The Truth Behind Medical and Therapy Grade Peels
The benefits of chemical peels are undisputed. It is a wonderful treatment if you are looking for a natural way to improve your skin’s texture and tone, remove imperfections and repair damaged skin. That’s because chemical peels remove dead skin and stimulate your body’s natural skin renewal process.
Our team of experts have worked together to help shed some light on the options available when you choose to take advantage of this skin resurfacing technique.
Medical versus Therapy Grade Peels
It is important to understand that all peels work in a similar way. They all remove the top layer of the skin. This is meant to exfoliate and promote the cell turnover of the skin, improving your skin’s health and aesthetics. Some peels remove more than others and penetrate deeper into the skin, depending on the intensity and dosage of the acid used. This is the difference between therapy grade and medical grade chemical peels.
Therapy grade peels are peels that are performed by a qualified therapist in a salon.
They are usually chemically-based peels that remove the top layer of skin to improve smoothness and texture. In some cases, they will help with wrinkles and scarring. However, they are not strong enough (they do not have a high acid concentration) to aid serious skin problems.
Medical grade peels are peels that cannot be done by a therapist but only by a licensed professional, such as a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon. They are also chemically-based peels and remove the top layer of skin, however, they penetrate much deeper than therapy grade peels and can remove several layers of epidermal tissue.
They have a very high acid concentration and, as a result, can be very dangerous if not performed properly. If a person’s skin is very sensitive or fair, it could also cause complications.
The Benefits of Medical and Therapy Grade Peels
As we now know, therapy grade peels and medical grade peels can both be classified as chemical peels. So, by looking at the benefits of chemical peels, you can see how either procedure will help your skin.
Chemical peels help to:
- Improve the overall smoothness and health of the skin
- Reduce wrinkles, damage and ageing
- Exfoliate the skin
- Reduce excess oil production from the skin
- Promote cell turnover and collagen production
- Remove pimples, blackheads and acne
- Reduce ageing lines around the eyes and mouth
- Reduce spotting, blotches, patches and freckles
The Process of a Chemical peel
Chemical peels are actually very relaxing and require hardly any work on the patient’s behalf ... besides booking the appointment, of course!
Your therapist will simply spread the peel evenly across the face to ensure contact with all areas of the skin except the bottom of the nose, the mouth and the eyes. You then need only to sit back and relax and let the peel take action.
You might feel a bit of a tingling sensation with the peels that have a higher acid concentration.
After the peel has exfoliated the skin, the therapist will gently begin to peel the mask off of your face revealing your new radiant and glowing skin. The only thing left to do is approach the world with the confidence of a beauty queen.
Tips for Using Medical and Therapy Grade Peels
Chemical peels can result in the skin being more sensitive to sunlight. This is because UVA and UVB rays are able to penetrate the skin easier.
So, to avoid your beautiful ‘new’ skin getting damaged, make sure you use lots of sun block and limit your time in the sun. The sunblock should be SPF 30 or higher, and you should apply it multiple times if you are in the sun between ten in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Note that skin tags, severe wrinkles, bulges, burns and, in some cases, scars do not react well to the chemicals within the peels. If you have a severe case of these symptoms we recommend speaking to a dermatologist for advice on the best treatment possible.
Although peels are great for your skin, having them performed too often is not healthy. Most people will start off with a monthly peel and once their skin is used to the treatment - and is reacting well - they will maintain it with a peel every 3 to 4 months.
Things You Didn’t Know About Chemical Peels
Chemical peels have actually been around a lot longer than most people think. It is one of the oldest cosmetic procedures in the world and was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to help make their skin healthier, smoother and more radiant.
At Evolve Day Spa, we offer both medical grade and therapy grade peels.
Take advantage of our amazing 50% off on ALL our Lamelle peels. Hurry! Offer valid for September only.