Chemical Peels

If you feel your skin makes you look a bit older than your biological age, you may be noticing the effects of photoaging, or the premature aging of skin cells caused by long-term sun exposure.

Ultraviolet rays cause as much as 90% of the early signs of premature skin aging. Typical signs of photoaging include:

• Fine lines around your eyes and mouth
• Pigmented spots, including freckles and age spots
• Noticeable loss of skin tone and texture
• Thinning lips that look taut and pale

Although the effects of photoaging can appear anywhere on your body, including your hands, shoulders, and legs, you’re more likely to notice it on your face.

A chemical peel is a noninvasive clinical skin treatment that directly addresses the damaging effects of photoaging. It involves applying a therapeutic chemical formulation that gently “peels,” or lifts away, the top layer of your skin.

One of the main benefits of chemical peels is that they’re customizable — we can use the treatment on any skin type to take care of a comprehensive range of common flaws, such as:

• Dull, blotchy complexion
• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Age spots or other pigmented spots
• Minor surface indentations or scars
• Leathery, saggy skin texture

Depending on your skin needs, a chemical peel may be applied to your entire face or just to specific areas, such as the wrinkles around your mouth.

The peel’s overall depth of action depends on a variety of factors, including its ingredients, how it’s applied, and how long it remains on your skin before being neutralized.

All chemical peels are designed to exfoliate dead skin cells, improve skin texture, and help open pores. Deeper chemical peels go one step further by correcting uneven skin tone and diminishing the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots.

When you have a chemical peel, you can expect a customized version of one of the following:

Superficial chemical peels

This superficial skin treatment uses alpha or beta hydroxy acids to create smooth skin, diminish the appearance of dark spots, and help unclog your pores. A superficial chemical peel is quick and has minimal downtime, making it an ideal component of your ongoing skincare regimen. When done at two- to four-week intervals, a superficial peel can help reduce the appearance of fine lines over time.

Medium depth chemical peel

This treatment contains a stronger concentration of trichloroacetic acid, an ingredient that has a significant diminishing effect on age spots and deep wrinkles. Because a medium peel works at deeper layers, the treatment area appears slightly sunburned for about a week, or the amount of time it takes the collagen renewal process to reveal healthier-looking skin.