Patients Guide To Chemical Peels

Flawless Skin Care Secrets for Your 20s
Welcome to the Dirty 30s
Radient Skin in Your 40s
50 and Fabulous
Your 60s and Beyond

Flawless Skin Care Secrets for Your 20s

In your 20s, your skin may not look like it needs much help. Unless you battle acne, chances are you get away with minimal skin care maintenance. Though this simple solution may work for now, it’s important to think about the future of your face. Are you giving your skin the protection and care it needs to help prevent future wrinkles and sun damage? By putting in a little extra effort now, your skin will thank you year after year!

Get the Skin-ny
Kick off your skin care routine in your 20s with skin care staples. LA-based facialist and skin care expert Marc Edward recommends using a gentle cleanser, moisture cream and a separate SPF-30 sunscreen daily.

“If acne is present, then add an exfoliator with glycolic or salicylic acid twice a week,” he said. “Also, professional facials with the extraction of blackheads are necessary every two months.”

Peel Your Way to Perfection
If you’re searching for an exfoliation treatment to add to your skin care regimen, try adding a chemical peel.

According to the 15th Annual Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank Statistics report by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), chemical peels were ranked as the sixth most popular procedure in 2011 within the non-surgical category. As laser medicine and surgery expert Dr. Eric F. Bernstein points out, chemical peels are used to provide exfoliation, skin rejuvenation and general skin tone improvement – in other words, they’re the ultimate multitaskers.

“In the 20s and 30s, light peels, alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) peels, glycolic acid and other AHAs are wonderful for rejuvenating the skin, and also treating mild to moderate acne, which is key,” he said.

So how frequently should you undergo chemical peels as part of your skin care routine? According to Dr. Bernstein, this decision has less to do with your age and more to do with the condition of your skin.

“In-office peels can be administered as frequently as once a month to treat acne-prone skin, or at much longer intervals from a few months to six months for aging skin,” he explained. “Stronger peels that resemble ablative laser treatments are often administered only once, or with many years in between.”

When deciding which type of peel is right for you and your skin, it’s important to understand the difference between them.

The 411 on Peels
Glycolic acid and AHA peels, which are very common, can usually be found in lesser-strength concentrations for at-home use. Trichloracetic acid (TCA) peels can also vary in concentration. Phenol peels, on the other hand, are the strongest chemical peels and are reserved for deeply-damaged skin and to a large extent have been eclipsed by laser treatments.

Consult with your dermatologist to decide which type of chemical peel is right for you.

Back to Basics
If you do choose to include chemical peels in your daily skin care routine, don’t forget the basics.

“Using peels alone doesn’t make sense in the absence of a daily skin care regimen,” Dr. Bernstein said. “They work together to improve the skin.”

So, what are you waiting for? Get your skin back on track for the healthy, clear complexion you’ve always dreamt of.

“It’s never too early or too late to take better care of your skin and health, be it through homecare product routines or professional treatments,” Edward said.

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You Don’t Have to be a Celebrity to Have Fab Skin in Your 30s
Welcome to the Dirty 30s

During your 20s, you can get away with minimal skin care maintenance. But once you enter your 30s, your skin requires a little more TLC.

According to skin care expert and LA-based facialist Marc Edward, the skin begins showing the first signs of damage in the 30s. So, it requires more repair than skin in the 20s.

Edward, who was named the “go-to” facialist for the 2012 Oscar winners, recommends 30-somethings use a gentle cleanser, moisture cream and SPF-30 sunscreen.

In addition, Edward suggests 30-somethings add these products to their beauty arsenal:
• Add an eye cream to your morning and evening skin care routine
• Use an antioxidant, like vitamin C, under your sunscreen daily
• Add a moisture serum under your cream during the morning and evening
• Use an acid exfoliator once a week with glycolic acid or retinol vitamin A
• Schedule professional facials every two months in addition to wet or dry microdermabrasion and chemical peels

It’s All About the Peel
Chemical peels are a common and simple way to exfoliate and rejuvenate the skin. According to Edward, chemical peels (such as Trichloracetic acid or TCA) reduce the onset of sun damage and collagen stimulation when applied at least once a year.

Peels aren’t just celebrities – they’re quickly becoming the go-to non-surgical treatment for the rest of us, too. In fact, according to the 15th Annual Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank Statistics report by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), chemical peels were ranked as the sixth most popular procedure in 2011 within the non-surgical category.

If you’re considering a chemical peel, consult with your dermatologist to determine which type of peel is right for you. To get you started, here’s a simple peel tutorial with helpful explanations from the ASAPS:

• Phenol peels are reserved for deeply-damaged skin since they’re the strongest chemical peels
• TCA peels can vary in concentration but has a “greater depth of peel” compared with AHAs
• Glycolic acid and AHA peels can typically be found in lesser-strength concentrations for at-home use.

