Chemical Peels
Read this as soon as you book, not the night before.
Applies to: all professional peels. SWiCH has its own separate instructions with a longer preparation window.
We carry several peel lines on purpose
There is no single peel that suits every skin, and we do not believe in one size fits all. The right choice for melasma on deeper skin is not the right choice for congestion on oily skin, and neither is right for fine lines on dry, reactive skin.
We work with several professional peel lines, and we add one when we find it does something the others cannot. Your esthetician chooses based on your skin, your history, your Fitzpatrick type, and what you can realistically keep up with at home.
The lines we carry
- PCA Skin
- Skin Script
- Circadia
- MAD Skincare
- Clear Choice
- KRX
- Corthe
- VI Peel
This is also why your instructions may differ slightly from what a friend was told. Different lines, different chemistry, different rules. Follow what your esthetician gives you over anything you read elsewhere, including this page.
Read this as soon as you book, not the night before
Peels require you to stop retinol and other active products one week before your appointment. If you find this page the day before your appointment and you have been using retinol, we will need to reschedule you.
Plan around the peeling. It shows. Do not book three days before a wedding, a photoshoot, or a big work event. Your esthetician will tell you what to expect from the specific peel she has chosen for you, including how it feels and how long you are likely to flake.
Before your appointment
Stop these seven days before
- Retinol, retinoids, tretinoin, Retin A, Differin, adapalene
- Glycolic, lactic, salicylic, and any acid exfoliant
- Scrubs, exfoliating brushes, and cleansing devices
- Benzoyl peroxide and prescription acne treatments
Stop these seven days before, on the treatment area
- Waxing, threading, depilatories, laser, and electrolysis
- Dermaplaning
No sun exposure or tanning beds for two weeks before. No spray tan for one week.
Tell us about
- Accutane in the last six to twelve months. This is a hard contraindication.
- Cold sore history. Peels can trigger an outbreak. Ask your doctor about an antiviral to take beforehand.
- Pregnancy or nursing
- Recent injectables. Wait two weeks.
- Any autoimmune condition, active infection, or open wound on the area
- Recent facial surgery or laser work
Come with clean skin, no makeup if possible.
What to expect
Tightness and redness immediately. The days that follow bring dryness and flaking, ranging from barely noticeable to obvious depending on the peel depth. Skin looks and feels its best once the flaking finishes.
Discomfort: 2 to 5 out of 10. Downtime: 3 to 7 days. Where you land in those ranges depends on the peel line and depth your esthetician chooses, and she will tell you which to plan for.
After your appointment
Do not pick, peel, pull, or scrub the flaking skin. Let it release on its own. Pulling it early is how people end up with scarring and hyperpigmentation, and it is the number one thing that ruins a peel result.
For five to seven days, use only: a gentle non foaming cleanser and a plain moisturizer. Nothing else. No actives.
SPF 30 or higher, every day, reapplied. Your new skin is unprotected and pigment damage right now is very easy to cause and very hard to reverse. If you are going to be outside, wear a hat.
No retinoids, acids, scrubs, or exfoliating tools for one week.
First 48 to 72 hours, avoid
- Workouts and heavy sweating
- Saunas, steam, hot tubs
- Swimming pools
- Very hot showers, and keep water off your face where you can
No waxing or hair removal on the area for two weeks.
No other facial treatments for two weeks.
One peel brightens. A series corrects.
This is the honest version, and it is worth knowing before you book.
A single peel will make your skin look better this week. Real correction, meaning pigment, texture, acne, and tone, comes from 3 to 6 peels spaced 4 weeks apart. Four weeks is not arbitrary, it is one full skin cycle, and each peel builds on the turnover the last one started.
Hyperpigmentation in particular does not resolve in one visit, and pushing harder or faster makes it worse rather than better. That is the single most common way people damage their own result.
Your home care between peels matters as much as the peels
What we do in the room resurfaces. What you do at home is what holds the correction and stops the pigment coming back.
At minimum that means daily SPF, which is not optional and is the entire reason some people get results that last and others do not. Beyond that, your esthetician will build you a routine that supports whichever peel line she has chosen for you.
If you take the treatments and skip the home care, you will spend the money and watch it undo itself between appointments. Ask her what to use, and see what we carry in our Square store or from Circadia direct.
A package costs less per session than booking one at a time, and it holds the four week spacing the protocol depends on. See our packages and treatment series. Not sure where to start? Book New to Chemical Peels, or text us at (833) 900-9364.
Text us immediately if
You see blistering, oozing, spreading redness, dark patches forming, or you run a fever. Text (833) 900-9364.
Questions before you come in?
Text us at (833) 900-9364.