What are Chemical Peels?

Chemical peels are performed only by qualified doctors. It is a form of skin resurfacing and can be performed on the face or body to reduce wrinkles, uneven skin pigmentation, acne facial scars and active acne and reduce pore size.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery estimates nearly 74,000 (UPDATE) patients underwent chemical peels in 2003, making it the third most popular among surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. It is so popular because in most cases they are minimally invasive and require little recovery time.

A Chemical Peel treatment causes the regeneration of new cells to occur at a faster rate than they would normally as an adult. Many unique and effective chemical peeling agents are available today and these can be applied on both the face and the body for chemical peeling.

Treatment Results

Superficial peels involve the application of certain mild fruit acids like AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acids - the most common ones being Glycolic, Lactic and Citric acids), B.H.A. (Beta Hydroxy Acids - such as Salicylic acid) and combinations of the above (such as the modified Jessner solution) to the skin to rid the upper layers of accumulated dead skin cells and kill the bacteria in the pores that cause acne.

Uses: - Smooths rough, dry skin - Improves texture of sun-damaged skin - Reduce pore size - Aids in control of acne - Can be mixed with bleaching agent to correct pigment problems

A series of 3-4 peels over 3-4 months may be necessary to achieve the desired results.These types of peels can improve the skin texture and provide smoother, brighter-looking skin for people who can't spare the time to recover from a TCA peel.

Medium-depth peels involve the application Trichloroacetic acid (TCA), used in different concentrations. The results of TCA peel are usually more dramatic than those of a superficial peel.

Uses: - Smooths out fine surface wrinkles - Removes superficial blemishes - Corrects pigment problems - Improve acne scars

TCA peels in higher concentrations may result in aggressive exfoliation which restricts a person's activity for about 2-3 days and ideally can been performed over the weekend ("weekend peel") Nevertheless, your skin will eventually be awakened, looking smooth and even.