Skincare
Chemical Peels (Professional)
Depth-dependent and real: superficial peels for texture and pigment, medium-depth for scarring and lines. At-home high-strength acid is how people scar themselves.
Also called: tca peel · glycolic peel · jessner peel
Verdict — legit
Does what it claims, with evidence behind it.
Evidence grade B
At least one good randomised trial, or consistent findings across controlled studies.
Mechanism
Controlled chemical wounding to a defined depth triggers re-epithelialisation and dermal remodelling, with new collagen deposition proportional to the depth of injury.
Citations
- Chemical peels for acne and acne scars in Asians: evidence-based reviewJournal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery · 2018
- Complications of chemical peeling and their managementDermatologic Clinics · 2019
The full read
The efficacy is not controversial; the risk is entirely about depth control, and depth control is what you are paying a practitioner for. Superficial glycolic or salicylic series improve texture and post-inflammatory pigment with minimal downtime. Medium-depth TCA does meaningful work on atrophic scarring at the cost of a week of visible peeling. In Fitzpatrick IV–VI, aggressive peeling carries a real post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation risk and needs someone who treats that skin routinely. The mail-order 30% TCA version of this is one of the more common ways this community produces a permanent scar.
