“At Home TCA Peel for Hyperpigmentations/melasma - Australia”

I'll update this as the days go one- I've just done my first 12.5% TCA peel. I've been getting microderms for months and use AHA / retin A products so my skin was well-prepped.

Pros-
- Cost: it's cheap I got my kit from MUAC. It will probably last a year's worth of peels.
- Directions for use: I was wary both because of the cheap cost and DIY aspect, but I was glad to see that instructions were clear and thorough.

Cons-
- As other reviewers have stressed, you must follow instructions explicitly so it takes being very mindful.
- Prep Time: Optimal results seem to come from good skin preparation -retin A and AHA products over a series of weeks.
-Patience : The results are said to be gradual and I'm not a patient person so I saw this as a bit of a drawback.

Updated on 3 Jul 2011:
I've finally completed three weeks. The end result is I see no change, if in fact my skin has gotten any better. It was considerable downtime to get no result, but from research it takes a few peels before there are any noticeable results. My last picture below shows the before and after, though the exposure on the camera is different and could throw off the results.
Verdict: one peel is some serious work and there are no results. I'm going to try again.

Updated on 1 Dec 2011:

Third times the charm! I did four peels actually, but it was the third when I realized it really was working! The stubborn band of discoloration that was on my upper forehead, my upper lip, and in two patches beneath my eyes is gone. All gone.

I was really about to throw in the towel on the third try, but after about 4 days ( the peel was 18% and it was really intense) the skin came off in sheets ... with the
pigmentation.

What's funny is, now that I tell people I had pigmentation really bad, they don't believe me.

I've stopped because summer's coming, but this is definitely part of my winter regime.