Skin Peels

Discover effective skin peels for perfect skin at the London Cosmetic Clinic, Knightsbridge, by our experienced cosmetic doctors.

Many skin problems are associated with an excessive build up of dead skin cells, which make the skin thick and dull, usually clogging the pores.

Skin peels can offer a revolutionary way to effectively treat ageing skin, acne, reduce sun damage and hyper pigmentation. This procedure can also help the skin to appear smoother, healthier, plumper and tighter.

What are chemical peels and how do they work?

The procedure involves the application of a chemical solution to the surface of the skin to produce the careful removal of its outer layers. The amount of skin removed will depend on the type of chemical used, the strength of this product and how long it is left on the skin.

Chemical peels are usually described according to how deep they work on the skin. Below are some examples of the type of peels and the kind of language you can expect to hear used when discussing chemical peels.

SUPERFICIAL PEELS (Glycolic acid such as Neostrata glycolic acid peel)
Remove the outer layer of the skin or the “epidermal layers”.

SUPERFICIAL TO MEDUIM DEPTH PEELS (such as NeoStrata peels)
Remove the skin slightly deeper than epidermal layer.

MEDIUM DEPTH PEELS (Trichloroacetic acid such as Obagi Blue peel)
Remove both the epidermal layers and upper dermal layers.

Obagi Blue Peel

Obagi blue peel is a unique procedure to precisely control the depth of a peel using a substance known as Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA). The blue is in the base that is applied to the face as a safe guard to enable the practitioner to see the depth of application to the skin and areas that need more or less of the base peel. The peels are variable in the depth and can be used on all skin types and can also be effective on neck, chest, hands and arms.

The treatment is used to resurface the facial skin following severe effects such as:
Lines & wrinkles
Pigmentation variance over face
Post inflammatory effects of hyper pigmentation after acne.
Aging due to sun damage to reduce deep wrinkles
Acne scars,
Large pores
It works on all skin types and colours and is suitable for facial and non-facial skin.

Blue Peel Program

A skin conditioning programme using Obagi Protocols should be started at least 12 weeks before the Blue Peel is performed to ensure that the skin is in a healthy condition and to optimise the results of the Blue Peel.
The depth of peel is dependant on the primary skin condition to be treated. There are 2 main layers of the skin. The epidermis which sits on top of the dermis.

• Light exfoliation : This will penetrate the top layer of skin to reduce fine lines, large pores, comedones (resistant black heads) and minor skin pigmentation problems. The time period for healing differs from person to person though the red effect from the skin peel should be less within 3-6 days.
• Deep exfoliation : This penetrates the epidermis to the basal layer which is the bottom layer of the epidermis, the top layer of skin, so it is moderate in depth. The healing time is 6-10 days. This can be applied for deeper lines and acne scarring correction and pigmentation problems the time period for healing differs from person to person though the red effect from the skin peel should be less within 6-10 days.
• Standard Blue Peel : This deep peel penetrates the papillary dermis which part of the dermis and is used for marked pigmentation and deep acne scarring problems as well as deep lines and wrinkles. The time period for healing differs from person to person though the red effect from the skin peel should be less within 8-12 days.
• Designed Blue Peel : This deep peel penetrates what’s known as the reticular dermis. This is a deeper part of the dermis. This is used for very deep pigmentation variances and acne scarring that is resistant to less invasive peels. The time period for healing differs from person to person though the red effect from the skin peel should be less within 12- 16 days.

Immediately after the peel application procedure, which takes around twenty minutes, a bluish tint remains on your skin, which usually washes off within 24 hours.
You will be given detailed verbal and written information that is specific to your aftercare and you will be prescribed after care products to protect and moisturize your skin as part of the healing process.

After the procedure, you will experience light erythema and your skin will peel within 2 to 3 days and will continue to peel for a few days.
When your skin is finished peeling, you will immediately see improvement. The appearance of your skin will continue to improve for the next 4 to 6 weeks.