There are basically three levels of the chemical peel starting with the basic superficial chemical peels and going all the way to the deep penetrating chemical peels. The superficial chemical peels versus the deep penetration peels have a much shorter recovery period, but in general all three forms of the chemical peels expose the younger and raw underlying skin. This results in a weeping of the skin as well as puffiness and redness of the skin. In the superficial chemical peels, this weeping and puffiness will fade away within a couple of days.

There will be some flaking and peeling of the skin over the next week which will be similar to that of a sun burn which results in the peeling of the skin. Once this peeling occurs, it will be important to make sure that the raw skin is covered with a sunscreen lotion to prevent any burns from occurring. These sunscreens will need to be used along with moisturizing lotions for about 3 months. In some cases there may even be a secondary peeling of the skin depending on how deep the chemical peel went.

In general, you will most likely be going in for an AHA chemical peel which means that the amount of pain will be minimized which in turn means that there will most likely be no anesthetic used during the procedure.

When the procedure starts, your face will be cleaned completely and the chemicals will be applied to the region where they will be allowed to penetrate into the skin and dissolve the layers. The technician will then remove the chemicals which take the old dead skin that has been dissolved with it.

The results are that the younger and smoother underlying skin which has not had a chance to mirror the outer layer’s scars is exposed. This means that most types of superficial scarring goes away with the outer layers as in most cases things like acne scarring are mirrored, or cast on to the underlying skin as it grows. By removing the damaged and scarred outer layers the casting never happens leaving you with a younger and smoother looking skin.

The biggest risks associated with a chemical peel have to do with the skin’s natural pigmentation. Persons who undergo a chemical peel procedure are in fact removing the outermost layers of skin which have already been exposed to the UV rays and have taken on their own natural pigmentation color. After undergoing a chemical peel, these outer layers are then removed which exposes the under layers which are younger and in most cases have no real pigmentation yet.

In persons who have a darker skin pigmentation, this can lead to discolorations between the treated and non-treated regions with regards to the chemical peel. While I some cases it only takes time for the skin to self-level the pigmentation between the treated and non-treated regions, other cases result in the colors never being the same and a very noticeable differentiation between the treated and non-treated regions involved in the chemical peel process.

While many assume that the chemical peel is a relatively new concept, it is far from the truth. It can be noted that there has been a substantial amount of proof which dates back to ancient Egypt when Cleopatra would use various fruit acids as a means of peeling her skin and rejuvenate it giving here a youthful appearance. Furthermore, it has been determined that the Romans also used various fruit acids in order to chemically peel their skin and remove the years of wear and tear on the skin.

All the way until the early 1900 when American women started getting non-medical chemical peels in the local salons and beauty parlors as a means of rejuvenating their youthful appearance. While times have changed and so has the types of chemical acids which are used for the chemical peels, the outcomes are none the less the same, if not better than before.

From cucumbers to papayas, fruits make some of the worlds most perfect acidic chemicals which have been used since the days of ancient Egypt to bring back a person’s younger self. Now a days though, the chemical peels can not only include the day at the spa fruit peels, but also man made acids are now used for the medical forms of chemical peels. Of these acids, the most popular form is the trichloroacetic acid.

Unfortunately, while these types of peels continue to be considered to be perfectly safe, there are some drawbacks which are mostly attributed to the skin’s pigmentation as the older and dead skin layers are peeled away. This leaves discolorations which are more noticed in those who have darker pigmented skin types.

When it comes to scars, you have mainly 3 basic groups of which the basic is the standard scar and usually fades away with time. This is a superficial scar in which only the top few layers of skin are damaged. The next scar is the keloid scar which is considered to be the worst scar of all as it is a reoccurring scar and even after riffing yourself of it through various treatments it still comes back. The middle type of scar is the hypertrophic scar which acts like a superficial scar in the fact that it is localized to the point of the skin trauma.

Unlike a superficial scar the hypertrophic scar is located deep in the layers of skin which means that it is a hard to eradicate scar type. Although not as hard to eradicate as a keloid scar is. The hypertrophic scar is also a reoccurring scar but through several treatments it can be rid of forever. It may still be slightly visible though.

These hypertrophic scars occur when there is damage to the pillar layer of the epidermis which is usually too deep for a microdermabrasion or a chemical peel. The most successful treatment for a hypertrophic scar is through the use of a blue dyed pulsed laser resurfacing procedure. While this procedure may need multiple treatments, there have been many successful reports of no reoccurrences even after 4 years.

Being the very unsightly scar that it is, the hypertrophic scar is also significantly more common than that of the keloid scar so you are more likely to see one or hear about it. Chances are though that if you are looking for information on a hypertrophic scar then you or someone you knows already has one.

These scar types are treatable although the treatment process may not be cheap. The good news is that if you can get a doctor to write a letter of medical necessity then you may be able to get your insurance company to foot the bill of the hypertrophic scar treatment. Furthermore many dermatologists also have in their arsenal a bunch of financial institutions that are willing to loan you the money to cover the procedure. The important thing however is that you seek the advice of a dermatologist to determine if in fact you have a hypertrophic scar and what options are available to you for the treatment of that scar.