Chemical Peels

Do

• Treat your skin gently. Use only mild, gentle cleansers and moisturizers. Avoid chemical or manual exfoliators until any peeling has stopped.
• Wear SPF 30 sunscreen every day on your face and neck. Once your skin starts peeling, new, delicate cells are exposed and must be protected from UV rays.
• Limit time spent outdoors to reduce sun exposure.
• Avoid strenuous exercise and anything that heats your body, such as hot showers or saunas, as this could cause dark spots (hyperpigmentation).
• Use an antioxidant moisturizer. After a peel, your skin produces more free radicals, and antioxidants help calm that activity.
• Use a skin lightener after peeling is complete. Chemical peels can stimulate pigment production, and a lightener helps prevent post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation — brown spots after a peel, which are more common in skin that already has discoloration.

Do not

• Do not pick at your skin. A peel removes dry, damaged layers to reveal healthy new cells. Picking off flaky skin before it is ready can cause scarring and unnecessary redness.
• Do not over-moisturize to make up for dryness. Heavy moisturizer on peeling skin will not give you better results and makes the downtime longer. Use your regular moisturizer and let your skin shed naturally.
• Do not exfoliate. It is important to let dry skin shed naturally. Facial scrubs and acids will only irritate your skin further and could cause scarring.
• Do not get injections such as Botox, Dysport or dermal fillers in the treated area for 2 to 3 weeks after treatment.

How much will my skin peel?

The amount of peeling varies with your skin type and the condition of your skin at the time of the peel. The success of a peel should not be judged by how much you peel, but by the results it produces.

A series of peels

For the best results, peels can be done every 4 to 8 weeks until you reach your goals. Results build over time, and the greatest benefits are seen with a series of 3 or more peels.