To Chemical Peel or Not to Chemical Peel?

September 1, 2022

If I have acne prone skin – would it be a good idea to get a chemical peel?

We hear a lot about chemical peels. We read a lot of articles about them and we get a lot questions sent to us about whether or not chemical peels are worth the effort, the cost. So here is our break down.

1/ What are chemical peels?

Chemical peels are a procedure where a chemical solution is applied to the skin and the top layers of skin are removed. The idea is that the skin will grow back smoother. Most people will have a chemical peel with the hopes of removing scars, wrinkles or dark marks.

2/ Types of Chemical Peels

You can choose between light, medium or deep chemical peels. The type you choose refers to the depth of layers of skin you would like to remove. For deep scars, you would do deep, for minor wrinkles, you would do light or medium.

3/ Now here is our opinion of Chemical Peels for people with acne prone skin

There are tons of articles out there that will promote having chemical peels. People who have had them will promote them. And for some people, honestly, they aren’t that bad. BUT. And here is the “but” – for people who are acne prone, we do not recommend it.

Here is the down and dirty, from our perspective:

Chemical peels do not work to smooth out indentations of the skin. If you apply a liquid chemical peel to the entire surface of the skin, it will go into the indentations as well as the surrounding skin, removing a certain depth of skin all around. Therefore, the indentations will still be there.

Chemical peels are safe for light skinned individuals. Darker complexions tend to hyper pigment from a Chemical peel.

After a chemical peel, the skin will be much more sun sensitive so you need to be extremely diligent with wearing SPF 30 or above every single day, rain or shine and avoid direct sunlight to the skin by wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

The idea behind a chemical peel is to lighten up dark marks and refine the texture of the skin and reduce surface wrinkles. It does this by peeling off the outer layers of the epidermal skin and also causes some low-grade inflammation which also causes swelling which also makes wrinkles look better for a period of time.

We do not recommend chemical peels for anyone who suffers from acne breakouts because it will cause the skin to produce more skin cells which slough off and get stuck in the hair follicles, which results in new pimples forming.

Chemical peels are not bad for everyone! We just want you to be careful.

If you decide to do a chemical peel, do a test patch behind your ear or another location before they apply it to the entire surface of your face or neck to make sure there is no allergic reaction or negative outcome.

If you have any more questions about this topic or any other topic that we haven’t every talked about – reach out to us. We would love to help!

Email: Clearskin@ninjaskincare.com

Text: 925.933.8425