Everyone should be doing a few basics to take care of their skin (and men, this means you too!):

AM: wash, moisturize using a lotion with SPF for sun protection

PM: wash, mechanically exfoliate and moisturize with a richer/heavier lotion.

AND… every 6 months to a year…. Get a chemical peel! (for some people even more frequently)

A TCA (trichloracetic acid) Chemical Peel is a powerful and effective tool for resurfacing your damaged skin to yield the skin you are looking for and deserve. This medium depth peel will improve many of the skin conditions that we all see (and wish we didn’t!) when we look in the mirror. After peeling, your skin will be softer, smoother, with improved texture and tone and greatly reduced hyper-pigmentation (sun damage). Those are the differences on the surface of your skin. But the real magic is going on under your skin where collagen is being stimulated. This is what plumps up the lines and scars, yielding a smoother, more refined and beautiful complexion. This light to medium peel helps with the following skin conditions:  IMPROVES: Fine Lines, Acne, Sun damage, Blackheads, Improves skin Tone, Improves skin Texture, Rosacea, Milia, Age Spots, Shallow Acne Scaring, Enhanced penetration of topical skin care products (moisturizers, serums etc.)

How it works: Chemical peels are versatile tools that are used to resurface the upper layers of your skin by loosening the bonds between the dead skin cells that dull your skin, while stimulating the collagen beneath the skin to form and align, which in turn plumps up the fine lines and scars from below the surface. They have been around since Cleopatra bathed in sour milk (containing lactic acid!) to make her skin smooth. Fortunately, science has made a lot of progress since then and the chemical peels available now are sophisticated and effective. Peels vary in strength and provide different benefits.  Light peels (15% TCA) provide substantial results by removing sun damage and over time will help smooth very superficial lines. These peels have light peeling and flaking, not usually enough to avoid social situations. Medium peels (TCA 20% – 30%) are where the results really start to show. These peels can have heavy peeling, crusting and take 7–10 days to completely finish the peeling process. These are our most popular peels because they make the most difference, helping to smooth lines, plump up skin, strip off sun damage and reveal smooth, even skin. Skin must be taken care of very gently and carefully, but these peels are fantastic for damaged skin. This is one of the most commonly performed chemical peel in medical offices because it is one of the most effective and has the most impressive results. This is a very safe peel and is suitable for most skin types; however, some darker skin tones, particularly African American run a small risk of post peel hypo-pigmentation (areas of lighter discoloration).

After the peel your skin may be red, this is normal, and you may wear makeup to tone it down if you would like. Applying a moisturizer (e.g. Eucerin) will help with the tight sensation and keep the new skin lubricated.  About 2 days after the peel your skin will start to dry out and look leathery, brownish and aged, but don’t panic, this is what we want! Your skin is preparing to shed off, and that will occur over the next 3-5 days. You can encourage peeling by using warm compresses and taking hot showers, but you cannot pick at the skin! It must come off when it is ready to, not when you are ready for it to! By peeling off the skin you risk scaring by exposing skin that is not ready for the world yet, so allow the skin to shed on its own. As with all exfoliating products, the use of sunscreen is essential to obtaining the results you are looking for. If you are not able to commit to using a sunscreen, this is not the treatment you should choose as you will just damage your skin all over again!

People who are not candidates for Chemical peels:  Pregnant or Breast Feeding, Have Herpes, Using Accutane, Are immune impaired, have had problems with atypical scaring in the past (keloids, etc)

Call for an appointment today!     760-610-8990