Everything You Need to Know About Chemical Peels

Everything You Need to Know About Chemical Peels

An explanation into why we've always been obsessed with chemical peels, and how they work. 

We know a lot of you will hear the words chemical peel and think painful, aggressive, Samantha-from-sex-and-the-city-type disaster, but we’re here to explain that’s just a whole lot of bad press on a treatment severely misunderstood.

When a skin is adequately prepared and a chemical peel is suitably selected for your skin, peels can be the answer to your dermal prayers and the treatment to change your skin for the better. Being a chemical peel advocate and fanatic since the conception of his first business venture about a decade ago, ‘The Travelling Peelsman’, James Vivian’s love affair with peels is one that has evolved over time. Now, with over 12 chemical peels available at the clinic, and many of our dermal therapy treatments featuring at least one in some capacity, it’s clear peels are a big part of the James Vivian DNA. 

At its core, a chemical peel is a form of exfoliation. We know that when we exfoliate, we are removing the superficial portion of the skin to reveal healthier skin underneath. Accelerating cell turnover means we are improving the penetration of our active skincare and we are also ideally assisting with conditions such as dullness, hydration, congestion, blemishes, hyperpigmentation, some scarring and visible flaking.

Chemical peels come in many shapes and sizes, and what we here at James Vivian really love about chemical peels, is that there is often a chemical peel to suit every skin type out there. Some peels are so gentle that you wouldn’t know that you’ve had one (apart from the fact that your skin looks so good), whereas other peels are designed to sting, burn, and require loads of downtime. We even carry a brilliant at-home peel pad, cue the Skinbetter Science Alpharet Peel Pads, that has been soaked in our favourite mix of AHA & BHA to emulate an in-clinic peel at home.

For skin’s that are more on the sensitive, red and dehydrated side, we will often select chemical peels harnessing gentler actives such as lactic acid as well as Vitamin A. These assist in activating natural hydration processes in the skin and help to strengthen sensitive skins back to former health.

Not unlike skincare products prescribed for you to take home and use every day, for skin’s on the oilier, more congested and breakout prone side, we select chemical peels with salicylic and mandelic acids. Both these Beta Hydroxy Acids attract and draw out oily molecules, as well as being anti-inflammatory which is great for active breakouts.

For thicker, pigmented and skins with age-management concerns, we prefer to turn up the dial and perform a layering technique of all of the above.

Chemical peels can be very potent, and for that reason, it’s really important that they’re not only prescribed by, but carried out by a professional. Just like graduating to any active ingredient or treatment, it’s also exceptionally important that your skin has been adequately prepped in the lead up to your peel to avoid any adverse reactions.

To allow the chemical peel to have the best chance to effect positive change in your skin, it’s important to practice proper post procedure care and protection. Your Dermal Clinician will direct you on how to best do that with skincare and other lifestyle adjustments while your skin navigates this transitional period.

Like to know more about our chemical peel offering and which might be perfect for your skin? Get in touch! We could (and would) chat about peels for days.

On that note, let’s raise a glass to the wonderful world of chemical peels! Cheers!