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Chemical Peel Cost ≈ $600 average cost

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Chemical Peel Recovery Time

I am a professional, very busy. Cannot afford to be out of work for long recovering from a chemical peel. How much downtime can I expect from chemical peels of different depths?

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downtime recovery

Downtime after chemical peels

The amount of downtime after a chemical peel depends on the strength of the peel. Depending upon your goals, and the condition of your skin, there are a number of chemical peels that are what I call 'low to no downtime." There include glycolic acid, salicylic acid, Jessner's and Vi Peel. The peeling process is usually over in a week. The peeling usually starts 1-3 days after treatment and is most noticable for about 24 hours after it starts. I... more

Dina D. Strachan, MD

New York Dermatologist

Chemical Peel downtime

The amount of downtime you have from a chemical peel really depends on the type (strength) of the peel. Superficial peels which include glycolic acid, salicylic acid and TCA 15% do not cause much downtime at all. Patients undergoing superficial chemical peeling can expect to have mild redness and peeling, both of which can be easily covered up. More aggressive peeling (medium strength and higher) can cause a lot more swelling, redness, crusting and peeling and therefore have greater... more

Channing R. Barnett, MD

New York Dermatologist

Chemical peel for busy professional

First you need to identify what you what to correct with the peel. Or could it be just "maintenance"? The type of peel that will meet your goals can then be selected. The recovery time depends on the peel. So, for example, if you have significant facial wrinkles, this will require a peel such as a TCA. You will be "out of commission" for about a week. If you have some areas of pigmentation, skin is dull, etc. you could do a series of glycolic peels with no downtime... more

Tracy Pfeifer, MD

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

No downtime with chemical peels if you use a lot of makeup

Light chemical peels have no down time and are usually done every 2 weeks for 5-6 times @ $175-250 each. Medium TCA peels flake and peel for a week but can be covered up with a lot of makeup so you may not have any down time with them at $500-1000 each, and usually 1-2 are needed.

David Hansen, MD

Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

Chemical peel downtime

Moderate or medium depth chemical peels with 35% TCA will get great results, but snake skin peeling starts 3 days after the peel and lasts 1 week. Superficial peels do not achieve the same results but can be done with little to no downtime. You may consider a series of fractionated erbium yag laser peels, as these can be done on Friday, and by Monday there is no real evidence of the treatment. However, remember this may require several treatments for optimal results, and the more aggressive... more

Shawn Allen, MD

Boulder Dermatologist

It depends on which chemical peel you choose!

With a mild chemical peel, there is barely any down time required. Any mild resultant dryness or peeling can be treated with moisturizer. Deeper peels will need about a week or more for recovery. Discuss with your physician which peel will best meet your goals.

Yael Halaas, MD

Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgeon

Chemical peels and downtime

IMHO, you simply cannot have your cake and eat it too. I am certain that others will disagree with me but the peels or the fractionated lasers that brag about being lunchtime or no downtime, are, in my opinion, not particularly effective either. On the other hand, a light-medium depth peel on a Friday might have you back to work on a Monday and still achieve a reasonable effect.

Lawrence Kass, MD

Saint Petersburg Oculoplastic Surgeon

Degree of chemical peels and the effect on healing times

Recovery time after a chemical peel depends on what kind of peel was done and how deep it was. With all types of peels, proper care of the skin after the peel is very important to speed healing, help results last longer, prevent infection, and avoid color changes (hyper/Hypo pigmentation) in the treated area. There are different types of chemical peels, ranging from mild (alpha hydroxy acids; AHA) to medium (trichloroacetic acid; TCA) to deep (phenol) intensities. As a general rule, the... more

Vincent D. DiNick, MD, DMD

Farmington Plastic Surgeon

Chemical Peel Recovery Time

The "down time" or time it takes to heal after a chemical peel is multifactorial. It depends on the acid or agent used, the concentration of the agent, the number of times the agent was applied, whether the skin was pretreated before the peel with retin A, whether acetone was applied before the peel to degrease the skin, and even what was used to apply the peeling agent (cotton swabs, larger swabs, guaze pads, sable brushes). In a nutshell... Superficial Peels heal the... more

Andrew Kaufman, MD

Los Angeles Dermatologic Surgeon

CHEMICAL PEEL HEALING IS DEPENDANT ON THE CONCENTRATION OF THE THE PEEL

The recovery time is determined by the peel depth. Deeper the peel = prolonged recovery. Light peel recovery = days, Medium depth peel = weeks, and Deep peels = months. Take note that after a deep peel you will be able to go out in public by the third week and do all your activities. There will still be redness that will progressively subside over the months that follow a peel. Dr. Carlos Cordoba MDCM, CSPQ, FRCS,... more

