25% TCA Peel vs 35%?

Is a TCA 25% peel considered a light to medium depth chemical peel? I have light skin with some hyperpigmentaion due to sun exposure and the 25% TCA Peel I had last week did almost nothing in removing the pigmentation, other then causing my skin to gently flake and make the discoloration lighter (but is still noticeable).

Will a 35% TCA Peel cause the skin to shed the large brown flakes and help better with the pigmentation? Thank you.

2 answers to “25% TCA Peel vs 35%?”

A: I am not surprised, 25% is very weak, try a stronger peel

Lane Smith, MD

I am not surprised that you got little results with your 25% peel. Unless you do many of them, this is often the case.  A 35% peel may indeed give you the results you want, depending strongly on how it is applied.  In general, the deeper the peel, the stronger the results are. However, the... more

A: Maybe not

Bryan K. Chen, MD

It is difficult to tell whether the "hyperpigmentation due to sun exposure" you are describing might be melasma (hormone-related pigmentation) or lentigos (sun spots).  There are in general, two forms of melasma: superficial and deep. The more superficial melasma is more accessible to... more

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