How to choose the best peel for you

Choosing a chemical peel that is best or your skin type, tone, and goals can be an unnerving task. Here is a guide that will assist you with understanding each of the peel acids-
Chemical peels can benefit the skin by doing the following:

Lighten dark spots, age spots, and freckles
Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
Prevent acne
Precancerous lesions can be removed
Make mild scarring appear smoother
Color, texture, and look of skin improvement

We’ve put together a list of the most common peels on the market today:

Alpha Hydroxy Acids-

Glycolic, Vitamin C, and Lactic acids fall into this category. These acids penetrate into the dermis and upper dermis and can dissolve in water. These peels exfoliate the upper skin.

Glycolic Peels: Suitable for dry/normal/sun-damaged skin types. These peels treat dermatitis, eczema, tone, texture, fine lines and wrinkles.

Vitamin C AHA/Lactic Peels: Sensitive skin, best for brightening the skin and treating uneven skin tone and discoloration. Treats melasma, dermatitis, Psoriasis, razor bumps, scarring, sun-damage, actinic keratosis, tone and texture.

Beta-Hydroxy Peels-

Beta-Hydroxy Peels are absorbed by the fat properties in the skin. This acid can penetrate into the pores of the skin. The pores are able to be cleared and the skin is exfoliated. Anti-inflammatory properties are found in this acid resulting in less irritation.

Salicylic Peels: Suitable for oily/acne prone skin types. Treats acne scarring, adolescent skin, blackheads, large pores, Psoriasis, razor bumps and warts.
Jessner Peels: Suitable for very oily cystic acne/discolored skin types. This peel is not suitable for darker skin tones. Treats large pores, adolescent skin, blackheads, oily skin, Psoriasis, and warts.

Trichloroacetic peels:

This peel acid is a relative of acetic acid. The top layer of skin dries up and visibly peels over a period of 7-10 days. A new layer of skin is then exposed, resulting in a smoother texture and more even skin tone. Treats sun-damage, melasma, severe discoloration, acne, and deep wrinkles. High strengths of this peel is not suitable for medium-darker skin tones.

Choose a peel that is light or medium strength to gradually increase to a deeper strength peel to find the right level of exfoliation for your skin. The deeper the peel the more the peel will penetrate into your skin. It is normal to experience, redness, burning, and tingling sensation when applying peels. The deeper strength of peel you select, the more downtime you will have to undergo. One way to check the skin’s tolerance is to do a patch test. The best area to do a patch test is behind the ear. Determine your skin type, sensitivities, and the type of results you would like to achieve via the usage of a chemical peel. A series of 6-8 peel treatments will show progressive results and after completing this series you can advance to the next peel strength. Medium strength peels should also be proceeded with caution for sensitive skin types as they can be aggressive.

Types of Chemical peels:

Chemical peels vary by how deep a particular peel acid penetrates the skin, and how many layers can be done of each peel acid.

Superficial Peels: Made up of mild ingredients such as glycolic, lactic, and fruit acids. These peels are suitable for all skin types and tones, treats dry skin types, and sun-damage.
Medium strength Peels: Penetrate the skin more deeply and cause a 2nd degree burn. They treat fine lines and wrinkles, treats superficial blemishes, suitable for all skin types and tones, (with exception of TCA 20%), hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone.

Deep Peels: This peel penetrates several layers of skin and causes a 2nd degree burn. These peels treat severe skin conditions such as deep wrinkles, acne, and severe discoloration. These peels are great for all skin tones (with exception of TCA 30%), removes precancerous growths, freckles can be removed, infection and scarring can occur if not used on individuals with prior advanced peel experience.