WINTERTIME: THE BEST TIME FOR CHEMICAL PEELING

By Vivian Moreno, Esthetician

This is one question I get a lot, simply because everyone wants to have a chemical peel in order to improve their appearance.  We’ve been told it’s an easy and quick solution for our facial woes.  But depending on the season, a peel may not be conducive to receiving optimium results, and aren’t results what we expect?  Therefore, the time of the year is important because Chemical Peeling  is as if your putting your skin thru a major workout, its trauma to the skin and the conditions for recovery is what’s equally important.

I have already begun my chemical peel for the winter.  Because of my age I will try to fit in at least 3 peels for the season. I will Include some spotting especially around my mouth and eyes. Check with your Doctor or Skin Care Professional if you are planning to do your eyes. I recommend the eyes for some of my clients but not all of them. People want  to peel and get the results, but what they don’t  realize or understand is the healing process.  The detail is in the healing not the peeling. No one teaches us this, even the professionals don’t, some clients will freak out during recovery. The whole idea with a chemical peel is to create a wound so that the skin can go through the healing process. There are 3 to 4 stages of healing (depending on who you ask) so it does take some time. If the skin heals up properly the collagen will rebuild and strengthen the skin, Awsome! If the skin is left vulnerable and  healing is interrupted problems can occur.

Skin redness, heat bumps, tightening, itchiness, and dry cracked peely skin, are all common after a chemical peel.  The deeper you take your peel the more activity will occur.  This is the natural inflammation process at work, which initiates the process of healing.  All these sequences need to be understood in order to make the final goal productive.

Now lets look at why Winter peeling  is more beneficial than Summer Peeling.   The Summer Season consist of more sunshine therefore more heat and sweat. which is not as conducive to a chemical peel, especially in regards to the healing aspect. With heat there is more opportunity for infection as well as its effect on nerve endings, causing more pain, discomfort, and irritation.  With more sunlight there is the opportunity for skin complications including discoloration. In the summer I like to use a light glycolic acid or a pumpkin enzyme for maintenance. If I am in need of a peel I will stick to a lunch time peel or a light peel that I really won’t have any down time or problems.

The Wintertime is the  perfect time to prepare your skin for the following summer by doing a peel. I will in fact try to get as much peeling in as possible.  It’s the perfect time and seasonal environment to build skin strength and skin immunity which leads to skin health.  What I mean, is that if you have skin health, your skin will have the strength and ability to endure and absorb the challenges of the following summer season.   The cool temperature of winter feels better on your skin and  is less irritating when your skin is healing. There is a reason why most surgeries are done in sub normal temperature environments.  A cooler surgery room means less chance of infection and other anomalies. In the cold winter months you are more likely to stay indoors and out of the sun during the healing process.

If you decide on getting  a professional peel this winter, be sure your Skin care professional is highly skilled.  A chemical peel performed correctly will lift and tighten the skin, add amazing clarity, reduce and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles, and most importantly, bring your skin back to better health.  That’s why the professional you choose to perform this procedure is important.  A Chemical Peel done wrong may cause deeper wrinkles, dry your skin out, increase the opportunity for discoloration and age the skin faster by the very anti-aging methods used, causing faster sagging of the skin. Remember the detail is in the healing not the peeling.