On the spectrum of chemical peels that either yield barely noticeable to pronounced results, the TCA peel falls right in the middle. A TCA or "blue peel" uses trichloroacetic acid as a peeling agent, resulting in what the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery describes as "controlled wounding" of your skin. Diligent at-home care is required to prevent scarring and infection.
What Happens After Your Peel
After a medium-depth TCA peel, the treated area of skin reddens and swells. Symptoms may worsen in the next two days before they start to resolve. Water blisters erupt on your skin. These break, scab, brown and eventually peel away, revealing a layer of fresh new skin. The ASDA equates medium depth peels with a bad sunburn. As your skin gradually turns over a new layer, gentle care of the treated area is required.
Healing Time
You're looking at some healing time with a TCA peel, says the AAD, generally between one and two weeks, depending on the strength of the solution used to treat your skin. A phenol peel, the deepest type of chemical peel available, has a post-treatment healing period of between two and three weeks.
Post-Peel Care
Expect to stow away your makeup for up to a week after a TCA peel, says the AAD. You'll likely soak the treated area on a daily basis and put on special lotions, creams or ointments, as directed by your doctor.
Sun Protection
Complete sun avoidance is necessary after a TCA peel until the skin completely heals. Sunblock use is an absolute requisite for quite a number of months after the peel, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Getting Good Results
The AAD states that the worst thing you can do after a TCA peel is to fail to follow your dermatologist's post-care directions. Sun exposure--and even exposure to cigarette smoke--can cause infection and scarring. So can not tending to your wounded skin, scratching or picking at it or putting on cosmetics when the skin is still raw.
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