Motivations for In-Office Superficial Chemical Peeling

Chemical peeling is experiencing a wave of popularity in the dermatology field. A study was conducted to investigate why individuals seek treatment and their degree of satisfaction after the procedure. The open-label, multicenter study was conducted in 5 European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Spain, and Switzerland) with participants receiving a series of 4 peels, including the novel, superficial b-lipohydroxy acid peel. A total of 298 women aged 25 to 65 years with Fitzpatrick skin types I to III completed 2 self-evaluation questionnaires before and after treatment. Forty-six percent of participants reported undergoing a prior procedure with generally good results. Participants had learned about superficial peels from their dermatologists in 74.2% of cases; friends or family, 17.8%; general practitioners, 8.1%; media, 8.1%; beauticians, 3.4%; and other sources, 2.7%. The most common reasons for undergoing treatment were a desire to improve the complexion, to look less tired or less stressed, and to try a new beauty treatment. More than 85% of participants felt that their results met their expectations to a satisfactory or fairly satisfactory degree, and most participants intended to receive more peels in the future. This study confirms that superficial peels yield good results for tackling skin aging. In general, the results of superficial peels met participants’ expectations.