In today’s youth and cosmetics obsessed industry, there are a many products to pick from when it comes to undoing the damage of aging, sun exposure, and acne to the skin. Unfortunately, many of the products are either ineffective or even potentially dangerous. TCA Peeling has been shown to be an appropriate option for at-home use, however, as long as you choose the proper dose and follow some good safety concerns.
Let’s start by defining what a TCA peel actually is. TCA stands for “Trichloroacetic Acid”, and is a skin peel that works by having a carefully formulated acid applied to your skin. The chemical will only be in contact with your skin for a matter of minutes, during which it will penetrate several layers down and stimulate the skin to produce more collagen and regrow smoother.
Though this sounds seriously unpleasant, for most the TCA peel is only uncomfortable and not outright painful. This is especially true for at-home treatment, where the doses are kept to low enough levels that will not cause pain as long as instructions are followed.
Traditionally, these peels were administered by doctors in high concentrations. You would make a series of appointments where the doctor would apply the TCA, and potentially anesthetic if it were a high enough dose, then return every six weeks until treatment was complete.
While effective, this is an expensive and time-consuming treatment. Since then, at-home TCA peels have become available. These are applied in weaker concentrations but more often–sometimes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis–and so are easier to schedule and maintain.
With the background out of the way, what does a TCA peel actually do for you? The at-home treatments work mostly on the outer layer of skin, and in the short term will reduce fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin blotches, mild scars, and signs of acne damage.
Over time, they also stimulate collagen production, which helps your skin retain or regain some of the full look of youth. With repeat applications you can even out your skin tone and then maintain it longer.
Now that we’ve looked at treatment benefits, let’s look at clinical proof. There are a number of studies showing TCA peeling to be safe and effective, such as these two:
- Study #1 — This is a Skin Cancer Foundation study showing that TCA peels used by people with sun damage to their cancer had a reduced risk of developing skin cancer after treatment.
- Study #2 — – This is a list of of studies done at NYU by a cosmetics doctor. You need a subscription to see the full study, but they have the abstract available on this page. Look at article #5 titled “A clinical and histologic evaluation of two medium-depth peels. Glycolic acid versus Jessner’s trichloroacetic acid” to see an abstract that supports TCA peels as effective on photodamaged skin.
For options that you can try at home, check out the tca peeling page for more details.