Do Chemical Peels Help with Acne Scars?
As if having acne as a teen or young adult isn't bad enough, sometimes those pimples and blemishes leave behind scars that just won't seem to go away. Acne scars may be deep or shallow, light or dark, mild or severe. Most people who have them look for ways to make them fade or disappear completely, but that can be a challenging process.
Many plastic surgeons use standard chemical peels as an acne scar treatment and have a good deal of success with them.
What Is a Chemical Peel?
A chemical peel is a facial treatment also known as "chemexfoliation." With this procedure, the doctor or technician applies a chemical solution onto your face, and when it is peeled away, it removes the top damaged layers of skin. This helps to stimulate new cell growth and healthy new skin that can often reduce or eliminate the appearance of acne scars.
Types of Acne Peels
When a doctor decides to try a chemical peel as a treatment for acne scars, he will typically choose one of three different intensity levels, depending on the severity of the scarring. The three different types are classified as light, medium or deep.
With a light chemical peel, just the outer layer of skin, or epidermis is removed. This is generally used for people with shallow or mild acne scars. A medium chemical peel removes layers of skin down to the middle or dermis. This is for more serious scarring and is often repeated in six to twelve month intervals. The deep chemical peel goers all the way down the lower level of the dermis and is for deep scars.
Chemical peels can be an effective way to control acne scarring, but they won't control the actual breakouts or blemishes. The light and medium peels don't typically cause any discomfort and there isn't any downtime associated with having this treatment.
Common Side Effects
Since you are basically peeling off layers of your skin, there are side effects involved with the treatment. After the treatment, you will have a "sun burned" look for a short period of time and your skin will be sensitive to sunlight. As your skin peels and flakes off, it will be sensitive until the new skin growth occurs and it regains its strength.
You will have to make follow-up visits with your doctor so he or she can monitor your healing and determine if any other treatments are required. Sometimes, the chemical peel works best in combination withy other treatments and procedures, especially when it comes to eliminating acne scars. Take the time to ask a lot of questions and ask to see before and after photos of patients that have had chemical peels for acne scarring.
If the surgeon or dermatologist has a proven track record, the before and afters look good and the price is affordable, this may be the perfect non surgical treatment you've been waiting for. Don't expect miracles from a chemical peel if you have bad scarring that has been there for years, but you will notice a difference with your acne scars.
Many plastic surgeons use standard chemical peels as an acne scar treatment and have a good deal of success with them.
What Is a Chemical Peel?
A chemical peel is a facial treatment also known as "chemexfoliation." With this procedure, the doctor or technician applies a chemical solution onto your face, and when it is peeled away, it removes the top damaged layers of skin. This helps to stimulate new cell growth and healthy new skin that can often reduce or eliminate the appearance of acne scars.
Types of Acne Peels
When a doctor decides to try a chemical peel as a treatment for acne scars, he will typically choose one of three different intensity levels, depending on the severity of the scarring. The three different types are classified as light, medium or deep.
With a light chemical peel, just the outer layer of skin, or epidermis is removed. This is generally used for people with shallow or mild acne scars. A medium chemical peel removes layers of skin down to the middle or dermis. This is for more serious scarring and is often repeated in six to twelve month intervals. The deep chemical peel goers all the way down the lower level of the dermis and is for deep scars.
Chemical peels can be an effective way to control acne scarring, but they won't control the actual breakouts or blemishes. The light and medium peels don't typically cause any discomfort and there isn't any downtime associated with having this treatment.
Common Side Effects
Since you are basically peeling off layers of your skin, there are side effects involved with the treatment. After the treatment, you will have a "sun burned" look for a short period of time and your skin will be sensitive to sunlight. As your skin peels and flakes off, it will be sensitive until the new skin growth occurs and it regains its strength.
You will have to make follow-up visits with your doctor so he or she can monitor your healing and determine if any other treatments are required. Sometimes, the chemical peel works best in combination withy other treatments and procedures, especially when it comes to eliminating acne scars. Take the time to ask a lot of questions and ask to see before and after photos of patients that have had chemical peels for acne scarring.
If the surgeon or dermatologist has a proven track record, the before and afters look good and the price is affordable, this may be the perfect non surgical treatment you've been waiting for. Don't expect miracles from a chemical peel if you have bad scarring that has been there for years, but you will notice a difference with your acne scars.