Laser medicine and surgery expert Dr. Eric F. Bernstein explained the many uses of chemical peels: “In the 20s and 30s, light peels, alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) peels, glycolic acid and other AHAs are wonderful for rejuvenating the skin, and also treating mild to moderate acne, which is key,” he said.

How to Score Skin Care Success
If chemical peels are a part of your daily skin care regimen, don’t neglect your everyday skin care basics.

“Using peels alone doesn’t make sense in the absence of a daily skin care regimen. They work together to improve the skin,” Dr. Bernstein said.

When deciding how often to include chemical peels in your skin care plan, Dr. Bernstein recommends taking the condition of your skin into consideration. For example, if it’s acne-prone, you may opt for an in-office peel that can be administered once a month. If you have severe sun damage, a stronger peel may be the solution for you.

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Maintaining Radiant Skin Well Into Your 40s

Hey, gorgeous – yes you! You may not want to admit it, or even to think about it, but the fact is, your skin has changed as you’ve gotten older. These days, your skin may seem ashier, or less radiant, or more dry, and makeup doesn’t seem to cover it up as well as it once did. Gone are the days of tight, supple, dewy, flawless skin… or are they?

Shave Years Off Your Look
Thankfully, it’s now possible to shave months and even years off your face in under an hour with a professional chemical peel, a relatively simple process which works by removing the damaged top layers of the skin. That’s extremely good news for us ladies (and for men too, though the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that of the nearly 400,000 chemical peels performed in the United States in 2011, 94 percent of them were to women). If you’ve haven’t noticed, many of Hollywood’s hottest female celebs have sailed right past the 40-mark – think Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, or Nicole Kidman — and yet somehow have kept their gorgeous and youthful complexions despite their years. Exfoliating chemically, such as with a chemical peel, is an effective method for keeping your skin as glowing and youthful-looking as possible, and even turning back the clock on aging.

Speed Up Your Rejuvenation
“A chemical peel won’t erase deep wrinkles or huge areas of dark pigmentation. What it does is speed up the cellular cycle, getting dead cells off the skin and speeding up new cell growth beneath the skin’s surface,” says Corry Jennison, licensed aesthetician and owner of Skin Health Medi-Spa in Dover, N.H. It’s a great treatment for women over 40, says Jennison, “since as we get older, our cell cycle slows down.”

Consult a Professional
Of course, for best results, chemical peels and other anti-aging skincare habits – sunscreen application, deep exfoliations, daily moisturizing – should begin in one’s 20s and 30s, but you knew that! And that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you. Be sure to consult with a dermatologist or aesthetician who performs peels; there are dozens of different types – ranging from glycolic to trichloroacetic acid to phenol peels, all with varying pH levels — so you definitely want professional guidance. Your skin and hair type – are you blonde with pale skin? Darker, thicker-skinned? Probe to acne or rosacea? – are all factors. A typical series will include 4 to 6 six peels done every 4 to 6 weeks, give or take. After that, you’ll be looking younger and hotter – and the maintenance can be as little as once a year, or once a season, as many people’s skin changes dramatically from season to season.

Remember, you don’t have to be a celebrity to look like one – age-defying, youthful skin and all. If you’re in your 40s and are using chemical peels to reinvigorate your skin, you’re in good company: ASAPS reports that the majority of people getting peels — about 37 percent – are women aged 35 to 50. And if you don’t plan to stop with just the peels, note that regular peels help allow your topical skincare products to penetrate better, will increase collagen production, and help render any laser treatments you decide to undergo more effective, since they’ll be hitting fresher, newer skin. If the price of peels deters you – the ASAPS reports an average cost of $588 last year — it may be time to take out a loan from your shoe and clothing budget. Could anything be more splurge-worthy than your face?!

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50 and Fabulous: Skin Care Tips As You Age

Getting older can be a bit, shall we say, upsetting – especially when it comes to your looks. With more years on your life, you’ll no doubt eventually deal with drier skin, age spots, and wrinkles – but that doesn’t mean you can’t address all three and rock this decade just as gorgeously and vivaciously as you always have. After all, there’s no denying that some of the most stunning women in Hollywood — Julianne Moore, Ellen Barkin, Iman, Kim Cattrall – have taken on their 50s ever-so-elegantly, and it’s possible for all of us.

An Ageless Skin Secret
One skincare secret all fabulous-looking women – no matter their age — know is that old, dull, dry skin cells are the enemy. To look youthful and glamorous, you must be diligent about stripping off that top dead-cell sludge through dermabrasion, chemical peels, or exfoliating scrubs. Chemical peels in particular help slough off old damaged skin cells and speed new cell growth, which means your topical products (moisturizer, cleanser, sunscreen) penetrate the fresh new skin much better.

