What is the Legal Ph and Percentage Acid Peel for Estheticians to Use in NYC Without a Doctor's Supervision?

Thank you for your question. You will have to contact the board in NY who regulates the license for Aestheticians, and they will have a list of solutions and the approved lists. I hope this helps.

My understanding is that most estheticians, for safety concerns, limit themselves to using a maximum of 30% alpha hydroxy peels. 15% and 25% concentrations are frequently used by them. I have been using all kinds of alpha hydroxy peels since 1984 and have found that concentrations below 50% do little for the skin. For this reason, for more than twenty-five years, I have used full-strengh (70% is the maximum concentration) glycolic acid peels. In properly selected patients, these peels,... more

I am not sure if there is an exact percentage, but I do know that they are not allowed to use 35% TCA like doctors. For the most part they are limited to light fruit peels. With the advent of great lasers I have pretty much stopped doing acid peels, and have used the laser to peel the skin very successfully.