Peels or Laser – Which is Right for You?
If your skin has been damaged by the various elements like air pollution, sun, or smoking, consider chemical peels or laser resurfacing to tone your skin, and renew its health. You have done all the skin care you possibly can but it’s not enough. A peel (TCA) may be the best choice for the next step. Chemical peels are good for removing pre-cancerous skin growths, controlling acne, and soften facial scarring.
Peels are a safe method of TCA treatment. Instead of using tricholoracetic acid (TCA), which was difficult to apply evenly, surgeons now, use the Blue Peel. This peel is only 20% TCA that is done in layers with one to four coats. The blue coloring assures even application so that the injury that can be caused by the peel is risk-free and even. Blue Peel has minimal downtime. You won’t require anesthesia, however, there is a lot of peeling that will begin around the clock in about 48 hours. The skin, before it begins to peel, has loss of moisture as the skin starts to separate. This peeling process will be difficult to camouflage and will last from seven to ten days after the peel.
TCA peels come in many different concentrations. This is the most common method used for medium depth peeling. The results of TCA peels don’t last as long and aren’t as dramatic as the phenol peel discussed below. You will need more than just one TCA peel in order to achieve the wanted result. However, the recovery is shorter than with a phenol peel.
Alphahydroxy acids (AHAs), like glycolic, fruit, or lactic acids are a milder form of peel that produce light results. This type of peel provides brighter, smoother skin. AHA peels are used to treat acne, pigmentation unevenness, and dryness. The right concentration of AHA will be determined by your doctor. He will apply it either weekly or for longer periods to get the best results for you. After the procedure, you can have AHA mixed with a good facial cleanser or cream to apply at home as part of your skin care regimen.
The phenol chemical peel is the strongest solution if you want a deep peel. It is also used to treat deep facial wrinkles, pre-cancerous growths, skin damaged by too much sun, and blotchy skin. Scarring will likely result if used on areas other than the face such as the neck or other body areas.
Another choice is a laser peel, also known as laser surgery and laser rejuvenation, uses carbon dioxide (CO2), pulse dye, erbium, etc. for the removal of wrinkles, age spots, skin damaged by sun, discoloration, and to stimulate your natural collagen to treat your wrinkles from the inside out. A laser is drawn over the area to be treated and gets rid of eye and mouth wrinkles, lines, pigmentation problems, or blemishes. Laser peels are a safe, much less invasive way to look younger than deep TCA peels are.
Instead of removing the wrinkles, lines, or age spots, laser resurfacing uses a thermescent fibroblast stimulators, which treats the problem areas from the inside out instead of removing them. With a removal type of laser peel, the surface of the skin may appear red and will weep as the removal of the top layers of skin occurs.
The healing time depends on the depth of the treatment. Expect to be down for two weeks minimum. Your face will feel and look like a huge sunburn, weeping and needing to be dressed daily with a topical ointment. The bandages need to be worn for at least seven days. A crusty formation will form but do not pick at or pull them off. Doing so will cause scarring. The crust goes away by day 10.
Choosing your method of skin rejuvenation depends on your willingness to tolerate pain, discomfort, and a lengthier down time as opposed to a peel that heals much quicker and is nearly pain free.
lucy schleede
i would like information on this,i have some moles and discoloration,also sagging and some wrinkles i have insurance but not sure how much would be covered .i am 57 and looking every day of it.ty