Time and a good bleaching cream is all I would advocate.

Don Mehrabi, MD answers: Skin darkening after Glycolic Peel

I am an African, black woman and my hands and feet were darker than the rest of my body. I had them peeled with Glycolic peel and the color was lightened for 3 days until it started to darken. Now it is darker than it used to be and I'm afraid that it will not improve. What happened? I have also used a hair removal wax. Could this have also caused the skin darkening? What should I do?


Don Mehrabi, MD
4 months ago
By Don Mehrabi, MD - Beverly Hills Dermatologist

 Thank you for your question.

It is possible to turn darker after a glycolic peel or other chemical peel in darker skinned patients. It is also possible that a hair removal cream may have irritated you, but that is usually preceded by redness and inflammation prior to the darkening.

At this point, avoid further peels or other procedures. As hard as it may seem to wait, this is your best option and the darkness will eventually fade - it nearly always does. To speed this fading up, ask you dermatologist for a bleaching cream to use once or twice daily, and practice strict sunavoidance.

Hope this helps!

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