Question:
Do chemical peels work better on some types of skin? I don’t just mean different ethnic types, but also skin on different parts of the body.
Answer:
Chemical peels work in a similar fashion on different types of skin however there are precautions and contraindications on darker skin types for certain types of peels as well as other regions of the body. Given that there are so many different depths and types of peels I can’t possibly speak of them all. For medium depth chemical peels which are similar to the those I would perform in surgery, they are only useful for patients with skin types of Fitzpatrick scale I-IV. I would eliminate patient’s with skin types of either Middle Eastern or African descent. Regarding skin on other parts of the body, there is not as many hair follicles or oil glands as facial hair. For that reason the depth of the peel needs to be lighter in order to prevent scarring. Because the depth needs to be lighter, the results will not be a significant. Having said that, significant results can be obtained on the hands and arms with chemical peeling.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
