Chemical Peel of the Face

Chemical peeling of the skin is the process of applying varying strengths of chemical solutions, usually acids, from weak to strong, to the skin of the face. This will cause the outer layers of the skin to peel off, removing damaged and altered cells, and often causing pigmented areas to fade. The resulting skin is usually softer, smoother and a better color. The patient decides for herself just how much improvement she wants, and how fast she wants to get that improvement. The stronger the acid used, the better the result, but the more redness and peeling there is going to be.

My advice is to start slowly, conditioning the skin to the weak acids, getting improvement gradually and smoothly. By applying glycolic acid as cosmetic creams twice daily, the skin can gradually change without much redness or peeling. Progressively increasing the concentration of the acids, the amount of skin reaction can be controlled, and the patient continue her normal daily social activities.

In this way the daily glycolic creams can be augmented with stronger applications done in the office. These stronger peels might give some reaction as pinkness and mild flaking for a day or so. Weekly peels like this lead to a definite improvement in your skin softness and look.

When considering having an even stronger acid face peel, time for recovery from the redness and peeling must be allowed. Many patients never advance to these stronger acids, and stay with the improvement gained from glycolic acid peels. The choice is totally up to the patient, influenced by what they want, and how much time they have for recovery.

Chemical peels can be used for treatment of pigmentation problems, such as blotchiness and brown streaks of the face and neck. Using the weaker glycolic peels can be effective, but improvement in loss of pigmentation takes many months and is a gradual process. The glycolic cream needs to be used twice daily, every day, and the skin MUST always be protected from the sun by using a sun-block. If you do not use a sun block all the time, the pigment cells will produce more pigment.

It is very difficult to reduce pigmentation, and in some patients the glycolic creams just do not reduce the color. However, the stronger the acid used, the more likely the pigment will go. So, if after perhaps six months of glycolic use there is no change, it is worthwhile considering other acids.