How Chemical Peels Help Your Skin

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

In our youth, our skin is perfect. No wrinkles, plenty of fullness and elasticity, invisible pores, flawless texture and color. Our skin exfoliates naturally every 4 - 6 weeks. The old skin sloughs off the surface, exposing the newer, fresher skin below. As we age, that process slows down. Add to that our skin's everyday enemies - sun, free radicals, and weather - not to mention the damage we inflict on our own skin like smoking, product misuse and diet. It's a wonder our skin doesn't just jump off of us and go running away into the night.  That slowing down of natural exfoliation results in what we consider "bad skin". Dullness, dryness, hyperpigmentation, acne, and fine lines are all problems caused by this slower process. 

That's is where the chemical peel comes in to play. The peels cause our skin to slough off the top layers of the epidermis, bringing the newer skin to the surface, and by doing this on a regular basis every 4 - 6 weeks, we are training our skin to exfoliate more often, promoting a more youthful, healthier appearance.  The bacteria that causes acne isn't able to sit around as long and impact the skin.  The dry patches that coat the surface and inside the pores are eliminated and allow moisture to get to the skin cells.  Discoloration that is caused by the sun is brought to the surface more rapidly and sloughed off.

Now don't be mistaken in thinking that this is the fountain of youth.  Not everyone will experience the same results from the peels and sometimes they are enough to fix deeper issues (like deeper set wrinkles or hormonally induced acne). But it is a safe and less expensive place to start when trying to attain a healthier looking skin.