How Long Until Redness Goes Away After a Chemical Peel?

Chemical peels do great for almost everyone. There are so many different peels and concentration that it can be tailored for about anyone. The light peels don't cause redness hardly at all and usually need to done several times while the medium concentration peels will cause 1-2 weeks of redness and the heavy peels can cause a month of redness. The good thing is that the redness can be resolved in about a week with almost any peel if a prescription cortisone lotion such as desowen lotion or stronger if needed is applied often and maybe aloe vera as well as a sunscreen.

Redness and downtime after a chemical peel will depend on the strength of the peel and the depth to which the peel will go to treat. Depending on the reason why you are getting a chemical peel in the first place, whether for a mild exfoliation and a radiant glow for which a mild superficial peel would be great, without any redness or downtime. Or, for acne, fine lines or wrinkles, and some mild pigmentation related issues, a moderate intensity or medium depth peel would be needed which can have 7-10 days of redness or downtime, And, if needed for deeper acne scars, melasma, resistant pigmentation or wrinkles a stronger deeper chemical peel can be done by a physician which can have up to 3-4 weeks of down time, flaking or redness. To help with post procedure downtime, we can always prescribe a cortisone cream to cut down on the downtime. Get a consultation first to determine what would best fit your needs. Hope this helps!

It all depends on the depth of the peel and your skin. I have seen patients not have any redness at all after light peels, and only have a pleasant "glow", while others have had redness that lasted for about a week or two. Deep peels can result in redness that lasts for a few weeks.

There are many different kinds of chemicals peels ranging from very mild or superficial to very deep. Naturally, the deep peel will have a longer recovery period and the superficial peel will have a shorter recovery period. For instance, a Glycolic peel will be red for 24 hours or so, while a TCA peel may be red for a week or more.

Thank you for your question! There are many different kinds of chemicals peels ranging from very mild or superficial to very deep. The light peels don't cause redness hardly at all and usually need to done several times while the medium concentration peels will cause 1-2 weeks of redness and the heavy peels can cause a month of redness. The good thing is that the redness can be resolved in about a week with almost any peel if a prescription cortisone lotion such as desowen lotion or stronger if needed is applied often and maybe aloe vera as well as a sunscreen. Best of luck!