The peel takes twenty minutes. The result is decided in the week that follows, and that part is entirely on you.
I send everyone home with instructions and I still get the message on day three: "is this normal?" So here is the whole timeline, written down.
The first 24 hours
Your skin will feel tight and look flushed, somewhere between a light sunburn and a warm glow depending on the strength of the peel. Some people feel a mild stinging for an hour or two. That settles.
Day one rules
- Cleanse with lukewarm water and a gentle, non foaming cleanser. Pat dry, do not rub.
- Apply a plain, boring moisturizer. Ceramides, squalane, panthenol. Nothing active.
- No makeup for the first 24 hours if you can manage it.
- No gym, no sauna, no hot yoga, no long hot showers. Heat and sweat on freshly peeled skin cause irritation.
- Sleep on a clean pillowcase. Genuinely.
Days two to four: the tight phase, then the flaking
This is when the skin usually starts to feel like it is a size too small for your face. Then it begins to flake, typically around the mouth and nose first because that skin moves the most when you talk.
Do not help it. I mean that seriously.
The flaking skin is still attached to living skin underneath. When you pull a piece off before it is ready, you tear the layer beneath it, and on any skin with pigment in it, that small injury turns into a brown mark that outlasts the peel by months. Almost every case of hyperpigmentation after a peel that I have seen came from someone picking, not from the peel itself.
If a flake is hanging and driving you crazy, trim it with clean nail scissors. Do not pull.
Days five to seven: back to normal
Most superficial peels are done shedding by day five to seven. The skin underneath looks brighter and more even, and it feels smoother than it did. It is also newer and more vulnerable, which is why the sun rule extends past the peeling.
What you cannot use, and for how long
| Product or activity | Wait |
|---|---|
| Retinol, tretinoin, retinaldehyde | 7 days |
| AHA, BHA, glycolic, salicylic | 7 days |
| Vitamin C serums | 5 to 7 days |
| Physical scrubs, cleansing brushes | 10 days |
| Waxing, threading, dermaplaning on the area | 10 to 14 days |
| Heavy exercise, sauna, steam | 24 to 48 hours |
| Direct sun without SPF | Permanently, but especially 2 weeks |
| Laser or microneedling on the same area | 2 to 4 weeks |
Sunscreen is the whole treatment plan
If you take one thing from this page: a peel removes a layer of protection and reveals fresh skin. Fresh skin plus UV is how you undo the entire result, and worse, how you end up with pigmentation you did not have before.
SPF 30 minimum, every morning, reapplied if you are outside. Mineral formulas with zinc are gentler on healing skin. And yes, this applies to brown and Black skin. Melanin is a partial filter, not sunscreen.
What is normal and what is not
Normal: redness for a day or two, tightness, flaking and peeling, mild itching, skin that looks slightly darker right before it sheds, a small breakout as things clear out.
Call me: blistering, weeping or crusting, pain that increases instead of decreasing, swelling that spreads, any sign of infection, or a cold sore starting. If you get cold sores, tell your provider before the peel, not after, because a peel can trigger an outbreak and it is preventable with the right medication beforehand.
One peel is a treatment, a series is a result
A single peel gives you a nice glow for a couple of weeks. A series of three to six, spaced three to four weeks apart, is what changes pigmentation, texture and breakouts in a way you can still see months later.
Chemical peels are $100 at my studio, which makes a proper series realistic for most people. If your concern is texture and scarring rather than surface pigment, microneedling with exosomes may be the better spend. If you want brightening with no flaking at all, the Hollywood Peel is the no downtime option.
Before you book
Tell me if you are using retinol, if you have had a peel or laser recently, if you get cold sores, if you are pregnant, and if you have any tanning planned. Every one of those changes what I do or when I do it.
Peels and full pricing are on the services page. The studio is at 520 Ferry Street in the Ironbound, and consultations are free.
