What should I think about if I have a chemical peel?

Expectations: Chemical peels are designed to wound and remove the upper layers of the skin. You need to prepare yourself for how your skin will look immediately after the peel and throughout the healing process. You also need to be prepared to use cosmetics to blend skin tones between treated and untreated areas, such as between the face and jawline.

It is important that your doctor understand what you hope to achieve and that you understand what results you can realistically expect. Even with realistic expectations, you may not see results for several weeks or months after a chemical peel.

Sun protection: During the early healing period after a chemical peel (before the skin has finished peeling), you will need to avoid sun exposure. After the early healing period has passed, you will need to wear sunscreen every day and limit sun exposure as much as possible. New skin is more susceptible to damage and discoloration from sunlight.

Options for skin resurfacing: Chemical peel, dermabrasion and laser resurfacing are the most commonly used techniques for improving the texture and appearance of the skin. Although these techniques use different methods, they have basically the same effect on the skin,they destroy and remove the upper layers of skin to allow for skin regrowth.

No one technique is necessarily better than the others. When done by an experienced surgeon, laser resurfacing may be slightly more precise than chemical peeling or dermabrasion. But the choice of technique is based on the site you want to treat, your skin type and condition, the doctor's experience, your preferences and other factors. Some people may get the best results using a combination of techniques.

The indications for chemical peels include: acne, pigmentation problems, aesthetic purposes, and epidermal growths. The pigment disorders include melasma, freckles, hyperpigmentation, and lentigines. Acne scars, comedonal acne, and hyperpigmentation may be diminished with deeper peels (TCA and phenol). There is a reduction in seborrheic keratoses, actinic keratoses, milia, and sebaceous hyperplasia. The patient should first be consulted with and history taken for oral isotretinoin (Accutane), history of smoking, herpetic outbreaks, scar history (hypertrophic and keloid) and previous cosmetic surgical facial procedures.