Acne affects up to 50 million individuals each year and is the most common skin condition in the United States.
While it isn’t life-threatening, it can cause a person to experience psychological distress. For one thing, it can cause permanent scarring, which can lead to poor self-esteem or confidence.
Fortunately, there are things that you can do to lessen their appearance. For example, you can get a chemical peel.
How do chemical peels for acne scars work? Are there any side effects? Find out all of the answers by reading the rest of the post!
The Benefits of Getting a Chemical Peel
Chemical peels are a type of cosmetic treatment that is used to improve the skin’s appearance. They involve using a chemical solution to remove damaged skin cells from the epidermis; this will leave you with fresher, healthier-looking skin.
Not only will it reduce the appearance of acne scars, but it’ll also help smooth out the skin’s surface (view here for more). That’s not all, it can also help lighten dark spots and prevent future breakouts by removing pore-clogging gunk.
Keep in mind, however, that the results will depend on various factors such as your skin type, skin tone, and the severity of your acne. For example, chemical peels might not be the best option if you have severe depressed or raised scars.
Different Types of Chemical Peel For the Face
There are three different types of chemical peels that you can get: superficial peels, medium peels, and deep peels.
Superficial peels: These types of light peels use mild acids such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA), lactic acid, pyruvic acid, and salicylic acid to gently exfoliate the skin.
Medium peels: These types of peels use low-to-moderate concentrations of glycolic or trichloroacetic acid. They’re able to penetrate down to the upper-middle layer of your skin.
Deep peels: These types of peels typically use high concentrations of trichloroacetic or phenol acid. As such, they’re able to penetrate deep into the skin, which allows for more dramatic results.
Potential Side Effects
Common side effects include redness, scabbing, dryness, and swelling. However, most are temporary and will go away within a couple of days.
Rarely, it can also cause changes in skin color. For example, it can cause the treated skin to become lighter than normal (hypopigmentation) or darker than normal (hyperpigmentation).
There’s also a small chance that the phenols used in deep peels can damage the heart, kidneys, and liver. That’s why it’s so important to limit sessions to 10 to 20-minute intervals.
Using Chemical Peels For Acne Scars
And there you have it—a guide on how chemical peels for acne scars work. As you can see, there are a few different types, each of which uses different chemicals. For those who are interested, talk to a dermatologist or trained skincare specialist.
Was this post helpful? Looking for more healthy skin tips? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our health section!