Chemical peeling is a well-established technique for rejuvenating your skin that is quite affordable and very effective. This is a great case example of what a TCA (trichloroacetic acid) chemical peel might do for someone with aging spots and hyperpigmentation. In today’s day and age of expensive, fancy laser skin rejuvenation devices, chemical peeling is a fantastic office-based skin enhancement procedure. This very pleasant San Diego patient presented to the office noting dark age spots around her cheeks that she desired to have treated. We reviewed the various skin rejuvenation options ranging from lasers (like a CO2 laser) to application of chemicals to peel the skin. She elected to undergo a chemical peel using TCA to help rejuvenate her facial skin while lightening the unwanted dark spots. We performed a 25% TCA full face peel in the office setting. Within 5-6 days, her skin was healing well enough such that she was publicly presentable. Her before and after photos are presented below.
Before and After TCA Chemical Peel
In the before photo (below left) you can easily appreciate the age spots and hyperpigmentation that she has involving her face, especially in the cheek region. As is noted in the diagrammed photo, there is a fairly intense, larger age spot that is particularly obvious. This was also quite bothersome to the patient. Following the TCA chemical peel, you can see the overall improvements that can be realized in many cases. Her skin now more uniform in color with less blotchiness. The largest, most pronounced age spot is now markedly better in appearance. In addition, her skin is smoother. And these results are seen following one chemical peel treatment at a 25% TCA concentration. In many cases, we can go higher than this and attain even better results. In this particular patient, her native skin color (slightly more ethnic skin) inhibited us from going too strong with the chemical concentration. But 25% was a safe yet effective choice in terms of the TCA peel. We plan on performing another peel in about 6 months to further enhance her facial appearance and hope to keep you informed of her progress.
