Question: I am a 42-year-old woman with fairly bad skin. I would like to go a few more years without getting surgery, so I am looking into resurfacing options. I am trying to decide between a chemical peel and microdermabrasion. Which treatment is more effective on skin that has merely suffered the effects of time?
Answer: Well, that is highly dependent on what type of chemical peel is recommended. There are literally countless types of chemical peels available, from exceptionally superficial peels that would not be nearly as effective as a microdermabrasion to extremely aggressive deep peels that would provide extensive wrinkle reduction, skin tightening, and complete removal of any unnatural and abnormal pigmentation from the skin. Now, obviously, the lighter peel can be easily performed in the spa setting, and the extremely deep peel tends to be performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. With that being said, there are also chemical peels that lie somewhere in between that can provide more improvement than a microdermabrasion and yet can also be performed in a spa setting.
This is why it is extremely important to seek out an experienced professional when considering any sort of treatment that involves microdermabrasion or significant chemical peels. We have a variety of options at Quintessa Medical Spa, from various chemical peels to MicroLaserPeel, full Erbium laser resurfacing, ProFractional laser resurfacing, as well as medical-grade skin care products that can all do a wonderful job of rejuvenating a patient’s skin.