What Is Chemical Peel
Chemical peel is a painless cosmetic treatment that uses botanical and physician-approved acids, such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), and Poly hydroxyacids acid (PHAs). The peel can be used to enhance exfoliation and reduce pigmentation, active acne, marks, age spots, and uneven skin tone.
Is it for you?
- It is used to treat certain skin conditions or to improve your appearance by improving the tone and texture of your skin.
They are most commonly performed on your face, neck, hands, or any part of the body. They can help reduce or improve:
- Fine lines under your eyes or around your mouth and wrinkling caused by sun damage, aging, and hereditary factors.
- Certain types of active acne.
- Mild scarring.
- Sun spots, age spots, liver spots, freckles, uneven skin tone.
How It is done
A chemical peel uses a chemical solution to remove layers of skin, revealing the more youthful skin underneath.
- The skin is thoroughly cleansed. The solution is applied to the skin avoiding eyes, mouth & other sensitive areas
- Different peeling agents are used depending on their depth, your skin concern, and type of skin.
- The skin layers eventually are exfoliated revealing more youthful skin.
- The new skin is usually smoother with fewer lines and wrinkles, has a more evened color and brighter in complexion.
Post Care
- Do not rub, scrub, use toners for 48 hours after the treatment.
- Do not use products containing retinol or hydroxy acids or any other active ingredients for 48 hours after the treatment.
- Limit sun exposure as much as possible.
- Use Sunblock every 4 to 6 hours post-treatment.
- Refrain from waxing, and bleaching or any facial treatment for 72 hours post-procedure.
- Avoid swimming in chlorinated water, hot water bath, or saunas for 5-7 days.
- Avoid wearing makeup on the same day.
- Avoid using topical products such as hydroquinone or tretinoin or scrubbing 3-5 days before treatment.
Popular Questions
All peels that a dermatologist performs require some at-home care. The following table shows you what you can expect.
After a medium or deep peel, you will have downtime. A deep chemical peel requires recuperation at home for 2 to 3 weeks.
Once your skin heals, you will see the results. Healing time ranges from 1 day for a refreshing or lunchtime peel to 14 days or longer for a deep peel. To get the results you seek from a refreshing peel or lunchtime peel, you may need to have 3 to 5 peels.
Most results are not permanent because our skin continues to age. If you have lots of sun-damaged skin or precancerous skin growths called AKs, you will likely continue to see new spots and growths on your skin.
To maintain results, you can repeat mild and medium chemical peels. Your dermatologist can tell you how often you can have a repeat treatment. A person can have only one deep peel.