Do Peels Thin Your Skin?

I know that I’ve worried about that myself – could I be possibly exfoliating too much and thinning out my skin? Like, when they buff your nails too much at the salon and they end up being too thin?

Well, it turns out the answer is “no” and actually using chemical peeling products thickens your skin – in a good way! The use of chemical peels like Glycolic acid and Lactic Acid stimulate your skin to produce collagen, which is the good kind of skin thickening (not like from tanning, which makes skin leathery). This is known as increasing dermal volume, which is normally lost as you age, leading to fine lines and wrinkles (imagine a beach ball completely full vs a deflated wrinkly one). According to an article written by Dr. Gabriella Fabbrocini, MBBS

 

Chemical peelings represent accelerated exfoliation or skin damage induced by caustic agents that cause controlled damage, followed by the release of cytokines and inflammatory mediators, resulting in…deposition of collagen, reorganization of structural elements, and increases in dermal volume.

And don’t take our word for it, you can read more about this effect here:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1829120-overview