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Body Peels | Which Acid | What Percentage | Fitzpatrick

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Transcript: 

So, you are interested in doing a body peel, but you aren't sure where to start? I can help you!

There are a few acids that people like to use to do a body peel:

Jessners and TCA are the most used. … but Glycolic and Lactic are also options if you are looking for a milder peel.

If you are dealing with pigmentation – Freckles from baby oil and long hours lounging in the sun???? Jessners is your friend and my first choice. I usually suggest starting off with about 3 layers. Then add on more each month as your see how your skin handles the acid.

TCA is another great option that can be applied by itself OR layered with Jessners. This is usually something we suggest when you are concerned with aging or crepey skin AND you also have a good deal of pigmentation. Double duty here!

If you are dealing with just crepey skin… then we generally suggest TCA only … but what percentage?

First things first – what color is your skin?
Have you heard of the Fitzpatrick classification?

Its important. It is a scale where your skin is organized by its coloring, your heritage, eye & hair color and your rate of sunburn potential. The darker your skin – the more potential you have to get PIH. That is Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation.

SO…
If you have Olive skin or darker… we need you to PREP with a melanin inhibitor for at least 3-4 weeks before you do a body peel! Ok?

Our Fade Bright is Perfect for that. We want you to apply this every day.

The darker your skin… the longer you need to prep and the milder the % of acid you need to choose. SAFETY FIRST!

Back to WHAT % to use of TCA.

30% at 1 layer is great if you have Very light skin. Fitzpatrick 1, 2, and 3 skin. These are your Irish, Northern Europeans, and Germans in the Fitzpatrick Scale.


If you are a FitzPatrick 4 starting with a 20% could be appropriate. These are your Asian, Mediterranean, Hispanic and Southern Europeans.

If you are Fitzpatick 5/6 starting with a 13% could be appropriate. These will be Indian and Africans.

Why do I say COULD????? *Because Not everyone has skin that is appropriate to do chemical peels on in the Fitzpatrick Ethnic categories.

If you have skin that is constantly "marked up". You may not be a good candidate.

Several dark areas on the skin from little wounds, scratches, bites, pimples... little things that never go away, show a great tendency to pigment.

This is a sign that you have a very high chance of getting PIH. Your first step would be to use a melanin inhibitor to see if areas such as that will fully go away in a short amount of time. If proper treatment removes these in a few weeks - then you may be ok for a peel.

One more note on using milder percentages:

If your skin is thinner... folks in their late 50’s, 60's and up generally, we want to lower that % as well.

TCA 20 or even 13% can work better for you. Start with only 2 or 3 layers and work up slowly. Adding on 1 additional layer each month as your skin tolerates.

Let’s talk really quick about how to prep your skin for a body peel and what to apply afterwards.

We have some great products here to help even out the layers of dead skin on your body, so the peel penetrates nice and evenly. Usually prepping the body for a few weeks will help you to get a much better result when you finally do your peel. So treat this as something you SHOULD definitely do.

15% body wash – this can be used every day to help dissolve the dead skin. Easy and smells amazing!

Triple Treat 25% Body Lotion Start off with 3x per week. This is a treatment lotion. Add on as your skin tolerates.

After your peel your skin can be sensitive. So gentle products only for a couple of weeks.

MY 2 favorites to recommend are Pure Shea Butter and Emu oil. The shea butter moisture last so long. You will be hydrated all day. You can mix it with the emu oil, apply them separately... or just use your favorite. I love them both… which is why I am showing you both.

After a couple of weeks… when the skin is starting to flake you can add on the Triple Treat a few times per week if you wish. This can speed up the turnover a bit for some.

After 30 – 35 days your skin should be done flaking and you will be ready to do another body peel. Keep in mind that you will have to do a series. The skin on the body is quite thick – and damages are going to be very deep. Expect 6-8 peels to make a good dent in how your skin is looking.

PICTURES!!!! Take one before you start and one every month so you can compare and keep yourself motivated through the process.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you will really SEE all the changes happening. Don’t get me wrong.. you may see some of those spots going away… but you won’t see all of them unless you are comparing side by side photos. You may get disappointed if you don’t have these photos. So take them. TRUST ME! They will keep you going.

If you decide to take a Peel Break.. keep up with your Fade Bright and Triple Treat so pigmentation can continue fading. …and if you are working on Crepey skin… use your other daily products such as GHK or retinoids to keep the skin rejuvenating.

SPF 50 or higher in the summer months!!! No tanning if you are trying to treat pigmentation or you will UNDUE all of your hard work!!!

Well… that’s it! I hope this helped you. Reach out if you have any more questions about body peeling.