A peel is a solution of acids applied at a chosen strength, which loosens the bonds holding dead and damaged cells at the surface of your skin. Those cells lift away over the days that follow, revealing skin underneath that is newer and more even in tone. A stronger peel reaches further down and prompts the skin to repair itself, which is what makes it useful for texture and pigmentation rather than only for brightness.

We look at your skin first and choose the strength for it, because the same solution on two different faces is really two different treatments. Your skin is cleansed and prepared, the solution goes on and stays for a controlled time, and we watch it the whole way through. Most people describe warmth or a tingle that builds and then settles.

That depends on the strength we choose. A light peel often does not visibly flake at all and still does its work, while a deeper one usually does. We will tell you exactly what to expect and roughly when, before you book, so this does not land on a day you have plans.

Freshly revealed skin is more vulnerable to sun than the skin it replaced, so sun protection stops being optional for a while. There is normally a short list of active skincare ingredients to leave alone as well, and picking at anything that flakes is the way people turn a good result into a mark. We go through all of it with you before you leave.

Peels build on each other, because each one works on the skin the last one revealed. Surface brightness shows up after one; pigmentation and texture are worked on across a course. We give you an honest answer for your skin at your visit rather than selling you a package up front.