Obagi Chemical Peels

Obagi Chemical Peels at The Clinic Holland Park, West London.

A chemical peel is a deep rejuvenation treatment for your skin. An acidic solution is used to remove the damaged outer layers of the skin, which helps to eliminate blemishes, acne scars, wrinkles, uneven pigmentation and sun damage, while improving overall texture and tightness.

The chemical peel is one of the oldest cosmetic procedures in the world, and was performed in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to help people achieve smoother, more beautiful skin. Today, chemical facial peels are popular because they offer nearly immediate results and can be performed as an outpatient procedure.

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Medical-Grade Skincare, West London

Chemical peels can be done on the face, neck, or hands. They can be used to:

Reduce fine lines under the eyes and around the mouth
Treat wrinkles caused by sun damage and ageing
Improve the appearance of mild scars
Treat certain types of acne
Treat pigmentation, reducing age spots, freckles and melasma (dark patches caused by pregnancy or the contraceptive pill).

The acidic solution exfoliates the outer layers of dead skin, to reveal a new skin layer with improved tone, texture and colour.

A chemical peel can provide several benefits to the skin. The procedure can restore a more youthful appearance to the skin, reducing wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, sun-damage, and blotchy patches.

Obagi Blue Peel RADIANCE® is a superficial, salicylic-acid-based peel that can be used on a wide range of skin types to reveal younger-looking skin. You will notice a glowing improvement in your overall complexion after just 1 peel – tighter, smoother, brighter-looking skin. A course of 4-6 peels provides the best results.

Blue Peel RADIANCE® helps improve the following skin concerns:

Fine lines and wrinkles
Rough, uneven skin
Blemishes
Mild to moderate photo-ageing.

Obagi Blue Peel RADIANCE® is a quick and easy in-clinic procedure with little to no downtime.

The Obagi Nu Derm System we offer at The Clinic Holland Park is available by prescription only. It is a 3-month programme of skincare that aims to correct and transform your skin, addressing the signs of photodamage and restoring healthy function to your skin at a cellular level. These are high-strength creams, and contain the active ingredient hydroquinone (a skin-lightening agent). Nu Derm System is ideal for the reduction of: age spots, hyperpigmentation (discolouration), rough skin, sallowness (yellow complexion), and erythema (redness). It is available both for normal/dry or normal/oily skin types. Further, Vitamin A can be added to your Nu Derm System skincare regime, in the form of tretinoin, to accelerate the skin cell cycle and to enhance skin lightening.

Your skin is exposed to a number of environmental stressors on a daily basis, causing ongoing damage that can reach the deepest layers of your skin. Photodamage, caused by the sun’s harmful rays, is the main cause of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots – the earliest signs of ageing to appear on your face. Of course, skin ageing is a natural process, but daily sun exposure contributes significantly to premature ageing, causing the skin to appear dull, with older, damaged skin cells accumulating due to a slower cell turnover.

FAQs

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF CHEMICAL PEELS?

Rarely do chemical peels result in serious complications, but certain risks exist. With light and medium peels, mild side effects such as redness, stinging and crusting usually subside within a day or two after treatment. Side effects associated with deep chemical peels are typically more pronounced, and recovery time is longer. More serious side effects are possible: scarring, infection, swelling, changes in skin tone, and cold sore outbreaks. However, serious side effects are rare when the procedure is performed by a qualified doctor, and you can greatly reduce the risks associated with facial peels by providing your doctor with a complete medical history at your initial consultation, and by following all your aftercare instructions.

WHAT SKINCARE IS INVOLVED AFTER A CHEMICAL PEEL?

When you undergo a skin peel, the treated layers of skin gradually flake away and a fresh, new layer of skin is revealed. A reaction similar to sunburn occurs following the procedure. Peeling usually involves redness followed by scaling that ends within 3 to 7 days. Medium-depth and deep peeling may result in swelling and even blisters which, over a period of 7 to 14 days, may break, crust, turn brown, and then peel off. You will need to avoid direct sun and apply sun protection after a chemical peel because your new skin will be fragile. Skin heals more efficiently in a moist environment, so speak to your doctor about an effective moisturiser.

