Most of us look in the mirror every morning and see some features we wish we could eliminate from our faces. While skincare is important, it can only go so far in terms of making our skin look perfectly airbrushed. If you are in search of a chemical peel to reveal radiant skin, the professionals at Luxe Aesthetics in Greensboro, North Carolina are more than happy to help.
What Is a Chemical Peel?
While you can purchase chemical exfoliants over-the-counter in many different skincare products, chemical peels take that exfoliation to a new level. When you get a peel done professionally, an esthetician or doctor may give you painkillers or numb the area on your face, neck, or hands where you are receiving the treatment.
They will then apply the chemical solution, which consists of powerful acids, to your skin and let it sit on your face for a specified period of time. After it removes the outer layers of your skin, they will remove the solution, revealing healthy new skin from underneath.
What Are the Different Types of Peels?
Depending on what type of peel your doctor determines you need, your doctor may use different acids on your face. There are light peels that should not require painkillers. These can be done more often and use glycolic or salicylic acid to remove the outer layers of your skin.
More intense medium peels may require a painkiller and are done with trichloroacetic acid, sometimes along with glycolic acid. With a deep chemical peel, you may need an IV for fluids, and the doctor will apply carbolic acid or phenol to your skin.
Different levels of intensity for peels will have different results. If your concerns are more superficial, light peels are probably more than enough to brighten and even out your skin. To be sure, the professionals at Luxe Aesthetics will help determine your specific needs.
Your doctor will also provide you with aftercare instructions to protect your newly sensitive skin and will let you know if painkillers are needed. The benefit of chemical peels is that they are a non-surgical way to achieve a beautiful new appearance.
Is a Chemical Peel Right for You?
Peels are ideal for almost everyone who is looking to resurface their skin and reveal brighter, healthier skin underneath. That said, if you have been on certain medications like Accutane over the past six months, you may want to wait before receiving a peel. Those with certain severe allergic reactions may also want to reevaluate this choice.
Not all peels are the same, so depending on your specific skin concerns, you may need a different type of peel than others. Some types of scarring, like keloids, are not affected the same way as others.
Ultimately, the professionals at Luxe Aesthetics will assess your skin condition along with your medical history and the medications you’re taking to determine what type of peel may be right for you.
Will You Need Multiple Peels?
Depending on your skin and your individual goals, you may need multiple peels to see the desired results. Light peels can be done the most frequently: every two to five weeks. These types of peels are ideal for hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and acne.
For many people, repeated peels help to eliminate the layers of skin over time and reveal the bright, even skin tone they desire. A consultation with our doctors will let you know how often you should come back to maintain your desired results.
With medium peels, which reveal some cells even from the dermis (not just the outer layer, or epidermis), you can treat deeper wrinkles along with acne and hyperpigmentation. These peels can be done every three to nine months. Deep peels, which can even reach the lower layers of your dermis, are not performed as often and only need to be done once.
For all of these peels, it is important to remember that with repeated sun exposure, scarring, or aging, you may need new treatments to see results. The results are permanent for the time being, but they do not prevent future skin damage.
What Can a Peel Do for Your Skin?
Through exfoliation, peels have a whole host of benefits for your skin. If you are trying to achieve an even skin tone and texture, chemical peels can do more for your skin than any expensive, luxury skincare products.
By removing layers of your epidermis or dermis, you force new skin cells to grow in their place. These will be healthy and new and have no scarring. These skin cells are also younger, so they are free from fine lines and wrinkles, and can give you an overall smoother appearance.
If you’re curious about the benefits of peels, read on to see exactly what they can do for you.
Help Brighten Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation can happen in multiple different ways. Whether it’s from the sun, old scars, birthmarks, medications, or even natural things like freckles, peels can help to brighten and reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation.
Glycolic and salicylic acid are both alpha-hydroxy acids (or AHAs)
and are amazing for their ability to remove the outer layer of the epidermis, which is often where the skin is pigmented. To achieve a uniform complexion, you may need multiple light peels, but with time and patience, your skin can be brighter than ever.
