Peeling to Feel Young
By Jacqueline Cataldo | Published on August 13, 2009 | 0 Comments
To figure out if you a good candidate for chemical peeling and which type of peeling may be right for you, consult with your doctor.
These days everyone is looking for ways to renew their skin and get back to a younger appearance. Thousands to millions of dollars are spent each year on makeovers, surgeries, specialized facials, and even facial creams in order to get a younger look.
People are looking for ways to decrease the years which can be seen in their face. “Years” can be defined as wrinkles, acne scars, or even sun damage. The aged skin comes with time and no one can really avoid looking somewhere near their age or at worse much older than their real age.
Chemical peels have been around since the ancient Greeks and ancient Egyptians and is actually considered to be one of the oldest cosmetic practices in the world. The popularity of this procedure has grown not only because of it’s effectiveness but because of its almost instantaneous results.
What is a Chemical Peel?
A chemical peel, also known as chemexfoliation or derma-peeling, is exactly how it sounds. Chemicals are placed onto the face to help peel off layers of skin. These layers of skin usually are old, have scars, fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage. Underneath the older layers of skin, lay new layers of more youthful looking skin.
The chemicals placed onto the skin cause the skin to blister. The blistered skin then peels off leaving the new skin to be exposed. The chemical peel does not have to be used only for facial treatments. They can also be used to help regenerate new skin on the neck and hands.
Before a chemical peel the dermatologist may ask you to prepare your skin for the procedure. You may be asked to stop using specific medications and may also be asked to prepare the skin with Retin-A, Renova, or glycolic acid.
During the procedure, the dermatologist will first clean the skin using a cleansing agent then areas are covered such as the eyes and the hair. The chemicals used may include:
- glycolic acid
- trichloroacetic acid
- salicylic acid
- lactic acid
- carbolic acid (phenol)
The client may feel hot to warm feelings around the area being “peeled”. This feeling may last around 10 minutes and will turn to a stinging feeling. Areas should be compressed with cool cloths afterwards to relive the stinging.
The three types of peels used are superficial, medium, and deep. The dermatologist will consult with the client to figure out which type of peel she needs based on the amount of damage to the skin. Depending on the type of peel, results will vary.
Normal Results are as follows:
- Superficial Peel: Also known as the lunchtime peel can cause redness along with approximately five days of scaling.
- Medium and Deep Peel: Deep blistering will occur and brown crusty patches may materialize as the new skin will not appear for several weeks.
Bandages may need to be placed over the peeled areas as well as antibiotics may need to be prescribed so that infection does not occur.
The Best Candidates:
The best candidates for chemical peels will include lighter skin clients as they are shown to have better results. This is a case by case basis so darker skin clients can consult with their dermatologist to see if they will be a good candidate.
Individuals who are usually not recommended for chemical peels include:
- People who have skin which scar or discolor easily
- People who have had specific cosmetic procedures done
- People who have taken isotretinoin within the past six months
As always, consultation with the dermatologist as well as the client’s doctor is recommended to ensure that chemical peeling will be beneficial for the client.
What are the Benefits:
The major benefit of peeling is the feeling of being young again. Who doesn’t want to have the natural, youthful glow from 20 years ago? Clients looking to chemical peels to rejuvenate their skin often look for these beneficial results:
- Diminish wrinkles
- Diminish scars
- Decrease sun damage (sun spots)
- Overall healthy glow of new skin
- Smoothing roughness on skin
While there are benefits, there are also results which the chemical peel cannot guarantee. Chemical peels cannot tighten loose or sagging skin, cannot fix deep scars, pore size will not decrease, and veins will not decrease.
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*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.