prone skin goes to Beta-Clarity. The reasoning behind each acid is set out in choosing the acid.
Both sit at the same level. Moving a client from one to the other is not progression, and it should not be presented to the client as one.
The red flags
Five findings stop the treatment, whatever is in the diary and whatever the client is hoping for.
- Active lesions or open wounds. No peel over broken skin.
- Recent retinoid use. Timing depends on the product, and the pause is built into the booking conversation, not discovered on the day.
- Fitzpatrick V to VI. Higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Specialist knowledge required before proceeding, and a conservative level when you do.
- Recent sun exposure or a compromised barrier. Either one changes the skin you assessed into a different skin.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Specific actives are contraindicated.
A client presenting with the barrier signs described in the sensitivity epidemic is supported first and peeled later. The barrier work is not a delay to the treatment plan. It is the first stage of it.
What the ladder does commercially
A ladder creates a course. A client who starts at Level 3 and progresses has a reason to rebook that is clinical rather than promotional, and each step has its own home-care protocol attached to it. The retail follows the clinical sequence rather than being bolted onto it, which is set out in before and after a peel.
The at-home kits close the loop. Recommended at the post-peel check-in rather than at the first appointment, they maintain the result between visits and bring the client back for the next level with their skin in the condition you want it in.
The ladder is the treatment plan and the retail plan at the same time. That is not a coincidence in the design.
FAQs
How many peel levels does Glo have, and which are professional-only?
Six. Levels 1 and 2 are at-home kits formulated for safe unsupervised use, such as the Beta-Clarity AHA Clarifying Peel Kit at Level 2. Levels 3 to 6 are professional-exclusive back bar and must be performed in a clinic: Flower Enzyme at Level 3, Hydra-Bright AHA Glow Peel and Beta-Clarity AHA Clarifying Peel at Level 4, GlyPro AHA Resurfacing Peel at Level 5, and GlyPro Power Peel+ and Retinol + C Peel Boost Max at Level 6.
Which peel should a first-time client have?
Level 3, Flower Enzyme, even when the client reports having had stronger peels elsewhere. The enzymatic formula works through fruit and flower enzymes rather than acids, suits most skin types other than extremely sensitive, and establishes how the skin responds in your clinic before a stronger option is committed to. Progression to Level 4 and above follows the observed response and the client's goals.
When should a peel not go ahead?
Five findings stop the treatment: active lesions or open wounds, recent retinoid use, Fitzpatrick V to VI skin without specialist assessment because of the higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, recent sun exposure or a compromised barrier, and pregnancy or breastfeeding where specific actives are contraindicated. A client with barrier compromise is supported first and peeled at a later appointment.
The full peel protocols are in the Glo Pro protocol library, and the consultation questions are scripted in the Consultation Scripts Pack. Questions, call 01636 402521 or email pro@gloskin.beauty.