Chemical Peel
Medical-grade acids exfoliate damaged skin layers to improve tone, acne, and fine lines at any depth.
Chemical Peel near you
Charles
Lee, MD
David
Kahng
Jeffrey
Jumaily, MD
William
Harris, MD
Anthony
Griffin, MD
Lily
Lee, MD
David
Alessi, MD
Vanessa
Christopher, MD
Karan
Dhir, MD
Richard
Zoumalan, MD
Arash
Moradzadeh, MD
Dr.
Mossi Salibian, MD
Armen
Vartany, MD
Brent
Moelleken, MD
Navanjun
Grewal, MD
Bruce
Kadz, MD
Allen
Foulad, MD
Carlo
Honrado, MD
Leslie
Stevens, MD
Kian
Karimi, MD
Behrooz
Torkian, MD
Reza
Nabavian, MD
Jay
Jensen, MD
George
Sanders, MD
James
Pearson, MD
Nikolas
Chugay, DO
Devdas
Wali, MD
Shabnam
Ghazizadeh, MD
Howard
Hu, MD
Hannah
Vu, MD
Lindsay
Monroe, NP
Rami
Batniji, MD
Michael
Schwartz, MD
Brian
Dickinson, MD
Joseph
Cruise, MD
Michael
J Sundine, MD
Kevin
Sadati, DO
Thomas
Toohey, MD
Donald
Mowlds, MD
Robert
Kessler, MD
Tenley
Lawton, MD
Chemical Peel specialists
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Chemical Peel: making the decision
What the price actually covers
Honest risks
- Redness and visible peeling for days (depth-dependent)
- Pigment changes are the main risk on deeper skin tones — ask about experience with your skin type
- Strict sunscreen for weeks after
Are you a good candidate?
- Texture, tone, fine lines, or acne marks
- No active skin infections or recent isotretinoin
- Willing to protect skin from sun after
Six questions for every consult
- Are you board-certified, and in what specialty? (Verify it — don't just ask.)
- How many of this exact procedure did you do in the last 12 months?
- Can I see before/afters of patients with my anatomy or skin type?
- Who handles complications, and what's your revision policy and fee?
- Where is the procedure done, and is the facility accredited?
- What results would you consider realistic for me — and what won't this fix?
Verify before you book
Superficial, medium, and deep peels are three different procedures
“Chemical peel” spans everything from a lunchtime glycolic treatment to an operation-grade phenol peel done with cardiac monitoring. Depth decides the result, the downtime, and the risk — all three scale together.
| Superficial | Medium | Deep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches | Epidermis only | Epidermis plus upper dermis | Mid-dermis |
| Typical agents | Glycolic, lactic, salicylic acids | 35–50% TCA, often layered with Jessner's solution | Phenol–croton oil (Baker-Gordon) |
| Recovery | Days of flaking; repeatable | Redness peaks day 4–5; done peeling in 10–14 days | Two weeks before returning to work; redness up to 3 months |
| Setting | Office | Office, often with mild sedation | Surgical setting — sedation, IV fluids, cardiac monitoring |
| Result | Subtle, cumulative over a series | Fine wrinkles, photodamage, melasma in one sitting | Dramatic; a single treatment can last up to 10 years |
For medium and deep peels, a history of oral herpes means starting antiviral prophylaxis one to two days before the peel and continuing until the skin has fully re-epithelialized — ten to fourteen days. An outbreak across peeling skin risks scarring precisely where the peel was meant to improve things. Like laser resurfacing, this is a standard screening question, and its absence from a consultation tells you something.
Source: Soleymani et al., J Clin Aesthet Dermatol, 2018 ↗Med spas by metro
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R&J Medspa
Patient reviews
Chemical Peel: common questions
How much does a chemical peel cost?
The ASPS average for skin resurfacing procedures, which includes chemical peels, is $1,829 — but the range behind that average is enormous because “peel” spans three different procedures. Superficial peels are inexpensive, repeatable office treatments sold in series; medium peels are a single larger event; a deep phenol peel is priced like the surgical-setting procedure it is. The quote only means something once you know the depth, the agent, and how many sessions the plan assumes.
How many peels will I need, and what's the downtime?
It depends entirely on depth. Superficial peels: days of flaking, results build over a repeated series. Medium peels: redness peaks around day four or five, peeling finishes in ten to fourteen days, and one sitting treats fine wrinkles, photodamage, and melasma. A deep peel is done once: about two weeks before returning to work, redness for up to three months — and results that can last up to ten years. Deeper equals more downtime, more risk, and more result; that trade is the whole decision.
Are deep peels safe?
In the right hands and the right setting, yes — and the setting is the point. Phenol, the deep-peel agent, is absorbed into the bloodstream and can trigger heart-rhythm disturbances, so published protocols call for cardiac monitoring, IV fluids, and sedation in a surgical environment, and rule out patients with heart-rhythm, liver, or kidney conditions. Phenol also permanently lightens the treated skin, which may lose the ability to tan — a real cosmetic trade-off, not a footnote. Anyone with a cold-sore history needs antivirals from before the peel until the skin fully heals.