Your face is an essential component of your unique identity, allowing you to express yourself, smile, and communicate effectively with others. Although time can take a heavy toll on your skin, professional dermatologists can help to tip the scales in your favor by offering treatments like chemical peels. Here are two reasons you should consider a chemical peel, and why you won't regret your decision.
If you struggled with acne as a teenager, your chances of dealing with adult acne are higher. Additionally, fluctuating hormone levels, certain medications, and even stress can contribute to later-in-life breakouts, making you feel self-conscious about the way your skin appears. However, mild chemical peels can be completed in a few minutes in your dermatologist's office, helping you to eradicate breakouts and improve the consistency of your skin.
Superficial chemical peels use ingredients like alpha hydroxy, salicylic, or glycolic acid to slough off exterior skin cells, unclogging pores and clearing up your skin. While many at-home acne products contain these additives, dermatologists have access to higher concentrations of these topical treatments, providing a faster, more effective treatment.
After the skin is cleansed, these chemicals are carefully applied to the face, where a microscopic reaction starts to take place. Surface-level skin cells will start to slough off immediately. Meanwhile, the medication continues to penetrate the skin to spark a healing reaction that promotes fresh skin growth.
Although the entire procedure can be completed in as little as a lunch break, these superficial chemical peels are incredibly effective at eliminating acne. In fact, research has shown that salicylic chemical peels can reduce acne levels by up to
75 percent, while 95 percent of patients who receive glycolic acid peels report dramatic improvements after 3 treatments.
The fight against wrinkles is real, and it only becomes more difficult the older you get. Each time you make a facial expression, microscopic grooves form under the skin. While these grooves snap back quickly in young people with thick, elastic skin, older people who have thinner, less elastic skin can start to accumulate visible creases.
Additionally, because mature skin has a thinner layer of fat, the skin can start to appear droopy, while simultaneously exposing more of the underlying skeletal structure, creating a hollow appearance.
However, chemical peels are incredibly effective against wrinkles because chemical peels prompt the skin to slough its outer layers. Medium level chemical peels are commonly used to treat wrinkles. This treatment targets the lower levels of the skin, reducing the appearance of deep-set grooves.
After glycolic or trichloroacetic acid is applied to the skin, the regeneration process begins. The skin may become red or swollen for up to two weeks and then scab over. During the process, the skin must be kept exceptionally clean and moist to prevent scarring and allow new, smoother skin to form.
Because chemical peels also promote the production of collagen, the skin will stay looking plump and youthful until it has been damaged again. Additionally, because medium-level chemical peels spark the regeneration of so many layers of skin, the treatment can also help to treat sun damage, age spots, and even scarring.
In fact, one study showed that medium-level trichloroacetic acid chemical peels provided more than a
70 percentimprovement in the appearance of scars in as much as 73.3 percent of patients, giving people the chance to regain their self-confidence.
Creating healthier, more beautiful skin starts at the dermatologist's office, so give us a call here at
San Antonio Skin & Cancer Clinic. Whether you are ready for a chemical peel or you are interested in having a professional facial or laser resurfacing treatment, we can help.
210-614-3575
