Dekejis

Great advice, Jiminy Cricket! Peels CAN be done at home safely, but you MUST work your way up from lower concentrations. Note that the majority the people on the board who have complained of burning or scarring or lesions from a home TCA peel jumped in and did a 30-50%+ peel without working up to it. Be an educated consumer and read up before trying out peels; start with something very light, like a 10% glycolic peel - *get to know your skin and how it reacts* to the chemicals and use it for a while to get your skin accustomed to peeling. Different peels have different strengths and a TCA peel is a stronger peel, so if you're just starting out, consider a more superficial peel at first. Remember that peels don't always visibly peel, but they are still working under the surface (even a light peel is still stimulating collagen production!) and that even when they do, it can sometimes take as much as a week or more for the actual peeling to start. Take your time and progress slowly - peels are cumulative, as you can get just as good a result doing a series of 10% peels as you can one 25% peel, so there's no reason to push it for instant results. Let your skin build up its own natural protective barriers as you progress and you'll be so much happier with your results!

Peels help to remove the outermost layers of skin and dissolve dead skin cells that have accumulated in your pores (BHAs are particularly good for this). However, it takes a few weeks at least for already clogged pores to make their way to the surface and clear out. Give your regimen a chance to do it's job and be patient - it's very common for people starting a peel regimen to break out at first; that's the skin working out all those blocked pores. If pimples are your main concern, concentrate on salicylic acids and do them on a regular basis.