Chemical Peels

Chemical peels have become a common treatment for dealing with blemished, acne, and age spots.

Who Does Chemical Peels?

Cosmetic dermatologists perform chemical peels in their offices, however, there are some lighter “in home” chemical peel treatments, but the effects can be less than consistent.

How do Chemical Peels Work?

The idea here is to literally ‘peel away’ your skin’s outer layers. Many peels also work by creating trauma beneath the top layers of skin and hoping to spur the body into creating new collagen and new skin cell growth. Of course, by creating ‘trauma’ in the skin, a certain amount of time for ‘healing’ is necessary. The amount of time for the skin to heal after a chemical peel depends on the harshness of the treatment.

The peel can leave you with a certain degree of skin rejuvenation, however, the ongoing facials and lighter peels will be necessary to maintain the effects throughout the year. Peels can be expensive, but in specific cases where similar results cannot be achieved with over the counter cosmetic products, they can be a cost-effective solution

For those considering a chemical peel treatment to improve their skin’s appearance, learning about the costs and dangers associated with the procedure and treatment are essential. Also, peels can be quite expensive. Many cosmetic surgeons offer financing and payment plans in an attempt to make them more a more palatable alternative for their patients on a budget who want to get more healthy or youthful looking skin.

Chemical Peels for Age Spot Removal

As far as age spot treatment options go, chemical peels can help reduce and remove age spots. By traumatizing your skin, some doctors will purport that they can help boost collagen production.

To manage sun spots on aging skin, often it will take frequent treatments, which can significantly boost the cost of using chemical peel procedures as a long term treatment alternative.

What Kinds of Chemical Peels are There?
There are three principal classifications of chemical peels. In order of ’strength’ they run from:

AHAs
TCA, and
Phenol

AHAs are the most ‘mild’ and in order for them to work on evening out skin tone and remove ‘rough patches’ it will often take several treatments.

Phenol is the most harsh and damaging, and is not recommended for anyone with more naturally occurring melanin in their skin or those with darker skin tones.

Who Should get a Chemical Peel?

People who have uneven pigmentation of their skin due to either prolonged over exposure to the sun on the face, hands, neck, chest, or arms, or anyone who has melasma or hyper-pigmentation due to hormonal changes in their body.

How Long will a Chemical Peel Take?

A chemical peel administered properly by a licensed cosmetologist should take between 30 minutes to 3 hours.

The length of time involved for treatment will depend on the type and intensity of the peel.

How Much Do Chemical Peels Cost?

While I’ve found one site, run by a network of cosmetologists, that reports the average cost of a peel at $607 dollars. Of course, this will depend on where you live, and does not include the cost of anesthesia or pain medications while you are recovering from what can be a painful procedure.

Perhaps a better estimate is provided by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, who claimed the 2008 national average of a chemical peel treatment is $870. This price varies considerably by geography and the office. Some spas will charge up to $1,000 for the treatment, while a few dermatologist offices and day spas could provide treatments for around 500 usd.

Since selecting a qualified professional to do the peel is a critical part of the process, the price will sometimes hinge on the level of experience, credentials and reputation of the person who will administer the peel.

However, according to the plastic surgery network, the price range will depend on the intensity of the peel. Their sample costs run:

Mild chemical peels: $150 – $300

Medium chemical peels: $1,000 – $2,000

Deep chemical peels: $2,500 – $6,500

For some peels to be effective, multiple peels, maintenance peels or further treatments are often necessary.

If you don’t have enough money to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on a facial peel, in home chemical peel treatments are available.

These kits are sold over-the-counter and are more mild treatment and come with safety instructions and specific guidelines.

Of course, they come with no guarantee of in-office dermatologist-like results, and you run the risk of creating blisters and peeling skin that will require a trip to the doctor’s office.

For those with no experience with chemical peels and how your skin will react to the caustic chemicals, an at-home chemical peel treatment could leave you a lot worse off than you started.

If you’d like to hear about our new safe, gentle, effective solution to age spot removal in a soothing over the counter topical treatment that won’t leave your skin blistered, burned, damaged or otherwise traumatized, click here.