Although we do we call a salicyclic acid or beta hydroxy peel and glycolic acid peel a "peel," it is not necessary to see skin peeling for it to be effective. The light chemical peels or lunch time peels are designed to have minimum to no downtime and may produce mild redness and some flaking but not over peeling like you would see with a 25 to 30% TCA peel.
Our patients like the effect of these peels and see improvement of the pigmentation of the skin, textures and even mild acne scars. Of course, you will need more than one to continue to see an improvement and will help to use products at home that contain hydroquinone to decrease pigmentation and tretinoin(retin A) to help with pigmentation, clogged pores and stimulate collagen production.
Chemical peels are a good place to start for someone who wants to start working on improving their skin or add to their acne treatment regimen. Make sure it is done my an aesthetician in a dermatologist 's or plastic surgeon's office so they can help monitor your progress and be there if there are complications.
Don't forget to let them know if you get cold sores (herpes) since you will need to be treated preventatively with acyclovir or Valtrex before your chemical peel.
