What Skin Issues Can Chemical Peels Solve?

Nearly everyone experiences some skin issues from time to time. But often, no matter what you do, uneven skin tone, acne, scarring, and dull skin can negatively impact your self esteem. If you find yourself suffering from skin issues, the chemical peel just might be able to help you. This non-surgical procedure offers a way to give yourself a fresh start when it comes to your skin. A successful chemical peel can take years of damage off of your face, leaving you looking and feeling fresher and more confident.

Here, we’ll look at what goes into a chemical peel, what types of peels are available, as well as what skin issues this procedure can help you solve.

What is a Chemical Peel?

A chemical peel is a skin treatment designed to cause the most exposed skin to peel away. This reveals new, fresh layers of skin. There are a variety of different chemical peel solutions available. They include glycolic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and salicylic acid. The type of solution used depends on the issues you want to fix, as well as the depth of the peel.

For minor skin imperfections, a light chemical peel is often indicated. These peels are generally inexpensive. They cause the top layers of skin to peel away within a few days, and while discomfort may be minor, most people can get back to their usual activities immediately. These can be done more often, since recovery time is generally short and the risk of complications is much lower than the risk inherent in deeper peels.

For deeper skin issues like pitting and scarring from acne, a medium to deep peel may be indicated. These peels usually involve harsher chemicals, and because they cause more layers of skin to blister and peel, they may cause more discomfort. In fact, for very deep peels, sedation is sometimes required. Because of pain and peeling, those who undergo very deep peels often need to miss up to a week of work to recover.

While healing from deep peels may sound unpleasant, this is a procedure that can bring your skin back to life in a way you didn’t know was possible. By removing damaged layers of skin, a good chemical peel can give you a fresh start. While a peel may not completely reverse damage, it will significantly reduce sun damage, acne, and discoloration, as we will see shortly.

What Type of Chemical Peel is Right for You?

When considering getting a chemical peel, it’s important to be aware of the many variables. Choosing the right chemical solution can mean the difference between a poor chemical peel and a great one. Additionally, you and your doctor will need to decide whether a light, medium, or deep peel is best for you.

In order to help you ensure you choose the right peel, your doctor will likely want to examine you and take a history of your skin issues. Then, taking into account your skin issues as well as your availability and budget requirements, your doctor can recommend a type of chemical peel.

What Skin Issues Can Chemical Peels Help Resolve?

The chemical peel is often called a rejuvenating skin treatment, since it may help you look younger. In fact, many of the skin issues that chemical peels can help treat are age-related. These include the following:

• Age Spots
• Wrinkles
• Sun damage

While at-home skincare products may help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, age spots, and sun damage, these products simply don’t have the clinical strength that a professional chemical peel does. Because a peel literally removes damaged layers of skin, it is as if damage due to aging becomes completely erased.

However, depending on the depth of the damage and the depth of the peel used, your treatment may not remove all evidence of damage. However, it almost always significantly improves the way your skin looks and feels.

Not all of the skin issues that chemical peels help treat are age-related, though. A good chemical peel can often treat these condition as well:

• Acne
• Pitting and mild scarring
• Uneven skin tone or texture

All of the above conditions can happen at any age, and when your doctor chooses an appropriate chemical peel type for you, it increases your chances of having healthy skin that looks and feels great.

If you are concerned as to whether or not a peel will completely resolve your skin issues, be sure to ask your consulting doctor about what the expected outcome is. As with any cosmetic procedure, it is important to have realistic expectations of what it can do for you. Milder skin issues may resolve completely, and more severe ones may not. However, in most cases, a chemical peel will at least improve skin issues that it does not completely fix.

Are You Ready to Start?

If you are interested in pursuing a chemical peel in order to improve one or more skin conditions you are experiencing, the first step is setting up a consultation with a doctor. Then, your doctor can examine you, discuss your goals for the procedure, and come up with a treatment plan. More intensive chemical peels may require a hospital stay or require you to miss work, so they often require more planning.

Resource:

The Glasgold Group, located in Princeton, NJ, is made up of experienced professionals who are dedicated to helping you look and feel your best. Drs. Mark and Robert Glasgold perform a variety of non-surgical rejuvenation procedures in addition to chemical peels. If you find yourself wanting to further improve your appearance after your chemical peel, they can help you choose the right option for you.