WHAT IS A CHEMICAL PEEL ? Chemical peel is a well-known technique used for aesthetic treatment. It is applied to your face and is made up of mild chemical solutions. These chemical peels are gently peeled off once the chemicals dry, which helps to exfoliate your skin. Chemical peeling helps to rejuvenate your skin, giving you smooth and less wrinkled skin. The chemical solution in chemical peeling can be applied to your face, neck or hands.
HOW DO CHEMICAL PEELS WORK? The chemical peel treatment helps to improve the appearance of your skin. During the treatment a chemical solution is applied to the skin. This chemical solution causes the skin to blister causing it to eventually peel off. The new skin after the treatment is usually smoother and less wrinkled. The chemical peel treatment can be done on the face, neck, and or hands.
The chemical peel treatment is an outpatient procedure which does not require the patient to stay overnight. The professional administering the treatment will first clean your skin and then carry on to apply one or more of the chemical solutions such as salicylic acid, lactic acid, carbolic acid etc. to small areas of your skin. This leads to the creation of controlled wounds which allows new skin to take its place. Most people experience a burning sensation during the treatment which lasts for about 5-10 minutes. To ease the pain it is advised to use a cold compress on the treated area.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEMICAL PEELS:
Superficial Peel In this form of chemical peeling, the mild acid composing of Alpha-hydroxyl is used to gently exfoliate by penetrating the outer layer of skin. This form of peel treatment is used to enhance the appearance of rough skin and treat discolouration. It can be used to refresh the skin on the face, neck, chest etc.
Medium Peel This peel is applied for the penetration of the outer and middle layers. The applied glycolic or trichloroacetic acid helps to remove damaged skin cells. Moderate skin discolouration, age spots, freckles etc. can be treated with this peel.
Deep Peel Trichloroacetic acid or phenol is used to penetrate the middle layer of your skin. This peel treatment is used to treat or remove moderate lines, freckles, shallow scars etc. This treatment can only be performed once, and is known to show dramatic improvement in your skin’s appearance.
CHEMICAL PEEL FOR PIGMENTATION AND HYPERPIGMENTATION TREATMENT: The appearance of hyperpigmentation conditions such as age spots, melasma, discoloration caused due to acne scarring etc. can be improved using chemical peels. The level of aggressiveness of the treatment decides the level of effectiveness and the benefits of the treatment. The procedure uses a variety of acids that exfoliate the upper layers of the skin, which helps to give the skin a fresh feel and rejuvenated appearance.
The treatment uses a superficial or moderate peel, which will be performed in the dermatologist’s office and it does not require the use of anesthesia. One many experience a stinging sensation and the treated area may feel war, for about 5-10 minutes. The procedure lasts for about 30 minutes, after which the dermatologist applies a cream to soothe the irritated area. In case of deep peels, patients are placed under general anesthesia and cold compresses are used to calm the skin.
CHEMICAL PEEL FOR ACNE AND ACNE SCAR TREATMENT: As a result of the body’s inflammatory response to acne lesions, acne scars are formed. Each person has a different and unique facial ‘topography’ due to which each person affected by acne has different acne scars. Therefore the implementation of the treatment is administered on a case by case basis. For patients who face deep acne scars the most effective treatment is acne chemical peel. The appearance of the acne scars can be eliminated enough with the help of TCA peels or phenol chemical peels which can resurface the skin. More than one treatment is necessary with the use of TCA acne chemical peels.