3rd TCA Chemical Peel - Day 4

I applied my third TCA chemical peel (25%) on Friday evening.  It’s now Monday, and I’m peeling pretty aggressively now, but it started this morning with just a crack.

This is day 4, so I’m planning to hide out.  Wish this weren’t part of the process, but it is and the best way to deal with it is to avoid making plans.  Clean the house, do laundry, paint those scuffed walls…whatever you can do to keep busy and stay in the house.

This picture is just after I woke, before applying moisturizer; you can see that the skin is just starting to crack:

This is late afternoon.  I’ve been applying moisturizer all day, along with doing lots around the house, so it has been a productive day, even though I’ve been hiding.  It's been helpful to stay busy--it keeps me from pulling off the peeling skin, which can damage the new skin.  I tried to think of it was a natural barrier between me and those pesky UV rays.  Tomorrow I'll have to don sunscreen, so I'm enjoying this day without that step--and all those other steps.

This picture is just before bed.  Most of the frontal peeling is done.  Just the sides tomorrow, but I'll easily be able to go out with moisturizer and sunscreen.

I'll post pictures tomorrow of before and after, if I'm finished peeling on the sides; otherwise, I'll post progress photos.

3rd TCA Chemical Peel - Day 3

Day 3 after a TCA Chemical Peel is really the worst day: the skin looks like leather, no matter how much moisturizer I use.  This is not a good look, so I try to hide on days 3-4.

You can see that the skin looks more leathery where I applied more of the solution.  I did not apply solution to the side of my face, so it looks normal, less red and leathery.


I am also cleansing using the Oil Cleansing Method, which helps, but it doesn't prevent this leathery look.  I like to use Apricot Kernel Oil, and this is the brand I like.

The oil may not prevent the leathery look, but it does help with tightness, and it won't cause acne for me.

3rd TCA Chemical Peel - Day 2

Today, the day after applying my third TCA Chemical Peel (25%), my face is tight and pink, nothing a little concealer and blush can't hide.

I like to put blush on the areas that aren't pink to even it out without having to put a lot of time into concealer, which is also more expensive.

The tightness bothers me more than anything else, so I use lots of moisturizer.  Unfortunately, the moisturizer only minimizes those fine lines that come from the tightness.

To accelerate heeling, if you have a humidifier, use it as much as possible to keep the air and your skin from getting too dry too fast.  You want to give the new skin time to fully develop before the skin starts to crack or peel.  Also, drink lots of water and try to stay away from sugar, which slows down healing.

I'll post pictures tomorrow from day 3.

Chemical Peel Frosting

Several people have asked about frosting, so I wanted to post a picture of what the skin looks like when it frosts during a chemical peel.

This picture is a close up from my third TCA Chemical Peel, using a 25% solution:

You can see the areas are red from the solution, but where the solution has penetrated well, it is a translucent white or milky color.

Ideally, the frosting is uniform, but you can see where the solution dripped down one nostril, there is frosting.  I'm glad I put petroleum jelly on my lips because there is a lot of frosting just above my lips, and it abruptly stops there.

I will post picture tomorrow from day 2 after the peel.

3rd TCA Chemical Peel

Last night, I applied my third TCA chemical peel in this series.  I used a 25% solution, which was really strong.  I took a video, but I pulled out only a few pictures from it.  If you’re interested in seeing the video, let me know, and I’ll send you a link.

If you haven’t read my page on how to do a chemical peel, you should take a look to make sure you prepare for it correctly, which may take up to a month.  I’ve already done that, so I’ll include only the steps that were applicable for this peel. 

1. After preparing my 25% TCA chemical peel and mixing the neutralizer, I cleansed and removed any remaining oils using rubbing alcohol.

2. I apply protection to my lips using petroleum jelly.


3. Using the two swabs, I dip them into the dish and apply in this order: forehead, nose, above lip, cheeks, chin area.  While I use my fingers to apply glycolic acid, I don’t want to do this with TCA chemical peel or I'll peel the tips of my fingers.

4. I let the areas frost before neutralizing.  Frosting is when the skin starts to turn white or looks a bit like a frosted glass.  NOTE: if the three-minute timer rings before frosting has occurred, I have to decide if I want to wait.  I know my reaction when it frosts versus not frosting.  I keep in mind that the longer I leave on the solution, the longer it will take to peel. I NEVER LEAVE THE PEEL ON LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES.  For this peel, since it was stronger than the others, I didn’t use a timer: I just waited until it frosted, which occurred in less than 1 minute.

5. I apply the neutralizer with my fingers.  This is a mixture of baking soda and water.

6. Then rinse with copious amounts of cool water for about 1-2 minutes and gently blot the face dry with a hand towel.

7. Apply a gentle moisturizer, such as shea butter .

8. Apply sunscreen if it's daytime.

Do not use any peeling agents for at least one week.  If my skin tolerates the peel well, I can do another in 4-5 weeks.  Visit my page Caring for skin after Chemical Peel

I'll post pictures tomorrow of how my face looks the next morning.