Quick background: 27 female, acne sufferer for 8yrs. Acne has moderately cleared up from stopping birth control, yet I still have awful scarring. I went to an esthetician for a series of chemical peels consisting of 2 lactic acid, and 6 glycolic acid peels. In total I spent over 800 dollars (Including gratuity). For the money I spent I am not satisfied with the results. I have seen an improvement in texture, redness, pore size and overall appearance. However, my scarring (which is what bothers me most) is still quite apparent. It has reduced, but not 800 dollars worth.

I honestly feel that using lemon as an exfoliant and scar reducer on a daily basis would give me the same results.

A few things that helped me:

Cut out dairy and red meat!

Drink more water - seriously it helps!

And for me the source of my acne was hormones so birth control seemed to make it worse.

I have been reading the reviews for chemical peels, and I see how much people are willing to pay, and people with light scarring usually aren't aware that you can do a light weekly peel for around $10 a bottle for at home use. I use a 20% SA peel that I got on amazon, and it is reccomended that you use it once a week MAXIMUM. For heavier SA peels (like 30%) you need to wait ten days in between, so on and so on. I canot speak for glycolic acid, or other acids for that matter, but SA has helped my scarring while also helping obliterate my acne (I( have a fair amount of scarring because I was a chronic picker). Do some research online, and you will find that many people are saving money by doing light peels at home. I DO NOT reccomend doing anything higher that 30% at home, and remember: SUNSCREEN, SUNCREEN, AND MOISTURE! If you dont keep your skin moisturized, it will take longer to recover and your skin may crack.

I am only 21 and have *hated* the scarring on my back, a result of acne.

Every treatment which I looked in to was expensive and didn't guarantee results for such a large surface area. After undergoing 4 TCA skin peels (and currently doing some further jessner peels) I would recommend it to everyone, no questions asked!! I have absolutely no scarring whatsoever, you would never even know I suffered in the first place! Not no mention i'm not embarrassed anymore.

The treatment wasn't a lovely experience, but overall it was worth it and i would do it all over again!

I went to three sessions. My skin peeled, but looked exactly the same. It was about $150.00 each session. A huge waste of money! :(

I have struggled with acne for as long as I can remember. It was mostly on my jawline area and a few on my forehead and chin. I even had some cystic acne and it was very red and noticeable. I did some research and found out jawline acne is caused by unbalanced hormones, especially common in woman in their twenties and thirties who are still suffering from acne. Some of the recommendation were to cut out foods containing hormones, especially dairy. Dairy and meat are REALLY bad for acne prone skin because of all the hormones in the animal meat and in the milk. So I went pescatarian and dont eat nearly as much dairy as before. (Cocunut Ice Cream is SOOO good) Anyways I have also had 2 chemical peels so far. They dried up my acne and reduced redness so much already and my esthetician recommend six for maximum benifits. I cant wait for the full results. I have tried everything and finally Iam beginning to see results and people are also commenting on my skin and how clear it is. So bottom line try to reduce or elimanate meat and dairy, drink lots of water and try the chemical peels It worked for me and is worth a try for anyone suffering with acne.

Since I HATE my acne i got an esthatician, and she reccommended i should get a chemical peel for my acne and scars. i was super excited, and it wasn't cheap for my mom, so i thought it HAD to work. I've never been more dissapointed or ripped off. this was a total scam. it didnt do ANYTHING for me, except give me unbareably dry skin (which was completley embarresting to goto school like that..)

i literally cried the day after the peel. i guess i just had my hopes up too high...

i'm just a teenager!

I am a 43 yo black woman with lots of dark post breakout scars from cystic acne that I had since age 12. It decreased to moderate-severe only after 2 rounds of Accutane. For years I thought I was doomed to chronic acne. My self-esteem was the pits. I have tried many chemical peels, IPL, facials and OTC products, even luxury lines. I have been getting the V.I. Peel (not Vitalize) for almost a year. I have tried lots of chemical peels and OTC products. This is phenomenal! The sting/itch is bearable while being applied and fades very quickly. My esthetician pays special attention to my bad dark spots. After my 3rd peel a woman I know very slightly made a point to ask me what kind of skin care I was using. The results were that impressive.

I would urge you to follow the instructions to the letter. Dr. Maguire has me to use prednisone cream with the moisturizing lotion for the first week to reduce inflammation and risk of addtional dark marks. I use the post peel pads and moisturizing lotion and let ABSOLUTELY no sun touch my face. without having on sunscreen. I also wear a hat.

One note, don't sweat (work out/sauna etc) or else the peeling skin will bubble up early and really look weird, but it does not affect the peel. It does go away after a few hours.

I go to Physician's Center for Beauty and my esthetician is Paula and she is terrific. The rest of the staff is very nice and professional. Dr. Maguire really takes his time to explain what you need to have done for your acne or other skin concerns and makes you feel very comfortable. Not at all like some doctors I have been to who made me feel like a whiner for being freaked out about my horrible cystic acne. They have never tried to sell me extra products that I do not need.

I will never be without this medical staff. Even if the V.I. Peel does not work forever (nothing works forever!), I trust this staff to take good care of me and my skin problems

A little

This works people need to really read up on it. Find a person who knows what they are doing, a person who cares about your skin. It maybe be spendy but you are taking care of your face, which is well worth it. 3 peels make a huge difference for acne or sun damage and even wrinkles.

i jst got my 1st glycolic acid 50% peel done today.

I have a really good dermatologist and she recommended 4 sessions for me, she also said that for anyone, even with clear skin) there r no appreciated/noticable results after juz one peel.

I trust her compltely as with the treatment she gave me really helped me control my acne.

I was on oral and topical antibiotics, then on tretinoin cream(which is really gud for comedones) i love it and il use it fr a long time now.

Now i have very few breakouts but still have minor milia.

Chemical peels really help control the acne, i knw that for a fact, but they r not long term effective.

But u can have them once in every mnth or 2, watever suits u.after ur 4 sessions are complete)

Glycolic acid peels are very safe. Herez what my session was like-

She cleansed my face, then applied the chemical on my face with a brush.

generally it is left for 5-6 mins or more. But my skin is very sensitive and very fair so it was getting very red so she removed it after 4 mins with cold water suppression with a cloth.

There is a little itching sensation while the peel is on ur face. And it has to go away compltly once its washed. If the sensation is still there ....keep giving cold water suppresion or applying sme soothing creams.

Afrer 10 mins my redness was gone and so was the itch.

Then i went back home. So u c there is no downtime at all.

There shud b a min gap of 2 weeks btw evey session. If u ask abt ne differences in the skinThere is not any for now, but i can feel it while washing my face, the skin IS VERY SOFT.

Also, the peel is actually at the micro level so its not visible to the naked eye, but if smeone has a dr skin there mite be sme flaking. since i have an oily skin, there is no flaking.

Also, its highly imp to use a gud sunscreen after and before ur peel always. even in normal daylight and nt the sunlight coz the new cells forming on the skin of the face reacts to the UV

i had VI peel yesterday, my skin looks good, a little bit dry and red, but not bad! (vi peel was mild). I used Obagi for 4 month and tretinoin made my skin break out a lot, but 5 days before peel I stopped using it and after vi peel my skin is much better. I'm not peeling yet. I'll post my next review next week