Chemical Exfoliation
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Common sense might tell us that chemical peels seem like such a great idea for acne, but in the real world, acid alone just doesn’t seem to completely take care of acne. They can also be expensive and leave the skin red and peeling for a few days every time you get one.
Chemical Exfoliation
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this procedure done. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one. Do not try this at home!
Used Chemical Peels? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
May 18, 2008
Cons:
Scaring.
I am 55 years old and I have brown spots and crepe type wrinkling on my cheeks. I did a ton of research on chemical peels and had it done by a plastic surgeon. I had the 35% TCA chemical peel. After the peeling, on day six, it looked great. NOW, ten days later and three thousand dollars, I have what I think will be a scar on a large portion of my left cheek. The brown spots and wrinkles are coming back. On the upside, my face looks brighter because it did diminish the appearance of the light brown spots on my skin. Would I do it again? No. Now I have to deal with the scar on my face. Hopefully it will fade, but I didn't think I was going to spend $3,000.00 to have a scar on my face. Not worth it.
April 9, 2008
Product used: Glycolic Acid Peel
Pros:
Sheds the yucky layers of skin
Cons:
Breakout, breakout, breakout!! Scaling of skin, too.
I've done peels for about 10 years - always under the care of a dr. I recently got an *at-home* one (Gly-Derm) from my dermo, and I broke out insanely. I look like a 14-year-old boy entering puberty. It's crazy - I am 31. My advice is to use caution w/ the peels. Now I have MORE red spots b/c of the breakout. I've got to get rid of them now. PAIN!
March 19, 2008
Product used: Glycolic Acid Peel
Pros:
Cheap and the possible results are apeeling
Cons:
made my skin erupt bad!!!!!! had a couple blemishes,and then the peel caused a reaction and developed clusters of cysts
I did alot of research before i did a 10% lotion peel all natural saw alot of good results from others.It must have brought out alot of junk but it did not agree with me at all,it took 3 months for my skin to recover but it looks much better now.All I can say is dont mess with your skin too much since ive left it alone and wash only once a day i am almost crystal clear,i will deal with one to two blemishes anyday compared to that mess
May 24, 2007
Pros:
evened out my skin tone temporarily
Cons:
caused further scaring from excessive peeling....for pickers the peeling skin is bad news, i constantly wanted to pick
After I had shed all the skin my face was glowing for about a week, but then it went right back to its old ways with even more scarring from excessive peeling
I am going to try again with a lower level peel, change my diet and keep my hands off my face
February 6, 2007
Pros:
evens out skin tone
Cons:
caused scarring all over my face.
i had 2 25% tca peels done through my derm. before, i'd had isolated patches of scars. now, my entire face is covered in countless tiny scars that have completely destroyed the texture of my face. i also found that my derm had been cleansing my face before each procedure with glycolic acid. during my last procedure (not a chem peel), my skin worsened again from the glycolic alone. please be careful- it took my skin from poor to almost deforming.
January 8, 2007
Product used: Glycolic Acid Peel
Pros:
It gives skin a shiny glow for like a week or two.
Cons:
First of all burns your skin off and produces bigger wounds and scars than any acne would, second when you stop using it the skin grows back to the same way it did before, but your skin is now more sun damaged.
Waste of time! if you want to fix the problem this is not the answer, oh and do not let the people who administer these products do extractions claiming that the pimples will heal faster because I have twice as many scars as before.
December 29, 2006
i got one done today for the first time...i have moderate acne that never seems to go away, ever!
the extractions done before the actual peel are painful and i'm still red from it...it looks worse than before i went for the peel...i am hoping they will go away tomorrow
December 21, 2006
I had a 35% tca peel for my acne scars at a Dermatologist's office a month ago. It looks a ton worse than before. I orginally had the erbium laser (with a little C02)done about 8 months ago. After that my scars ended up only looking about 35% better. Then he recommended this peel on my left cheek. It made my scars look about as bad as they were before the laser surgery. DO NOT USE THE TCA PEEL!! My $4,000 has went down the drain. If he doesn't fix this I will make sure to post his name and city on this site so you know what docter to avoid. If you tried anything that actually works PLEASE let us all know.
December 3, 2006
Pros:
Before they put on the last layer they do some extractions. It is a bit painful, and usually leaves marks but after a couple days it peels right off. Helped with the appearance and little bit of the texture helped as well.
Cons:
After you peel your skin tends to be red and your very sensitive to the sun. After the chemical peel you look like you just got beat up cause of the extractions and trauma with the chemicals. I wouldnt recommend it if you have to go to work right awy
helped me in the beginning but i noticed that the extractions may have caused other breakout to appear. I rec. if you have minimal acne. I also rec if you want to treat some discoloration and skin tone. goodluck
Pros:
My skin looked good for about six days