Chemical Peels in South Africa

1. Chemical Peels Introduction

The chemical peel is designed to provide gradual skin improvement and correction of certain skin problems. Compared with deeper procedures, this gradual approach is safer, has lesser risk of complications, gives a faster recovery and maintains normal skin texture & colour.

For maximum improvement of wrinkles, surface scars and dermal pigmentation, more than one peel will be needed. Wrinkles and scars that disappear with gentle stretching usually respond to the peel better than non-stretchable ones.

Most of the colour used, blue, will wash off with a special cleanser after the peel. If you want to remove the entire colour immediately, you must wash vigorously a number of times during the first hour after the peel. After that, washing must be gentle.

2. Why this Chemical Peel?

The chemical peel is a highly controlled; trichloroacetic acid based skin rejuvenation procedure created with the goal of eliminating the variables associated with TCA peels that contribute to uneven results. These include:

Concentration fixed at 15% or 20% TCA
Volume fixed at 4 - 6 ml.
Solution colour by adding blue colour guide.
Application in "coat" system.
Size of surface area = 5% of body surface
Depth control by all of the above and clear, clinical endpoints.
Skin response = skin conditioning and identifying thin versus thick skins.
Slower skin penetration and frost formation of TCA by combining with Blue Base gives time to observe depth signs and increases safety margin.

The patient is given painkillers and a mild tranquilliser to help them through it.

The entire process takes about 30 minutes and feels like peri-peri or chillies being applied to your skin. There is a sensation of heat, your eyes water involuntarily, and your nose runs. The chemicals are only active for two minutes and you have to wait a few minutes between each application for the pain to subside.

Three layers of the chemical are applied to badly affected areas of the skin, and two to the rest of the face, to remove sun damage, pigmentation and fine lines. A fan is used to cool the skin between applications and as the peel dries it produces a blue frosting effect on damaged areas of the skin, where it penetrates the deepest.

3. The primary objective of the Chemical Peel

The objective of the chemical peel is skin tightening - the clinical term for correction of skin problems located in the papillary dermis or immediate reticular dermis. These include stretchable scars or wrinkles and photo damage. Levelling effects could be obtained by using 2 to 3 procedures.
The peeling part is not pretty. Chunks of skin peel off and you can't scratch of pull of loose bits, because this will cause hyper pigmentation. Your skin comes off like crocodile skin. People run away from you and you look disgusting. All your freckles and spots have gone after 5 days of peeling.

4. Advantages of Chemical Peeling

Improvement of a wide range of medical, cosmetic skin problems.
Excellent, gradual skin tightening, mild and gradual skin levelling.
Suitable for all skin types.
Produces consistent results.
Standardised to control peel variables.
Easy recognition of endpoints to control penetration depth and minimise
complications and side effects.
Suitable for facial and non-facial skin.
A design modification can be performed to increase the intended depth in
certain areas.
Short recovery period.
Easy procedure to learn and perform.

5. Clinical Conditions Treatable

Fine and medium-deep stretchable wrinkles.
Epidermal and dermal hyper pigmentation or uneven patches of hyper/hypo
pigmentation.
Stretchable scars.
Acne, flat warts.
Large pores.
Actinic keratoses and other pre-malignant lesions.

The chemical peel is a TCA-based 'skin rejuvenator'. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) was first used in the 1980s as an ingredient for skin peels less deep than the previously used phenol peels. But the first few products met with mixed success, with variable effects and occasional scarring or pigmentation. This procedure developed to offer more control over the depth of the peel and thus the results. The oil-water solution used as a base for this chemical peel slows the release and penetration of TCA into the skin, which gives doctors time to observe the "frosting", that indicates the depth to which the chemical has penetrated.

This allows them to assure that the peel does not penetrate below the immediate reticular dermis (IRD). Procedures that do reach below the IRD, have a higher risk of scarring and permanent white patches.

Arranging A Chemical Peel in South Africa

South Africa has an extremely high standard of medical care, not to mention beautiful scenery and a soothing atmosphere.

You can be reassured that you will be in the hands of a professional practitioner who is registered with all the appropriate medical bodies. We can offer an initial consultation in the UK before you travel to Cape Town.

Click to request more information on chemical peels
or call us now on +27 (0) 21 782 8135