What Chemicals Are Used in Chemical Peels?

Chemical peels have helped patients in New York, New York and in other areas of the country overcome various skin conditions from acne to sun damaged skin. Many patients turn to chemical peels to combat various signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles. To learn more about what conditions chemical peels are used to treat, patients should seek consultation with a skincare professional in their area.

Chemical peels are procedures that use chemical treatments to produce a controlled damage to the skin to produce results. Various chemicals are used in chemical peel treatments depending on the depth of peel used. There are varying degrees of depths from the most superficial to the deepest peel.

The very light peels contain low potency glycolic acid and 10-20% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and are used to penetrate dead skin cells that sit on top of the epidermis. Light peels contain 70% glycolic acid and 25-35% TCA and produce injury to the entire epidermis. Medium peels contain 35% TCA combined with another chemical such as glycolic acid. They produce a controlled damage to the upper part of the dermis. A phenol solution and anesthesia are used to perform deep peels that affect the middle of the dermis.

Patients should discuss their goals and conditions with a medical professional in the New York area to determine which degree of chemical peel is right for them. Superficial peels are used to treat acne and skin discoloration, while the deeper peels are used to treat wrinkles and sun damaged skin. Interested patients are also encouraged to discuss the procedure itself with a professional, as the deeper peels are more invasive than the superficial peels.

Patients who undergo the most superficial peels are often able to return to work and other normal activities immediately following treatment, while the deepest peels should be performed using an anesthetic and vital signs should be monitored. The recovery time may be much longer, sometimes up to a month.

In some cases, patients may experience minor irritation of the skin with superficial peels. Risks associated with deeper peels include infection, scarring, redness and discoloration. Multiple peels may be required to reach optimal results when superficial peels are used, while deeper peels may provide optimal results after just one treatment. For more information, patients are encouraged to discuss their goals and skin conditions with a medical professional in the New York area.

Learn more about chemical peels in New York, New York.

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