Beverly Hills Dermatology Consultants | Letantia Bussell, M.D

Chemical Peels

What are chemical peels?

Chemical peels, also known as chemexfoliation or derma-peeling, are a technique used to improve the appearance of the skin. In this treatment, a chemical solution is applied to the skin, which causes it to "blister" and eventually peel off. The new, regenerated skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin. The new skin also is temporarily more sensitive to the sun.

What Conditions do Chemical Peels treat?

Chemical peels are performed on the face, neck or hands. They can be used to:

Reduce fine lines under the eyes and around the mouth
Treat wrinkles caused by sun damage, aging and hereditary factors
Improve the appearance of mild scarring
Treat certain types of acne
Reduce age spots, freckles and dark patches due to pregnancy or taking birth control pills (melasma)
Improve the look and feel of skin that is dull in texture and color

Areas of sun damage, which may contain pre-cancerous keratoses that appear as scaly spots, may improve after chemical peeling. Following treatment, new pre-cancerous lesions are less likely to appear.

How does BHDC do peels?

Beverly Hills Dermatology Consultants does what is called a trichloroacetic acid facial treatment. This is a light, superficial peel where there is no bleeding or crust formation. This is different from the deeper peels done by most plastic surgeons.

INDICATIONS: Improvement of sun damaged skin, premalignant lesions, various brown spots, abnormal pigmentation, superficial acne scars and superficial wrinkling.

PROCEDURE: Acid is applied to the face once a week for at least three weeks. A moderate burning sensation is felt for a few minutes until the acid is neutralized. Patients then develop a white color on the surface of the skin which soon turns red. After a couple of days, the skin becomes very tight and frequently dark in patches. Your skin will be flaky for 7 days.

Do not use any types of creams or moisturizers during the course of this procedure.
Do not try to peel off any of the skin yourself. Let it happen naturally or else the underlying skin will become irritated.
Do not use any scrubs or abrasives on the skin during the peeling process.
If you are given a bleaching medication, you may begin applying it twice a day on the second day of the peel.
A sunscreen or bleach/sunscreen combination should be used after the series of peels to help prevent the recurrence of pigmented areas.

COMPLICATIONS: Usually there are no complications whatsoever from this procedure. Done properly, it is safe and simple.

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