Top tips to follow post chemical peels

Sonette Donker of Skin iD provides important pointers on how to care for the skin after a peeling treatment

Image from Shutterstock

Must have products

1. Post peeling cream to speed up healing and bring comfort to the skin, while offering protection against the environment.

2. Sunscreen must be applied daily for at least 14 days post peel. This is to protect the new ‘baby’ skin. You can also cover that skin with clothing if you have peeled the neck and decollete areas. If you live in a sunny country, I recommend you apply a sunscreen daily, all year round. It is the best anti-ageing skin product and helps to maintain the results you have achieved with your peels.

3. A gentle, hydrating cleanser is vital to cleanse and hydrate the dry skin post peel.

The most important thing to remember is to keep the skin ‘moist’, as a moist skin will always heal much better.

What the client must do

1. Minimise direct sunlight post peel.

2. Avoid heat – saunas, hot showers, fireplaces and heaters – as these will cause unnecessary trauma to your skin and can affect the healing process negatively.

3. Avoid chemicals, i.e. swimming in a chlorine pool. Salt water is a better option, but will dry out your skin, thereby slowing down your healing process.

4. Moderate exercise is normally fine, depending on the type of peel you’ve had, but avoid excessive sweating as this might cause your skin to burn.

5. Avoid using all your active products containing ingredients such as glycolic acid, retinol, etc. for at least 3 to 4 weeks post peel. Your skin professional will guide you here as it all depends on how strong your peel was.

6. If you had a TCA peel and your skin is visibly peeling, don’t pull the skin off as you can tear into the healthy skin and cause scarring. The skin will peel at its own natural rate, ensuring optimum healing.

7. Avoid alcohol based toners for at least 14 days post your peel.

8. Avoid waxing 2 weeks prior and 3 weeks post a peel.

Alerts

1. If your skin has come off prematurely due to rubbing your skin dry with a towel, or if you had a peel on your decollate area, your car safety belt might have loosened the skin and pulled it off.

2. If you are in extreme discomfort, contact your skin professional for guidance as you might be doing something wrong, or the peel might not be suited to your skin.

3. If you accidentally get sunburnt, you must let your skin professional know as you might need to use a brightening product as soon as all the skin has peeled off.

4. If any of the post peeling products you use at home cause stinging, burning or excess redness, you need to consult your skin professional so that the products can be changed.

Sonette Donker is a qualified professional skincare therapist who has worked in the professional skincare industry for more than 20 years, for companies such as Dermalogica, Nimue Skin International, Skin Rejuvenation Technologies and pHformula. She has travelled the world presenting at congresses, press events and medical conferences. Donker is the owner of Skin iD and skinfundi.com