Chemical peels are great. They lift away the dead, dry cells on the surface of your skin, letting the radiant, youthful skin underneath shine through. When applied by a trained esthetician, they can be one of your greatest allies in looking healthy and beautiful – but if overused, they can be drying and harsh on the skin. So how often should you be getting chemical peels?
What Exactly is a Chemical Peel?
Before going into frequency, let’s discuss what a chemical peel does and the different types available. In general, a chemical peel refers to the process of applying a gel containing a diluted acid, letting the mixture sit and absorb into the skin, then washing it off. Depending on how deep the acids penetrate, skin will start to peel off over the next one to two weeks, letting the young, fresh skin underneath shine through and encouraging more to grow.
Chemical peels come in three strengths: mild, medium, and deep. In a mild peel, the acids don’t penetrate far into the dream, so recovery is quicker and easier but the peel can’t fight deep issues in the skin. Medium peels penetrate farther, so they can alleviate things like long-term sun damage and precancerous skin lesions, but the skin will redden and the peel will require more of a recovery period. Deep peels are a more serious procedure, and the acid penetrates deep into the skin. This means deep peels can fight severe sun damage, severe wrinkles, growths in the skin, and major pigmentary changes – but the recovery is pronounced and may require anesthetics.
How Often Should You Get Peels?
The truth is that every patient is different, so how often you get peels is something you’ll have to decide with your doctor. In general, most patients will get a mild peel every month or so, with more significant peels being used as occasional maintenance or when problems come up. If you have sensitive skin, this treatment schedule probably isn’t for you – you’ll want to use peels more infrequently to give your skin more time to recuperate. If you have tougher skin or are trying to treat a specific problem, we may recommend a more consistent peel schedule.
Contact Your Skincare Experts
If you’d like to find out how frequently you should use chemical peels, we’re always happy to help. Feel free to call us at 877.336.4652, shoot us an email at [email protected], or reach out to us at our contact page. We can’t wait to hear from you!
