“Chemical peels are a family of topically applied, acid substances that are primarily naturally derived from sugar cane, apples, or milk. These are applied to the skin in office for several reasons: if you have oily or acne-prone skin, if you have fine lines, or if you have photo damage, which would include things like brown spots or discoloration from the sun. The chemical peel is done in the office setting after a little bit of preparation and cleansing. The product is applied to your skin, it’s incubated for a varying amount of time, depending on what your practitioner thinks is the optimum, and then it’s neutralized. What can you expect afterwards? The main thing I always tell people is that it’s important to make sure you don’t go in the sun immediately after a peel because it can really promote a sunburn and promote an adverse reaction. Other than that, you might have just a little bit of fine peeling, a little bit of mild redness. But nothing that should keep you at home, nothing that should create any significant downtime. The benefit is that you’ll have a glow. You’ll have a freshness to your skin. And you’ll actually fundamentally change the under-surface of your skin by promoting new collagen deposition, by shrinking your pores, and by minimizing sebum production.”
Reena Rupani, MD, is a board certified dermatologist at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday-Thursday. She has written several publications, including two textbooks, on dermatology and has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed articles. She has a particular interest in both adult and pediatric medical and surgical dermatology, as well as cosmetic care, including Botox, chemical peels, injectable fillers, and laser therapies. Mount Sinai Doctors is an organization of clinical relationships and multi-specialty services that expand the Mount Sinai Health System’s footprint beyond the seven main hospital campuses into the greater New York City area.