BALTIMORE, MD

What is a Chemical Peel?

If you’re concerned about your skin’s lackluster or dull appearance – this is often due to sun exposure, natural aging, and environmental stressors. Over time, these factors can lead to a worn and lackluster complexion, often accompanied by rough skin texture and acne scarring.

A chemical peel is a popular cosmetic procedure that uses a chemical solution on the skin, with a blend typically consisting of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, or trichloroacetic acid, which causes exfoliation and peeling of the outermost layers.

Ranging from light peels to deep peels, the cosmetic treatment is highly customizable and tailored to the skin conditions you’re experiencing. This process stimulates cellular turnover, revealing fresh, new skin underneath and promoting a more even skin tone and texture.

Your provider will determine the type of peel that best suits your treatment goals and delivers healthier skin with improvements in tone and texture. From targeting dark patches to fine lines and acne scars, a properly matched chemical peel delivers dramatic rejuvenation.

Chemical peels are versatile, addressing a wide range of skin concerns, including:

• Fine lines and severe wrinkles
• Sun damage, uneven pigmentation, uneven skin coloring and age spots
• Acne and acne scars
• Uneven skin tone and texture
• Hyperpigmentation and melasma
• Rough or dull skin
• Enlarged pores

By addressing these common skin issues, professional peels can help you achieve a more youthful, refreshed complexion.

What Types of Chemical Peels are Available?

All peels remove dead cells and renew the outer layer of skin, but different depths of treatment are available to better target a wider range of concerns. The deeper the peel, the longer the recovery, however, the results are more dramatic as you move up in strength.

Superficial “Lunchtime” Peels: A mild acidic solution in superficial peels penetrates the outermost layers of skin for gentle exfoliation. This light chemical peel can improve the appearance of mild discoloration while smoothing texture, and refreshing the face, neck, chest, and hands.

There is no downtime, yet the skin looks more radiant and glowy. While effective as an individual treatment to boost your at-home regime, we recommend a series of 4-6 treatments depending upon the desired results.

Medium Peels: Various types of acids can be used to penetrate the outermost and middle layers of the skin to remove damaged skin cells. A medium chemical peel can be used to help improve concerns like age spots, hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, and skin texture. Depending on the treatment, some peels treat precancerous growths, i.e. actinic keratosis.

Medium-depth peels are also a great acne treatment option, smoothing acne lesions and controlling oil production to prevent future breakouts from occuring.

Deep Peels: Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or phenol solution is a deeper peel applied to the skin to penetrate the lower dermal layer of the skin, targeting deeper wrinkles and skin damage. These deep chemical peels can be done in the office, but oftentimes are done in the operating room. You may need a local anesthetic and/or a sedative to manage any discomfort. Sometimes pretreatment is required and there can be significant downtime.

STRICT POST-CARE INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF COMPLICATION OF DEEP PEELS.

Downtime & Recovery

The downtime and recovery period following a chemical peel can vary depending on the depth of the peel and your skin’s response. Superficial types of peels typically require minimal downtime, with mild redness and peeling that resolves within a few days.

Medium-depth chemical peels and deep peels may result in more significant peeling and redness, with recovery times ranging from several days to a couple of weeks. It’s best to avoid direct sun exposure during the healing process and continuous use of sun protection is required to maintain results.

Our team led by Dr. Hahn will provide you with detailed post-treatment instructions to help ensure a smooth, comfortable recovery.