1 Month Post TCA 40% Peel on Face and Still a Little Swollen and Now I Am Getting Darker Around my Mouth and on Cheeks?

ONE MONTH ago I had a 40% TCA peel on face & 25% on neck & chest by board certified dermatologist. My face is still tight, pink, slightly swollen in cheeks & now is blotchy & slightly darker around my mouth & cheeks. My neck has pink & white streaks. I went back to my doctor & he gave me prednisone but I'm concerned about the darker areas on mouth & cheeks. My skin is pretty light & now looks bad w/o makeup. Will pinkness go away? What can I do about darker areas? I've stayed out of sun.

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4 Doctor Answers | Asked by lesliekc

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Dark Spots following TCA Peels - Prevention and Treatment

The pinkness usually goes away and the fact that it is persistent means you probably had a significantly deep peel. The brown discoloration is more of a problem. It is important to pre-treat with some prescription creams first and use the same products when your plastic surgeon or dermatologist allows you to use it again. This is to prevent brown spots following a TCA or any other peel, laser or deep dermabrasion procedure. This is called post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The... more

Pigmentation after TCA Peel

It sounds as though your TCA peel went deep. The darkening must be treated promptly. Topical high strength skin lightening creams twice a day may help. A little prednisone and a series of light peels such as glycolics. I am concerned about the depth of the peel, since you are still swollen. So I would be reluctant to use CO2 laser at this time. Hope this helps. Hope this helps.

Post inflamatory hyperpigmentation

Recommend that you start a medical grade skin care to stabilize the pigment layer of the skin, then multiple skin peels or if you are fair skin fractional CO2 laser resurfacing. by a good plastic surgeon. It will be a long process and multiple treatments to get where you want.

Hyperpigmentation following TCA Peel

It sounds like you may be experiencing rebound hyperpigmentation. Was your skin "pretreated" prior to your peel? Ask your dermatologist about this because there are products you can use to help with this.