First, you have to choose from between:
- A non-medical peel, or
- A higher quality, medical-grade peel
Non-medical skin peels – the ultra-light peels, such as a glycolic acid peel – are usually composed of alpha-hydroxy acids and sometimes derived from sugar cane and fruits. Typically, they do not provide a very dramatic result. Estheticians are permitted to use these over-the-counter preparations.
Often, in order to get results with non-medical peels, the patient has to undergo several peels over a 6 to 12 week period of time and this can add up in cost. Also, these non-medical peels do not penetrate the skin very evenly; so, for a more effective peel, most dermatologists strongly favor the deeper cosmetic peels, such as salicylic acid (SA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA).
Thus, my best advice is to save your money and get one of these deeper, medical-grade peels. You’ll see better results.
