Have you recently had a big birthday and you’re feeling down about the quality of your skin? It’s not often, but from time to time, when the light is just right, you can see that the skin on your neck is taking on that crepe paper quality we’re all so scared of. And somehow you still have occasional acne!?
If you’ve tried moisturizing, great. And maybe that’s helped some, but how much better is your skin than if you hadn’t moisturized? There’s no way to tell.
A friend has been talking about chemical peels, so you’ve begun to wonder what the best chemical peel would be for your situation.
Let’s find out.
Best Chemical Peel
You hit the internet looking for information about the best chemical peel for your needs, and info about chemical peels in general.
The first thing that comes up is that there are three kinds of peels:
Light (sometimes called a lunchtime peel)
Medium
Deep
Light
The light peel is primarily an aggressive form of exfoliation, which is accomplished by using some mixture of salicylic, glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acid. The light peel is for little surface issues like acne (hello!) and enlarged pores and doesn’t knock you out or require time off work.
It’s also not super expensive.
So, immediately, it looks like that would be a good bet, but what about the sad skin on your neck?
Medium
According to the American Society for Dermatological Surgery, a medium peel is quite a bit more serious than a light peel. Glycolic or trichloroacetic acid is used for this kind of peel.
Because the medium peel goes into the middle layers of skin, it can clear up issues like freckles, sun spots, wrinkles, and even rough skin.
This sort of peel can make the skin red and even puffy for as many as 10 days following the treatment.
Deep
The deep chemical peel really does appear to go deep. It employs trichloroacetic acid or phenol and can remove moderate lines and even small scars.
The two most important things about this procedure are that 1) it can be performed only once, and 2) it should be performed by a doctor, not an aesthetician.
Deep peels are also quite expensive. In fact, if you are put under general anesthesia the cost can run into the thousands. However, they are less expensive than laser treatments.
Who Should Get a Peel?
It seems the best candidates for chemical peels are fairly light-skinned people. Peels simply don’t work as well on dark pigment.
They’re also not good for people with any sort of skin disease, sunburn, herpes, eczema, or those who are pregnant and nursing.
It also sounds like they hurt quite a bit–so add people with sensitive skin to the list!
Best Choice?
Do you even know off-hand what your skin type is? Never mind knowing what the best course of action would be to finally be rid of acne.
The best chemical peel just might be the lightest one right now. At least that’s a good place to start. But, before you decide for sure, come see us at Handal Plastic Surgery. You never know what you’ll learn!
