47 year old in need of first Chemical Peel, 7% TCA with Retinol

I'm 47 years old and decided to have my first chemical peel to help with dryness, fine lines, discoloration and skin damage over the years. I was recommended by a dear friend to have Kathy at Hunstad/Kortesis MedSpa in Huntersville, NC to apply my chemical peel. She decided I needed their signature peel which has 7% TCA and retinol. It's a light/medium peel based on how many layers she applies. I had a late appointment at 6pm. She explained the procedure and took pictures. I was given a fan and she explained each step. She applied 3 layers of TCA. It burned and tingled after the third layer, but was not that painful. She then layered it with retinol which soothed the burn and made it tolerable. It was not bad at all. I was instructed to leave it on my face for 4 hours then wash and moisturize. I washed my face at 10pm and it's very red, burns (like a bad sunburn) but not unbearable. She told me my face will feel very tight and then begin to peel during the 7 days of healing.

This is day 3 after my peel and it is defintely peeling and looking kinda gross, but I can see my skin underneath and it looks much fresher. My skin is very tight and dry. I was told not to exfoliate or pull the dead skin off. I did take a shower and as I cleaned my face, more dead skin fell off. It does sting a bit when applying moisturizer. I did get a checkin call from Kathy today and she said it sounds like everything is moving forward like normal.

It has been about 6 weeks since my 7% tca chemical peel and my face and neck have healed nicely. It's definitely not a huge difference in my skin, but I do have a fresher appearance and less discoloration. I plan on getting a higher % tca peel in about 6 months and considering also doing my chest, shoulders, arms and hands to refresh the skin and combat aging and old sun damage. I will document that procedure as well!