Chemical Peel - How Is It Done?

Hi!

I am Dr. Rashmi Sharma. I am dermatologist practicing in Vasant Kunj. So today I am going to talk about a very common aesthetic procedure which is chemical peel. If you look into history, Egyptians were the first people to use chemical agents as peels. In fact, interesting Cleopatra used to bathe with sour milk which contains alpha hydroxy acid, which we now use in the peels as well. So, what are chemical peels? Chemical peels are nothing but chemical agents which are applied all over the skin which leads to controlled exfoliation of the skin. So, the chemical peel can be of the various types depending upon the depth of the penetration. So, it can be 4 types it can be: very superficial, superficial, medium and deep peel. So, very superficial peel penetrate up to the level of stratum corneum which is the uppermost layer of the skin. Superficial peel that penetrates all of the epidermal skin, it goes up to the basal layer of the skin. Medium depth peel goes up to papillary dermis and deeper peels they go up to the level of the reticular dermis. So also, you'd like to know what are the various indications to do the peels.

So various indications for which we to the peels would be like acne, active acne or acne marks which is present over the skin or it could be done for melasma where you get like pigmentation on the cheeks, on the forehead or it's it can be done for various pigmentation spot pigmentation kind of thing. Interestingly it is also done to get a glow on the skin or for the fresh rejuvenated skin. For the fine lines or wrinkles which you develop for that also we can do the peels. So, peels can be of various types, it can be either a glycolic peel or a salicylic peel or a pyruvic acid peel, mandelic acid peel a combination peel which contains like a lot of lightening agents like kojic acid, pyruvic acid, mandelic acid all these are combined together and they lead to a reduction of the pigmentation. It can also be done for pigmentary demarcation lines also. So, what are the various precaution which you do before doing the peel?

So, before the peel, your dermatologist will ask you to apply various like priming agents which is done to enhance the effect of the peel. Sunscreen is also a very integral part of the pre and post peel care. After doing the peel once the peel is done, it's applied all over the face and it's you do various things to enhance the effect and to decrease the pigmentation. So, what you do is like you start the doctor will instruct you to apply sunscreen. So, apply a good sunscreen as per your skin type is very important and the repetition is also very important. So, you know you have to ideally apply your sunscreen at least 3 times daily. So maybe you can do it at 8 o'clock, 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock which is the ideal interval at which you can apply the sunscreen. Also, moisturization is a very important part of the post care during the peel. You have to intensely moisturize the skin because your skin tends to be a little dry because it exfoliates because of the chemical peel which is done. So regular frequently you just moisturize the skin. Night care is also very important. Choosing the right face wash is very important. One important thing I would like to mention does not peel your skin yourself, you know just let it fall on its own and keep moisturizing your skin. So nowadays the peel can also be combined with various other procedure like you can do it with microdermabrasion or with a micro-needling RF. In fact, the sequential peel can also be done where the peel is done one after the another. So, this is all about the peel. I hope you found this video useful.

Thank you.