Many
skin problems are caused by or associated with excessive build up of
dead
skin cells that make the skin thick and dull. AHAs help to
loosen and remove
the layers of dead skin cells that accumulate on the surface
of the skin.
This produces an initial thinning of the thickened skin and
an ongoing improvement
in skin appearance and texture.
A glycolic acid peel is a specific process whereby a
high concentration
of glycolic acid is applied to the skin. This rapidly removes the
dead outermost
layer of the skin to reveal a softer, smoother and clearer
skin underneath.
This activity causes the surface skin to appear
healthier, plumper and tighter.
Essentially, the glycolic acid peel process is a controlled removal
of the
surface skin cells to reveal a better looking skin.
In
the past chemical peeling agents have been primarily
phenol and trichloroacetic
acid (TCA). These types of chemical peels are effective in a
number
of conditions requiring a deeper peel, although they are, by
their
very nature, toxic to cells.
Phenol and TCA can produce significant
complications, such as excessive coloration or
discolouration (hyper-pigmentation
or hypo-pigmentation). The patient may have a long skin
recovery period
after peels with these agents. In contrast, glycolic acid
is not toxic
to the skin cells, and since it is used to gently remove the
outer
layer of dead cells that cover the healthy skin cells, the
glycolic
acid peel is a superficial peel. Skin appearance
improvements result
from a controlled series of peels that do not require long
recovery
periods or significant down time.
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