It’s so hard to know what you need to achieve the results you desire for your skin. There are literally millions of options and opinions. If you are on our clinic e-mail list you might already be receiving our “how to know” series that we have started in 2018! I think it is important for you to know that our opinions of what products and procedures you use are based off of science(evidence based) and years of experience in cosmetic Dermatology. This week my right hand lady to all things cosmetic, Margaret is sharing about chemical peels. Margaret is an aesthetician and the sweetest, calmest, most soft spoken angel. She makes my life better and makes your cosmetic experience at JD better. If you haven’t met her yet e-mail her (margaret@johnsondermatology.com) for a free consult. You will love getting to know her and she can make a plan customized for you with make-up, skincare, devices, lasers, peels and all injectables. Let me introduce you to her today by what she has to say about chemical peels!
How to know if a chemical peel is right for you
A chemical peel is a great way to refresh your skin and can treat several different signs of aging. But how do you know if a peel is right for you? I am an esthetician by trade and have used several different kinds of peels, but it wasn’t until I started working for a Dermatologist that I really understood how peels work and why it is very important to trust who is helping you with your skin. The main reasons you may want a peel are to treat acne, photodamage, melasma, or fine lines. Even if you just have one of these problems a peel could be an easy way to improve your skin’s overall texture and health.
Melasma,or pregnancy mask, is a brown patchy hyperpigmentation problem that most people get on their cheeks, chin, forehead, nasal bride and upper lip. It can be worsened by hormones, sun exposure and heat. Melasma is a chronic condition so once you have it you need to control it. It will never be cured. We use a TCA (trichoracetic acid) peel and recommend using a good sunscreen with an spf of at least 30 or above. My favorite is Total Defense and Repair because it protects against heat, infrared rays, UVA and UVB, and also repairs your damage. It is very important that you have a sunscreen that is protecting your skin from heat when dealing with melasma because heat, light, and hormones can cause melasma to darken. The tinted one is nice for the week after your peel so that you can go without makeup and keep your face moisturized.
TCA is also good for other skin pigmentation issues and texture. It not only serves cosmetic purposes but our providers can treat actinic keratosis or precancers with TCA mostly for people who have had a lot of sun damage over the years and are fitzpatrick skin type 1, 2, and 3. The fitzpatrick skin type scale helps determine what type of skin you have based on hair and eye color and how much melanin production you have and if you burn easily in the sun. Melanin is a pigment that determines the color of your skin and is your skins defense against the suns UVA and UVB rays.
Acne is another struggle all on it’s own. Salicylic acid peels are really good to help control acne and dissolve blackheads. As with any peel, you will see great results with the first one but may want a peel 4 to 6 weeks apart for continuing improvement.
As we want everyone on a retinol every night to help speed up your skin cell cycle keeping your skin young and beautiful.Using retinol is like giving your skin a mini peel every day. It is always wise to stop your retinol a couple of days before your peel and wait to start back when you are not feeling dry and flaky. Even if you don’t experience flaky skin you will still have great results. You will need to use a good sunscreen and moisturizer for about a week after your peel and will want to schedule when you don’t have a big social event coming up for a few days. If you have cold sores then you can take a prescription to help suppress them so that the peel doesn’t help bring any cold sores along. Most people prefer to get chemical peels in the fall or winter because you can not have any sun exposure for two weeks before or after your peel.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helped you decide if a chemical peel is right for you.
Thanks, Margaret Patton – cosmetic coordinator
Isn’t she just the sweetest? It’s hard to believe she deals with me all day huh? We are yin-yang which makes the best team! Hopefully you can see us in action at the clinic soon. Like March 14th our cosmetic day when everyone injected that day gets a free collagen stimulation facial with our yag laser($150 value)!
Have a great Sunday, stay Skintastic, Nina
