Does Chemical Peels Have Any Side Effects?

Chemical peels do not cause premature skin aging. On the contrary, they reduce or improve early signs of aging, sun damage, wrinkles, age spots, and discolorations. Peels exfoliate the top superficial damaged layers of skin and replace it with healthy new skin.

Usually, multiple consistent treatments are necessary for optimal results. It's always best to see a dermatologist so they can accurately assess your skin type and put you on a proper regimen with the right kind of peel and percentage.

Although chemical peels won't make you prematurely age, you still don't want to overdo it because of the possibility of skin irritation, over sensitivity to the sun, and the likelihood of photodamage from harmful UV rays.

Therefore it's imperative to see a dermatologist and have them put you on the right regimen that works best with your skin. Doing regular peels can make your skin look glowing and poreless. However, it's crucial to know what specific protocol will work best with your skin type to achieve these optimal results.

Superficial and medium depth peels are effective treatments when used as part of in-office procedures for the correction of acne, pigmentation disorders, and photo-aging. However, the results and the complications that can occur are generally related to the depth of the peel, with deeper peels providing more noticeable results but also having a higher risk of incidence of complications. Although rare, complications still may occur. These complications are also more likely to occur with darker skin types.

Complications from superficial peels are limited to transient hyperpigmentation (darkening of spots) or hypopigmentation (loss of pigmentation), especially in dark-skinned patients. Also, the temporary darkening of the lentigines or (brown spots) on the skin may occur before they get exfoliated off during the peeling and skin cell renewal process. Moreover, lesions like sunspots may initially disappear and then return after a chemical peel if the melanocytes (dark pigment) that are responsible for the pigmentation reside below the level of the chemical peel which would require more series of peels to get the deeper pigmentation to reach the surface of the skin to slough off. Therefore, chemical peels represent a flexible and useful solution for improving skin texture as well as the effects of aging. However, the level of expertise of a dermatologist is crucial for the rate of side-effects and the final peeling results. Superficial peels are simple to perform, and their complications are rare if your provider places you on the appropriate pre-peel and post-peel care.

I hope this helps!

If you want to know more read this book: A Practical Guide to Chemical Peels, Microdermabrasion & Topical Products