Skin Care Information - Are you a candidate for chemical peels?

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Skin Care Information - Candidates for Chemical Peel Wrinkle Free Skin Care

Here is some specific and authentic skin care information and some skin care tips on chemical peels for you. A chemical peel involves using a chemical solution to improve and smooth the texture of the facial skin by removing its damaged outer layers and fine wrinkles. If you want wrinkle free skin care - chemical peels might be right for you!!

Chemical peels are helpful for individuals with facial blemishes, wrinkles and uneven skin pigmentation. The patients who present with advanced to severe skin damage and deep wrinkles are good candidates for the chemical peels. Treatments with chemical peels are the best treatments for wrinkle free skin care, which is suitable both for fine and coarse wrinkles.

Patients with fine and deep rhytids, uncontrollable acne, acne scars, ephelides, lentigines, telangiectasias, actinic keratoses are also suitable for treatment with chemical peels.

Skin with dyschromia, premalignant skin tumors, and acne scars can be treated with chemical peeling, it can provide the best wrinkle free skin care.

Chemical peels may also remove pre-cancerous skin growths, soften acne facial scars and even help control acne, so chemical peels are a good preventative regimen for cancer skin care and as a part of skin cancer treatment.

Originally, only women with a fair complexion were the ideal candidates for deep chemical peels. But lately the phenol-based peel techniques have been developed such they can now be safely performed on patients with olive and dark skin.

Thick male skin is usually less responsive to a deep peel so this skin resurfacing procedure is not normally suitable for males.

Consultation with skin care specialists

Individual patient characteristics are investigated during the interview with your skin care specialist. Various aspects will be covered such as the patient's expectations, age of the patient, cumulative sun exposure history, and genetic predisposition to hypertrophic scars or keloids.

Skin type and color, ethnic background, and age are important factors in determining which of the different chemical peel procedures is most appropriate for wrinkle free skin care. If you have problems such as allergies, previous burns, a history of poor scars, or radiation exposure, you may need special evaluation to determine if you are a candidate for these procedures. If you have had episodes of cold sores and blisters around the mouth, inform your surgeon of this condition as this could be a problem with some chemical peel techniques.

Patients are specifically required to tell about their scar formation history to the skin care specialist. While this is less of an issue with superficial chemical peels like glycolic acid peels, it is required with a more potent professional skin care regimen such as phenol peels. A thorough medical history, including surgeries such as facelifts, radiation treatments, dermabrasion, and laser treatments, is definitely required.

If patients have active herpes simplex virus (HSV) lesions, they should wait for the lesions to resolve prior to the peel. However, in patients with only a history of HSV, prophylaxis may be instigated using acyclovir 400mg twice a day while preparing for the chemical peel treatment.

Before deciding on a skin resurfacing procedure, your facial skin care specialist may recommend a skin care regimen prior to the procedure which helps you to prepare the skin for more aggressive procedures. If you have extensive damage from aging or injury, more than one procedure - mixed peels, microdermabrasion or laser resurfacing may also be recommended.

Chemical peel procedures can be performed on patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, thrombocytopenia, thyroid malfunction, etc., as long as their disease is well-controlled and stable. All such patients are required to have an electrocardiogram and complete blood count prior to the procedure as a general assessment since sedation will be used.

Deep chemical peeling may exacerbate certain inflammatory conditions, such as psoriasis, rosacea, and contact dermatitis. Insulin use or a history of radiotherapy to the facial skin can be a relative contraindication to the use of deep peels owing to impaired wound healing.

Patients treated with systemic isotretinoin (Accutane) are not candidates for resurfacing. They can go for deep peeling only a year after the cessation of isotretinoin therapy Since isotretinoin treatment decreases the number and size of pilosebaceous units, it may delay healing and increase the risk of scarring. Hair follicles help in healing skin, so a reduction in their activity can slow down the ability of the skin to heal.

A cosmetic surgeon or your skin care specialist gathering data on medical history; needs to make a special note of any cardiac, hepatic, or renal diseases, because these may affect the possible systemic toxicities of certain peeling agents.

A patient's cardiologist needs to consulted if the patient is undergoing treatment for heart disease (coronary disease, arrhythmias, valvular problems, cardiomyopathy, etc.) in such cases the patient requires extra care and special precautions.

Contraindications for chemical peels

Physical or mental instability are the two absolute contraindications to deep peeling.

It should also be avoided by pregnant and lactating mothers.

Women who are pregnant or nursing are warned not to undergo ablative resurfacing or the wrinkle free skin care with chemical peels. Most surgeons use perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis for ablative resurfacing cases and this can be a problem for the embryo or nursing baby. Chemical peels may also cause toxicity issues for the growingembryo.

Smokers are generally not good candidates for the surgery. Cigarette smoking and chronic sun exposure generate free radicals which destroy the texture of the skin. A puff of cigarette smoke contains up to 40 000 free radicals which can go right through the mucous membranes and enter the subcutaneous tissue to destroy the support collagen and elastic fibers of the outer skin.

Smoking coupled with excessive exposure to UV light, can lead to significant elastic fiber degeneration (elastosis) resulting in a sallow, pebbly appearance of the skin which is not good for the treatment with peels.

So smokers who expose their skin too much are not best candidates for the chemical peels.

It is essential for people shortly before and after chemical peel treatment to strictly avoid exposure to skin, because that will seriously affect the results and reduce the success of the chemical peel.

A good skin care specialist will always give special attention to a patient's current sun exposure and protection habits. An initially 'perfect' result following a glycolic acid peel can unwittingly be spoiled if the patient has not been fully advised or not taken safe sun care precautions during their preparation for a chemical peel.

One has to quit smoking and exposure to sun several weeks before going for the actual treatment to obtain the best results with the procedures.

A strict skin care regimen is necessary for preparing the skin for the treatment.

Taking a special note of the message give above along with following the skin care tips is absolutely essential for people considering the peeling procedure.

Be informed and give your face the best skin care it deserves.

References:

Deboshri Roy, 'Ablative Facial Resurfacing', Ophthalmol Clin N Am, 2005; 18; 259 - 270

Marina Landau, "Advances in Deep Chemical Peels", Dermatology Nursing, 2005; 17; No. 6




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