Peel Off the Old You
What is a chemical peel? A chemical peel is when we use medications applied to the skin’s surface to remove the very top layer of skin cells. The skin or dermis of the face is about 1.3 to 2 mm thick. I know that doesn’t sound like alot, but the top 10-30 layers of cells are dead, that right, not alive keratinocytes. These cells provide a protective layer, but the thicker this layer becomes, the more dull and rough your skin will feel. The general idea behind any chemical peel is that it is the removing of these layers that will remove some of these dead cells.
Levels of peels
Superficial - If you’ve ever had a facial, you may have had one of these superficial peels as part of it. They are generally made of salicylic acid or glycolic acid. Because these peels stay so close to the surface, there is minimal to no downtime and they can be repeated regularly. While they can help with acne, fine lines and skin pigmentation issues, you would need to repeat it very frequently and regularly to see significant improvement.
Medium - these peels go deeper than superficial peels and can reach the layers of skin where hyperpigmentation and melasma are more of an issue. Generally they consist of tricholoracetic acid, but can have additional additives to focus more on acne, fine lines or pigment issues. For people with extreme sun damage, these peels can be very helpfult o start removing some of that damage. You may look a little red for 1-2 days after and on days 3-6, much of the skin in the treated area will “peel” off. If you’ve ever had a sunburn and peels after, that’s the general idea. You might want to consider doing it on a Wednesday or Thursday and you should be ready for the public again by Monday.
Deep - these peels go very deep and usually involve using phenols or a very high concentration of trichloracetic acid. These are generally not recommended for people with very sensitive skin and for people whose skin tones are darker. This is generally a once in a lifetime peel (and when you read the rest of this, you’ll see why they are so uncommon). You will generally need general anesthesia while the peel is applied and then your face will be bandaged for several days. You will need a few weeks of downtime before you can wear makeup or reveal yourself to small children without scaring them. You will also need to avoid sun exposure for 3-6 months. This is generally done only by specialists and only under extreme circumstances. That said, the results can be truly amazing.
What type of peel do you do? We offer the Perfect Derma Peel. This is a a medium depth peel designed to refresh and smooth and soften the skin. For your first peel, it’s reommended that we do just the basic peel. If you have had a peel before, and tolerated it well, then we can add one of the following boosters. We offer the following add ons to our peels depending on your needs.
Plus - with glutathione and vitamin C, this provides alot of antioxidant protection to the remaining skin cells to leave you glowing. It can be used on age spots and other areas of sun damage.
Clear Acne - This booster adds salicylic acid, retinoic acid and benzoyl peroxide as well as other ingredients. It’s great for people with moderate to severe acne or acne scaring.
Plus Plus - the perfect choice for people struggling with hyperpigmentation issues. It contains hydroquinone, which is the only FDA approved medication for the treatment of hyperpigmentation. It also contains hydrocortisone, retinoic and salicylic acid. It’s great for treating deep acne scars and removing fine lines. It can also be used to treat actinic keratoses (a precurser to skin cancers).
What do you do to prepare for a peel? There are two important things. First, avoid retinols and retinoids for 1-2 weeks ahead of time. Second, if you have a history of cold sores or HSV-1, it’s recommended you take some prophylactic medication for 2 days before hand and 7 days afterward.
What happens after a peel? The peel will be left of on for up to six hours. If you are having pain or irritation, you can wash it off sooner. You will have several cloths to take home and use these the next two days to scrub the skin. This will help start the peeling process. You will also be sent home with extra moisturizer and suncreen. That’s how important these two ingredients are and you must use them religiously after the peel in order to improve your skin and keep it improved. When the peeling starts, sit on your hands! Don’t help the skin by peeling off the loose pieces.
What else you need to do? Use suncreen, and then put on some suncreen and a little later, put on some more suncreen. That’s not a joke. You absolutely must protect your skin from UV exposure. Don’t get a peel if you are going on a cruise in 2 weeks. Don’t get a peel before your beach vacation.
What else can you do? When you use the peel, it helps remove fine lines, by getting rid of the upper layers of skin where the wrinkles live. For deeper lines, botox can be helpful to relax the underlying muscles and help smooth out these wrinkles. You can have botox at the same time you get the peel. You will recover from the peel about the time the botox sets up.
You may also want to consider microneedling about 4-6 weeks later in order to help maintain the results and encourage further collagen and elastin production in the skin. These will help to build up the skin and make it not just smoother, but also healthier.
When can/should the peel be repeated? 3-6 months. If you do the boosters, you should probably be more on the 6 months side of things. You don’t want to peel too deeply, because the point is to stay in the medium dept of the skin. If you thin the skin and then repeat without giving the skin time to recover, you can go too deep and risk scarring.