After a chemical peel, skin is temporarily more sensitive to the sun, so wear sunscreen every day (yes, even in the UK, and even when you are not sunbathing). Your sunscreen should read ‘broad-spectrum’ on the label, meaning that it protects against the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. Note also that your sunscreen should be at least SPF 30 and a ‘physical’ sunscreen (look for zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in the ingredients). Limit your time in the sun, especially midday between the hours of 10am and 2pm, and wear a wide-brimmed hat.

HOW OFTEN WILL I NEED TO HAVE CHEMICAL PEELS?

Although chemical peels can help repair visible damage on the surface of the skin, they cannot repair the irreversible damage of the sun and other factors associated with ageing. In fact, if clients are receiving chemical peels and continue to sunbathe with no SPF, they will most likely cause more skin damage than they had before the peels.

Superficial peels are performed to reduce the appearance of fine lines, to even out your skin tone, and to treat acne. The deeper peels are performed for these same reasons but, because they penetrate deeper into the skin, they will create a wound response to stimulate collagen production as well. Receiving this treatment once will give the skin visible results; however, it needs to be done consistently to receive the best outcome. Keeping this in mind, it is important to know that you might need several treatments, depending on the amount of damage to your skin. Mild peels may be repeated at 1-to-4-week intervals until you get the results you desire; medium-depth peels may be repeated in 6 to 12 months, if necessary.

HOW LONG DOES A CHEMICAL PEEL TAKE?

The application and treatment are relatively simple and tolerable. The skin is prepped and cleansed and application (depending on the treatment) takes between 30-45 minutes, depending on the number of coats of peel your doctor has deemed necessary. The application will involve one or more chemical solutions – such as glycolic acid, trichloroacetic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, or carbolic acid (phenol) – applied to small areas of your skin. This creates a controlled wound, letting new skin take its place. During a chemical peel, most people feel a burning sensation that lasts about 5 to 10 minutes, followed by a stinging sensation. Putting cool compresses on the skin may ease that stinging. During or after a deeper peel, you may need pain medication.

WHAT IS THE RECOVERY TIME FOR A CHEMICAL PEEL?

The recovery time after a chemical peel depends on the type of peel administered, because each type of peel affects the skin to a different degree.

Light chemical peels: these mild peels require virtually no recovery time. Although the skin may be mildly irritated after the peel, patients can return to their daily activities immediately after treatment.

Medium chemical peels: the new layer of skin appears 3 to 7 days after treatment. About 2 weeks after treatment the skin will be fully healed.

Deep chemical peels: the new layer of skin begins to appear 7 to 10 days after treatment, although complete healing can take 2 months or longer. Typically, patients take a week off from work after undergoing a deep chemical peel.

WHY DO YOU OFFER OBAGI PEELS ALONG WITH OBAGI MEDICAL-GRADE SKINCARE?

We offer medical-grade skincare by Obagi in the form of the Nu Derm System, which you can have with or without tretinoin (to enhance skin lightening and speed up the cell cycle). The Nu Derm System is a 3-month programme in which you apply high-strength treatment creams that include hydroquinone (a skin-lightening agent) to treat hyperpigmentation. We offer two types of Obagi chemical peel: the widely acclaimed Obagi Blue Peel RADIANCE® (see below); and the Obagi Blue Peel. The Obagi Blue Peel is a TCA peel (trichloroacetic acid) that works hand-in-hand with Obagi prescription skincare. Obagi Blue Peel is a medium-depth peel for patients on the Obagi Nu Derm System who want a skin-boosting treatment regarding pigmentation and fine lines. Obagi’s prescription skincare and their Blue Peel are not suitable for darker skin types, because these treatments target pigmentation.