Worth the Expense
The price tag can be a tad chunky: The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reports that the average cost for a chemical peel in 2011 was $588 – but the results really do outweigh the spend. Peels also induce collagen production, boosting skin’s elasticity, something every woman in her 50s wants to hold on to. And in conjunction with microdermabrasion a chemical peel can help regenerate newer, younger looking skin.

Wildly Popular
While some celebs and even friends of yours may not want to own up to having regular professional chemical peels, the numbers speak for themselves: Last year, the ASAPS reported that more than $225 million was spent on skin-rejuvenating chemical peels alone – and 32 percent of those peels were for people over the age of 50. That’s an awful lot of people out there hooked in peels’ anti-aging effects – why not let yourself in on all the time-traveling magic these can work?

Daily Maintenance is Key
The stay-sexy secrets for women (and of course men too) of your age don’t stop there. While regular chemical peels – a series usually includes four to six peels done every month or so, followed by maintenance peels a few times annually – can do wonders to minimize age spots, reduce fine lines, and improve your skin’s surface, you still don’t want to neglect a good at-home daily skincare routine of your own. By this age, you’ve probably realized a trusty bottle of sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher is your friend, as is a good deep-cleanser. You should also invest in a good quality moisturizer, especially one that features glycerin, which helps hold moisture in the skin for a more supple, younger appearance.

Aging gracefully? Not quite. Turn back the clock on your skin’s health and appearance with a chemical peel, and you may not have to appear as if you’re aging at all!

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Your 60s and Beyond:  Secrets to Great Looking Skin

Gorgeous skin, even after 60? Absolutely. Even though you may be — like some women –accepting and even proud of the wrinkles you’ve earned, continuing a vigilant skincare regimen during this decade is crucial to optimizing your appearance and enhancing what Mother Nature bestows you at this age. Look no further than Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Diane Sawyer, Goldie Hawn or Diana Ross for evidence that just because you’re over 60 doesn’t mean you can’t be as glowing and beautiful now as you were in your younger years — and you’ll probably have more confidence in your look than ever before, with good reason!

It’s Never Too Late
One of the happiest bonuses of your 60s will be realizing that the good skincare habits you adopted in your 30s, 40s, and 50s have come back to reward you, tenfold. Diligent sunscreen application, and the use of a gentle cleanser plus plenty of moisturizer, have all helped immensely to keep your skin as young, supple, and healthy-looking as possible through the years – but for those who weren’t as careful with their skincare routine in the past, it’s perfectly fine to start now. This decade is in fact an ideal time to start paying more attention to anything on your skin that begins to change color or become irregular, since it’s a time when people really begin to notice the ramifications of long term exposure to the elements for your skin.

No matter your age, remember that dull, dry skin cells are the enemy, so stripping off that top layer via treatments like microdermabrasion, chemical peels, or exfoliating scrubs is a wise move. Chemical peels in particular help remove the dead skin cells and speed new cell growth, which means your topical products (moisturizer, cleanser, sunscreen) penetrate the fresh new skin much more effectively.

Why Chemical Peels Can Help Your 60-Plus Skin
“Chemical peel” is a general term describing several different chemical treatments used to exfoliate and rejuvenate the skin. The treatment involves a chemical solution being applied to the skin that then dissolves the outermost layers and stimulates the body’s healing response, causing new tissue to emerge. A peel’s strength varies based upon the strength of the chemicals used and the length of time the solution is applied; most often, peels are applied in a series of about four to six peels, done every four to six weeks. There are dozens of different types with varying pH levels, ranging from the lesser-strength glycolic peels and varying-level trichloroacetic acid peels, to phenol peels, which involve a more intense solution. A professional can help you navigate the different types and choose a treatment that’s right for your skin’s age and condition.

While a chemical peel won’t erase deep wrinkles on your skin, it can work wonders at minimizing the brown spots of aging and other discoloration, reducing fine lines, boosting your skin’s collagen production, improving its youth and elasticity – things you’ll want to do everything you can to protect. At 60, your skin’s fat layer –which helps keep skin firm and plump –begins to shrink and fails to regenerate, so your skin may feel drier. A chemical peel can induce that regeneration and prevent your skin from drying out. Age spots are also more noticeable, and the effects of gravity are much more obvious– especially on the eyelids, neck, and jawline. Chemical peels can effectively treat the progressive worsening of abnormal pigmentation resulting from sun damage that you may notice more and more these days, and it will help enhance your skin’s surface.