Fade Age Spots
Age spots are an inevitable part of growing older and will likely happen to all of us at some point. While sunscreen can help to prevent premature age spots, it cannot prevent them entirely. If you are starting to see those unsightly spots pop up on your face and are sick of trying to cover them with makeup every day, you may want to consider a peel to get rid of them.
Even light chemical peels can help to eliminate these spots from your skin and give you a more even tone. However, peels will not prevent future age spots, so you may want to consider getting peels again in the future if you see them.
Eliminate Acne Scarring
Acne scarring can happen to all of us, even when we try our best to resist picking at those pesky pimples. Scarring happens differently on everyone, so some people may experience purple-red spots as a result of their acne scars, while others may have indented, or pitted, scars. Some people will even experience raised scars that are called keloids.
Light and medium peels can help to get rid of hyperpigmentation from acne scarring. If you want those dark spots to go away, peels are perfect for you, as long as you are not on Accutane for your acne. Chemical peels can also remove dead cells around pitted scars so that, with time, your skin texture is more smooth and even.
Typically, peels are not as effective on keloid scarring. If you are unsure if these peels are right for your type of scarring, consult with our professionals at Luxe Aesthetics to feel confident in your treatment.
Reduce the Appearance of Sun-Damaged Skin
Sun-damaged skin can start to form even from a young age. If you have suffered from sunburn many times, you may notice sun damage even as a child.
Sun-damaged skin shows itself in many different ways and can appear as brown spots, red spots, or even white spots on your skin. You may notice freckles, sun spots, liver spots, or just leathery skin that appears aged prematurely.
Peels can help to eliminate these spots and reveal healthier skin from underneath that has not been damaged as much by UV radiation. It is crucial to continue wearing sunscreen to prevent future sun damage from occurring.
Help to Get Rid of Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Fine lines and wrinkles are bound to show up on our skin as we age. Even from moving our face a lot in different expressions, we may see fine lines in our twenties. Light and medium peels are amazing at rejuvenating your look and revealing healthy new skin cells that look as smooth as a baby’s skin.
Though it may take repeated peels to get rid of more stubborn lines, peels will help your skin without worrying about other treatments like Botox. For very deep wrinkles, you may need a deep peel to get the refined look you desire.
Tighten Up Sagging Skin
Sagging skin will happen to everyone, since it is a natural part of aging. As our skin loses elasticity and collagen, it is harder for our skin to look young and supple, so it starts to droop and sag instead. When you rarely exfoliate, these dead skin cells will build up on your face and make you look even more dull and tired.
Chemical peels are a great way to banish these old dead skin cells and reveal tighter and more youthful skin from underneath. While regular exfoliation can also help with keeping your skin looking young, a peel goes even deeper and renews your skin more than you can do on your own at home.
Keep New Acne at Bay
While peels can help a lot with the appearance of acne scarring, they can also help to keep stubborn acne away. Acne is formed from clogged pores, and alpha-hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid are often found in spot treatments for acne for a reason.
They are good at eliminating the bacteria that causes acne, and when you are removing a layer of dead skin cells as well, there is even less on the surface of your skin that can clog your pores. Regular light peels can help you to keep acne away from your face so that your skin is smooth and even in texture, giving you confidence.
Conclusion
While your individual skin concerns will determine what kind of peels are right for you, almost everyone can benefit from a peel now and then. If you are sick of looking at acne, wrinkles, sun spots, scarring, and hyperpigmentation in the mirror, you may want to try a peel to reveal young, bright, and smooth skin on your face.
It may take multiple peels for your skin concerns to go away completely, but with patience, you will be shocked by how much your skin can transform.
If you are reading about these peels and it sounds like a treatment that will work wonders for your face, contact Luxe Aesthetics in Greensboro, North Carolina for a consultation. Our professionals would love to look at your skin and talk to you about your options. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin, so contact us now for a consultation!