A chemical peel is a technique used to improve the appearance of the skin on the entire body especially the face and neck. A chemical solution is applied to the skin that causes it to exfoliate and eventually peel off. Once this happens, the new skin underneath is often smoother, appears less wrinkled, and may have less damage. The new skin is also temporarily more sensitive to the sun which is taken care of by regular sunscreen application.

There are three basic types of chemical peels:

Superficial or lunchtime peel: Superficial Peelsbeing the mildest form, so gentle it’s often called, “the lunchtime peel.” Superficial Peels are customized to address minor skin irregularities like discoloration, acne, surface scarring, fine lines, and sunspots. Alpha-hydroxy acid or another mild acid is used to penetrate only the outer layer of skin to gently exfoliate it. Results include minimized pores, fine lines, sun damage, and acne, and moderate improvements in tone, texture, and coloration. Skin will appear tighter, smoother, more even, and radiant

Medium peel: Medium-depth Chemical Peel, also known as a TCA Peel, involves the application of a chemical exfoliant that causes controlled damage of the epidermis and part or all of the papillary dermis (top layer), which ignites regenerative changes and restores the skin’s tone and texture in just a single setting. Glycolic or trichloroacetic acid is applied to penetrate the out and middle layers of skin to remove damaged skin cells. The treatment is used to improve age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, and moderate skin discoloration. It also can be used to smooth rough skin and treat some precancerous skin growths, i.e. actinic keratosis

Deep peel: If you have deeper facial wrinkles, skin that’s damaged by the sun, scars, areas that appear blotchy, deep facial chemical peels might be the right choice for you. Trichloroacetic acid or phenol is applied to deeply penetrate the middle layer of skin to remove damaged skin cells. The treatment removes moderate lines, age spots, freckles, and shallow scars. Patients will see a dramatic improvement in skin appearance