Cleopatra was no dummy. She is acknowledged as the first true proponent of chemical peels to rejuvenate the facial skin. After all, Egypt and sun damage? Yep. Anyway, the last active Pharaoh before Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire knew what she was doing. Cleopatra used lactic acid from sour milk as her peeling agent, and that remains one of the peeling agents used in chemical peels today.
At Tri-County Medical Center, we may not have the inter-family drama of Egyptian royalty, but we know how to give our patients chemical peels to help speed along the exfoliation process. Exfoliation is the natural process where our skin sheds old dead cells and replaces them with new cells. This is a constant turnover process. Our peels help the skin shed old dead cells on the surface, along with oil and debris, revealing fresher, younger skin beneath.
Although we can customize chemical peels by the patient, these are our four most popular peels:
- Vitalize Peel — This is a medium superficial chemical peel by SkinMedica, featuring a blend of alpha and beta hydroxy medical-grade acids. The Vitalize Peel will cause mild to moderate peeling of the top layer of the skin for about 3-4 days. It can improve mild to moderate acne, superficial acne scarring, moderate pigmentation areas, and melasma.
- Rejuvenize Peel — Despite the rather seedy grammar of its name, the Rejuvenize Peel is a deep superficial chemical peel that penetrates deep into the epidermis into the outer dermis beneath. The Rejuvenize Peel stimulates production of new collagen. It is indicated for moderate to severe sun damage, wrinkles, acne, acne scarring, and melasma.
- Jessner’s 14% Peel — Our Jessner’s Peel is a deeper chemical peel that penetrates through the entire epidermis, stimulating collagen production, destroying acne bacteria, unplugging pores and lesions, and removing excess oil. This peel creates two days of moderate redness and up to 5 days of moderate peeling. It’s effective for medium to deep wrinkles, inflammatory acne, moderate acne scarring, and moderate sun damage.
- TCA 25% Peel — The TCA Peel is the strongest chemical peel we offer at Tri-County. It causes the entire epidermis layer to slough off. We recommend the TCA peel for patients with severe skin damage, such as deep wrinkling, heavily mottled pigmentation, sun damaged skin, and deep acne scarring. This peel requires from 1-2 weeks of downtime, as there will be some crusting of the skin.
Are you interested in a chemical peel at Tri-County Medical Clinic? Call us at (586) 979-5100 to make your appointment. Your skin will thank you.