Learn why Chemical Peels are the powerhouse for skin rejuvenation

Often we think about lasers first because they’re very heavily marketed but chemical peels have been with us for many many years and truly rejuvenate the skin. They’re often less expensive so they’re a really great option.

Why do Chemical Peels work?

They harness our skin’s ability to heal itself. They digest some of the outer layers of the skin away which ends up flaking off afterward, and then we regenerate new skin.

When we generate new skin we’re making new collagen, new elastin, new hyaluronic acid and we end up with plumper, brighter, smoother skin. Also, some of the pigmentation that melanin has deposited in our skin gets lifted out which helps improve hyperpigmentation as well as skin tone.

What are the acids use in Chemical Peels?

Some of the acids that are used are glycolic acids, alpha-hydroxy acids, vitamin C, salicylic acids. You are probably familiar with these as they are in your skin care products, but within a Chemical Peel, the concentration is higher so they get a little bit deeper into the skin. This actually causes some peeling and you, in turn, get that beautiful renewal of new tissue. This helps us get a thicker dermis and a more compact epidermis which is basically more similar to the 20-year old skin that we wish we had.

How to best prepare for a Chemical Peel?

First of all, it’s important to realize that after most Chemical Peels you will experience some flaking. Except with mild glycolic peels which you don’t tend to flake.

After any peel, you need to think about sun exposure because you don’t want to expose your peeling, fresh skin, which is in the healing phase to the sun. The sun can damage the healing skin. You also need to take into consideration your schedule socially and plan a time where you have a few days to do some flaking and not feel uncomfortable in public.

In terms of preparing your skin for a peel it is very important, in order to achieve the very best results, to have your skin prepared for peeling and what that means is you have been on a medical-grade skin care program. This ensures that you’ve already started your production of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid and you are already regenerating new skin.

Being on a medical grade skin care regimen helps you make new skin at a faster rate. When you introduce a chemical peel to your skin in that state you’re going to heal faster, your pigmentation is going to be more controlled and lifted from the peel as opposed to causing irritation, and you’re going to have a much better result. It’s important to be on the medical grade skin care products for at least one month prior to engaging in a peel,

How do we choose the best Chemical Peel?

It’s difficult for us to understand what peel is going to be best for our skin, you’re going to have the best result in the hands of a very experienced medical aesthetician and she or he should choose the type of peel for you according to your skin concerns.

You should choose a medical aesthetician that is very experienced and is working with a cosmetic dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon. Your aesthetician will have talked to you about your skin prep, the products that you’ve been on, and your skin concerns.

If it’s your first peel the best type of peel is to go very light.

Chemical Peel Depth

Peels can be of different depths. When an aesthetician is first starting peels with you it’s important that she or he first understands how your skin responds to the treatment, and the safest way is to start off light and then as you continue down the road you can gradually increase the strength of the peel.

Chemical peels, in general, are categorized by the depth of penetration. We have chemical peels that are very light which just exfoliates some of the epidermis. A medium Chemical Peel depth peel is going to also reach the superficial layer of the dermis. And a deeper peel goes into the deeper dermis.

In Dr. Bomer’s opinion, the medium range is where peels should stay. The deeper peels that go into the deeper dermis have a bit more risk associated with them. That’s when you can have issues with damaging your melanocytes; which are responsible for making the pigmentation in your skin and can cause hyperpigmentation (dark spots), and hypopigmentation (whitish areas).

In Dr. Bomer’s opinion, you get great benefit from the repetition of light chemical peels and then interjecting some medium depth peels throughout the year.

What’s a good rhythm with chemical peels?

For the light chemical peels, a great rhythm while you’re on medical grade skincare is to do a light chemical peel once a month. The medium depth feels; which are a little bit more cumbersome to heal from, (the peeling is a little bit more intense), it’s really good to do those at least every four months.

How much time do you need to set aside for healing from a peel?

The glycolic peels you can pretty much get away with not needing to change your social schedule because you’re going to look pretty good. You will look better once the effects of a peel have fully come on which is about seven days. With some of it the lighter peels that cause flaking, you need to set aside about two to three days for that flaking period, and then you’re going to be good for social events. A medium depth peel you’re going to need to reserve more of a week’s time before you’re comfortable in a public event.

A Wonderful Way to Rejuvenate Your Skin

Chemical peels are a wonderful way to rejuvenate your skin. A good way to think about it is that you want to have it done repetitively and not ever really get too aggressive. Skin is a delicate creature and we don’t want to hurt it too much, we want a controlled injury that’s not too aggressive, and you can achieve this in the hands of a very experienced medical esthetician like Rejuvent’s Emily Glenn. We also need to remember that laser treatments can also be very effective but if they are too aggressive they can leave us with scarring, unnatural looking skin that looks kind of waxy white and irregular textures. We need to respect our skin, go gently, go repetitively, don’t increase your risk. Just be consistent and you’re going to have that beautiful skin you’re searching for. Remember: Your choice of aesthetician is very important!

Before & After Chemical Peel Photos

What does it feel like when you’re having the peel? Does it hurt? Is it difficult to get through?

That’s also one of the reasons you want to start light, so you start to understand what the sensation is on your skin and then as you are doing them more frequently you get used to the sensation. Some of the things that what you feel when you having a chemical peel is itchiness, burning, stinging, and also warmth, and depending on the depth of the peel the deeper the peel the more you have of that going on.

Dr. Bomer says: “I’ve been doing chemical peels for many many years, for me, it is a workhorse rejuvenating my skin and I can say from personal experience that the pain is temporary. It’s not that bad and it’s very easy to do over and over.”

Chemical peels can be done on the body too. All of the skin treatments that we offer at Rejuvent can be done in the body. Body peels, body Rejuvapen, body FotoFacials and very importantly you should be on a skincare program with medical grade skin care for the body. Your whole skin can be rejuvenated and fight that intrinsic aging which is the genetically programmed aging, and also the aging that we’re experiencing from the sun and pollution.

To learn more about your skin you can read about what happens to your skin as you age and watch Dr. Bomer’s video.

To schedule your chemical peel treatment at Rejuvent, please call 480-889-8880. Rejuvent is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.