Give Your Face a Fresh Look for the Upcoming Holidays With a Chemical Peel

As the holiday season draws near, it’s natural to want to look your best. If a revitalized complexion in time for festive gatherings or family photos tops your wish list, you may want to consider a chemical peel. This nonsurgical treatment invites a range of benefits, from a more youthful skin texture to reduced acne scars.

Board-certified oculofacial plastic surgeon Robert M. Schwarcz, MD, and his team are pleased to offer chemical peels to give patients in Manhattan and Scarsdale, New York, a fresh look. Here’s a brief primer on this popular aesthetic treatment, including potential benefits you can look forward to.

The basics of chemical peels

During your chemical peel, your provider applies a chemical solution to your skin that does away with the top layers. When new skin replaces those layers, it appears smoother and more radiant.

Chemical peels come in various intensities, including light (or “superficial”), medium, and deep. The treatment itself takes about 30-90 minutes. While a light peel may involve 1-7 days of recovery time, recovery from a medium or deep peel may take 2-3 weeks.

Common issues chemical peels address include:

• Acne scars
• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Hyperpigmentation
• Melasma 
• Redness
• Sun damage
• Uneven skin tone 

Local anesthetics can help reduce discomfort. If you opt for a deep chemical peel, a surgical dressing will help your skin heal. Dr. Schwarcz may also prescribe painkillers. 

Something to consider is that a chemical peel is an easy add on to most surgical procedures, and can be done at the same time.  The biggest benefit of this is that you heal from the peel at the same time you heal from whatever other procedure you underwent.

While your skin heals and regrows, you may need to apply a special ointment several times per day.

Timing your pre-holiday peel

Because redness can linger for weeks following a deeper peel, you may want to choose a light or medium chemical peel in the time leading up to the holidays. Plan to give yourself a good week of recovery time. During that time, you can go about your usual daily life, but you may not feel “camera ready.”

Light chemical peel results are subtler than deep chemical peels, but if you plan ahead, a series of light peels over the course of a several months can bring accumulative benefits. 

You can also enhance your lighter peel results with other cosmetic procedures, such as Dysport® or facial fillers, injectables that minimize wrinkles without requiring recovery time. Our team can help determine your ideal treatment plan based on your skin, beauty goals, and holiday plans.

To learn more about chemical peels or to get started with your desired treatment, call one of our offices to book an appointment with Dr. Schwarcz today. You can also request an appointment through this website using our online scheduling tool.