Doctors overcharge for chemical peels big time. It shouldn't have to cost a few thousand dollars every time you get a chemical peel done. AHA peels (mild peels), and TCA peels (moderate peels), can often cost a few thousand dollars to get the complete treatment performed because usually multiple peels are necessary to see results.

What these doctors don't tell you is, you can get similar results for just fifteen dollars if you perform the treatment yourself. Although you can't use peels that burn the skin to remove the skin layers, for example the phenol peel (extremely severe chemical peel that requires a doctor to perform), less intense peels have been proven to show the same or better results than the peels performed by doctors.

Brief Overview of Chemical Peels

AHA Peels ? mild peels including glycolic acid and salicylic acid peels. They are used to treat mild skin defects. They are used regularly.

TCA Peels ? moderate peels, which burn the skin to remove skin layers. These are usually performed by doctors.

Phenol Peels ? severe peels that may require hospitalization. Phenol Peels are slowly being replaced by multiple treatments of TCA peels, as TCA peels allow the patient to heal a lot faster than Phenol Peels.

DIY Chemical Peels are often a mixture of AHA and TCA peels combined. They work effectively to gently remove the top layers of skin. The concentration for TCA is usually around 20 ? 30% to prevent burning of the skin. A good chemical peel would soften up the top layers of skin, and over the period of a week, the skin would gently start to flake off. When the top layers of skin fall off, new, red, fresh skin would start to show.

These do-it-yourself peels have proven to be just as effective as the peels performed in the doctor's office. Many have seen little change when the chemical peel was performed by the doctor, except for their empty bank account. Although there is a slight risk, for example accidentally getting the acid into the eyes, DIY Chemical Peels are relatively safe to perform, as long as the concentrations of the peel isn't burning off the top layers of skin.

They do have a ?stinging sensation? when you place the peel on for the first time. You are applying acid to your face, so this is expected. The stinging is bearable (assuming you aren't using a phenol peel), so there isn't much to worry.

So, you probably want to purchase chemical peels at a cheap price. Chemical peels are chemical peels ? there is no such thing as ?a better chemical peel.? Chemical peels all come with the same ingredients, but with different concentrations, which is labeled on the peel you decide to purchase. Many companies like to sell overpriced chemical peels for hundreds of dollars, providing you with pretty packaging. Don't fall for these advertising techniques ? you can purchase a better chemical peel for just fifteen to thirty dollars. Save your bank.