What Does It Mean when the Term 20 Microns for the Peel? is That Considered a Deep Peel?

A 20 micron Microlaser peel is enough to remove just beyond the thickness of the superficial dead layer of skin cells (stratum corneum). This is a nice depth peel for someone with mild/moderate sun damage and aging changes who does not have significant downtime available. I will often combine this depth laser peel with a BBL Fotofacial to obtain the optimal results for the given downtime. Best Regards, Jacque P. LeBeau, MD

A 20 micron erbium peel effectively removes the overlying stratum corneum as well as superficial papillary dermis. As it goes below the stratum corneum you will definitely have lightly moist skin but not raw or bleeding skin. This will take a couple of days to recover and then go through a fine peeling reaction several days later. If your dermatologist has an erbium laser which allows for choosing depth of treatment, you can select the depth of treatment and... more

20 microns is 1/50th of a millimeter (the smallest lines on most rulers)-- and is about the thickness of the outermost layer of your epidermis, the stratum corneum (the layer of "dead skin"). This is considered a very light peel--- similar to what can be achieved with light chemical peels or aggressive microdermabrasion. A Deep Peel is considered to penetrate through the entire epidermis and into the upper to mid-dermis-- often being about 150-400 microns, as might be done with... more