Carlos Cordoba, MD

Montreal Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Chemical Peel Recovery Time

Chemical peel recovery time is largely dependent on depth of peel. The deeper the peel, then the longer the recovery. The depth varies based on the chemical agent, strength or concentration, and other factors. Broadly speaking, superficial peel recovery is couple days, medium depth peel is couple weeks, and deep chemical peels are several weeks. Healing continues for months, but one may wear make-up after the initial healing period. The cosmetic results are dependent on the depth of peel,... more

Houtan Chaboki, MD

Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon

Recovery times from Chemical Peels will vary with skin type and peel used

Recovery time after a chemical peel varies based on the chemical peel that is performed. Typically after a glycolic peel a patient is able to return to normal activities immediately. The 2-4 days following the glycolic peel patients may experience a very mild sloughing of the skin to light flaking with a few small crusty areas. This depends on the patient's skin type and the strength of the glycolic peel that is used. If a stronger chemical peel is performed, such as the VI peel,... more

Armando Soto, MD

Orlando Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

TCA peels recovery time

TCA peels are very effective for removing signs of photoaging and discolorations. The peel usually looks bad for 3-7 days. Some people heal quicker but I would not count on it. Assume you will be out of the public eye for 7 days.

Steven Hacker, MD

West Palm Beach Dermatologic Surgeon

Deeper chemical peels will have longer recovery time

As you can see the majority of expert posters have given you a range of "downtime" vs depth of peeling. To sum it up: The deeper the peeling the longer the healing! Please see at least 3 boarded docs to discuss this in detail.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD

Miami Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Recovery Times for Different Facial Peels

As you may know peels come in the weakest, home administered, Glycolic acid peels all the way to full general anesthesia Phenol peels. The rule of thumb is: the more anesthesia needed, the deeper the peel, the longer the down time. A full strength Phenol peel will require general anesthesia, followed by 7-10 days of completely coating your face with antibiotic ointment before you can venture out into the public. This is also true of the less deep, yet equally painful 15-35% TCA peels... more

Christopher L. Hess, MD

Fairfax Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Best chemical peel for shortest recovery

It is good to review your goals with the Plastic Surgeon or Dermatologist and inspect the case photos of various peels. The deeper the peel the more pronounced the effect and likewise the more recovery anticipated. Staging peels is a thought, but for the single most effective peel, it is important to know what your goal is and how to get there. If upon your inspection, the cases show simple freshening and improve skin luster, then a light peel is fine and home maintenance will round out... more

Donn Hickman, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Vi-Peel for the working professional

The Vipeel combines phenol, tricholoric acetic acid and salicylate acids in low concentrations to perform a great light chemical peel. The results are excellent considering the limited downtime. Expect a great amount of exfolidation with two days of the peel with its completion within four. Have the peel performed on Friday and you are recovered by Monday. It is the best peel out there for the working professional with limited downtime available to them. Costs are low at $325 per treatment.... more

Lee Kleiman, MD

Annapolis Facial Plastic Surgeon

Chemical peels and their healing time depends on how aggressive you want to be

Chemical peels can help with decreasing unwanted pigmentation, decreasing fine and deeper wrinkles, decrease pore size, improve skin texture, tighten skin, and improve the overall appearance. Basically, the more aggressive you are the more downtime you will have, the better results but the more risk. When you are less aggressive you heal faster, but you will have less dramatic results. So it really depends on what you want. Generally a superficial peel will heal and peel in about 2-4 days... more

Philip Young, MD

Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon

Chemical Peel Recovery times

Chemical peels are great for the right patient. Not all patients are candidates due to the risk of post op hyperpigmentation, scarring or ochrinosis. TCA (trichlorocetic acid) is a great product for treating blotchy hyperpigmentation of the skin or sun damage without the downsides of phenol (hypopigmentation and cardiac arrythmias). But remember, chemical peels (aside from deep phenol peels) do not treat wrinkles--just discoloration and complexion issues. Having said all that as a... more

David L. J. Wardle, MD

Orange County Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

Chemical Peel Recovery: Downtime after Facial Treatment with Chemical Peels

Chemical peels are effective in inducing specific changes to the deeper cells contained within the dermis of the skin. Recovery from a chemical peel depends on the depth of treatment. When a chemical peel is applied to the skin, it causes coagulation and destruction of the upper layers of the skin to the depth of the proposed treatment. In order to change the function of the deep melanocytes or pigment cells, the peel must extend to the deep layers of the skin. More superficial peels... more