Post-Care for Chemical Peels

Congratulations!  You are on your way to improving your skin’s overall health (texture, pore size, spots and fine lines/wrinkles).   It is common to feel dry, irritated and to have some peeling days after your peel.  This normal and  to be expected. However, if you do not see any visual peeling, your peel is still working on a cellular level.

Treat your skin gently. Instead of using a washcloth on your facial, switch to a gentler option like a baby washcloth or a facial wipe. The rough texture of a wash cloth can be too aggravating for skin that is already irritated.

Always, Always, Always apply SPF 30+ daily.   You’re exposing vulnerable immature cells so you must make sure they don’t get damaged from UV rays. Apply sunscreen daily on the face and neck.

Limit your time outdoors to reduce sun exposure if you must.

Use soothing products like Elta enzyme gel, CliniCalm 1%, and/or Silkcoat Balm to comfort the skin and reduce redness.

Use antioxidants. Since the skin has been exfoliated professionally and you have fresh, new cells being exposed, you want to protect them from  being exposed to free radicals (UV light, ozone, cigarette smoke, pollution ).  To suppress the free radical activity, we always suggest incorporating an antioxidant cream or serum (such as Radiant C Cream,and balancing anti-oxidant serum) into your daily regime.

If you have a tendency to hyperpigmentation, you may want to use a skin lightener. Since chemical peels can stimulate melanin activity, you don’t want to end up with post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation, a condition where you can develop brown spots post-peel (common in skin that already struggles with discoloration/brown spots). Our HQRA + works beautifully for preventing and lightening discoloration.  It also contains Retin A which helps with exfoliation while preventing fine lines and wrinkles.

 NEVER, NEVER, Pick at the skin! The whole purpose of a Chemical Peel is to exfoliate damaged, dead, dry cells that are on the surface of your skin to reveal  younger-looking, healthy new cells. To do this, the skin has to shed.  But picking off dry, flaky skin when it may not be ready to come off can result in scarring and unnecessary redness.

Keep Moisturized.  Moisturize more often (Elta moisturizer, or Aquaphor)  to compensate for post-peeling dryness. When the skin is peeling and flaky, it’s normal to want to apply heavier moisturizer to alleviate dryness and comfort the irritated skin.  One of the main purposes of a chemical peel is to peel. So to hydrate peeling skin when it wants to shed off, will not give you the best benefit and prolongs the down-time of the peel. Just use your regular moisturizer and let the skin do what it wants to do.

It is so important to not remove the dry skin before its time and to let the skin shed naturally.

Facial scrubs and acids will only irritate your skin and result in scarring.

Bottom line: Hands off, protect your skin with SPF, use calming ingredients and let the peel do its job!  Your skin will thank you.  Remember this is the gym for your skin and scheduling your next peel will make your skin healthier , clearer, more vibrant and younger looking!