Chemical peels

Alpha-hydroxy, salicylic and trichloroacetic acids, phenol

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How it works

An acid on the skin, reaching deeper the stronger it is

EpidermisPapillary dermisReticular dermisFatAcid, applied to the surface3 – 30 %35 %above 40 %
  1. Superficial · alpha-hydroxy acids, to the epidermis3 – 30 %
  2. Medium · trichloroacetic acid, to the papillary dermis35 %
  3. Deep · trichloroacetic acid, or phenol, to the reticular dermisabove 40 %

Each front is its own agent at its own strength, not one scale. Trichloroacetic acid and phenol are not permitted in cosmetics in Canada.

EpidermisPapillary dermisReticular dermisFatAcid, applied to the surface3 – 30 %35 %above 40 %
  1. Superficial · alpha-hydroxy acids, to the epidermis3 – 30 %
  2. Medium · trichloroacetic acid, to the papillary dermis35 %
  3. Deep · trichloroacetic acid, or phenol, to the reticular dermisabove 40 %

Each front is its own agent at its own strength, not one scale. Trichloroacetic acid and phenol are not permitted in cosmetics in Canada.

Three classes of peel, to the epidermis, the papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. A peel is “controlled damage of the epidermis and dermis”, one review states. Alpha-hydroxy acids exfoliate the epidermis; Health Canada’s Hotlist admits them in a cosmetic at 3 to 18%, and to 30% for professional use. Trichloroacetic acid at 15% stays superficial, at 35% reaches the papillary dermis, above 40% the reticular dermis, a systematic review states; phenol reaches the reticular dermis too. The Hotlist prohibits trichloroacetic acid and phenol in cosmetics. Illustrations are schematic.

What it costs

Treating the face costs $175 – $330 a peel on clinic pages

Tap to add or remove an area. Quoted combinations apply where listed.

AreaOne peel
glycolic, salicylic or Jessner’s solution$175 – $330a peel
on its own$94a peel
Nineteen clinic pages, eight with a price. Jessner’s solution, which three pages price by name, is $199 to $330. Two pages sell three face peels at their own price, $609 to $750. The neck is $94 on its own on one page and $20 added to a face peel on another; no page sells a neck package. One page prices the hands at $79, one adds the neck and chest for $35, and the back is named on four and priced by none. Canadian dollars before tax, as the clinic pages state them.

Results & duration

Results differ for acne and sun spots

One placebo-controlled trial, for acne; none for wrinkles. Nine in ten improved on the peeled side, four in ten on the placebo side, for acne, in the one placebo-controlled trial; 12 to 46% of people reached their trial’s mark for sun spots. Kaminaka 2014: 25 people with moderate acne, forty-percent glycolic acid on one half of the face and placebo on the other, five peels 2 weeks apart, as a systematic review of twelve acne trials reports it; dryness was commoner on the placebo side, 100% against 28%. For wrinkles, the five trichloroacetic acid trials a systematic review found compared the peel with tretinoin, glycolic acid, radiofrequency or photodynamic therapy, and report instrument and photograph scores, not a share of people improved.

Doctor-rated improvement, acne

Excellent or good at ten weeks

92%Glycolic acid side · of 25 people

40%Placebo side · of 25 people

Moderate acne: 40% glycolic acid on one half of the face and placebo on the other, five peels 2 weeks apart, at Wakayama Medical University. The count is the review’s; the paper is not open.

Chen 2018, PMID 29705755, reporting Kaminaka 2014, PMID 24447110

Sun spots, success as each trial counted it

Trichloroacetic acid peel

12 – 46%

The share of people reaching their trial’s mark for success, across the trichloroacetic acid trials a systematic review of solar lentigines found, each trial’s mark its own; intense pulsed light 74.6 to 90% in the same review.

Mardani 2025, PMID 40145274

How long does a chemical peel last?

Not measured past 10 weeks in the acne trial, which ended 2 weeks after the fifth peel. Clinic pages say 1 to 2 months for a light peel and up to 6 months for a medium one, with a maintenance peel every month, every 4 months, or once a season, each its own page’s word. The photoaging trials followed people 3 to 12 months after the last peel and report improvement holding at those visits, not when it ended.

Chen 2018, PMID 29705755 · Sitohang 2021, PMID 34504524 · clinic pages

Recovery & risks

Recovery depends on the peel’s depth

Clinic pages, the trichloroacetic acid review and Kaminaka 2014 · 25 people

  • Dryness, mild28%
  • Scaling16%
  • Acne flare12%
Downtime
Flaking or shedding for 1 to 7 days on the clinic pages, none for the lightest peel on one page; 14 days for a deep peel on one.
Right after
Burning and stinging as the acid goes on, the trichloroacetic acid review says. In the acne trials, redness lasting a few minutes at most after glycolic acid; burning in more than 85% with salicylic or pyruvic acid.
Weeks later
Redness persisting up to one month after a 35% peel in one trial. Hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation and scarring are the long-term side effects, the trichloroacetic acid review says; scarring only on the peeled side in the one trial reporting it.
Next peel
2 weeks apart, five times, in the acne trial; 2 to 8 weeks on the clinic pages, most saying 2 to 4, for a series of 3 to 6.

Side effects the review names

Hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, scarring: named by the review, which gives no rate.

Darker or lighter patches

Scarring

Long-term side effects of trichloroacetic acid peeling, as the systematic review names them · Illustrations are schematic.

Read from the clinic pages, the acne trial and the trichloroacetic acid review. Flaking for 1 to 7 days on clinic pages; darker or lighter patches and scarring the long-term risks, the review says. Clinic pages for their days; the acne trial for the counts, its glycolic acid side over 25 faces; the review of trichloroacetic acid trials for the harms, which it names without a rate.

Frequently asked questions

The term chemical peel does not establish a product’s approval or classification. Health Canada classifies products by their claims, composition and action; products making therapeutic claims are evaluated as drugs. For products classified as cosmetics, the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist restricts alpha-hydroxy acids, including concentration and pH conditions for consumer and professional use, caps salicylic acid at 2%, excludes resorcinol from skin cosmetics, and prohibits trichloroacetic acid and phenol. These cosmetic restrictions do not establish the regulatory status of every peel offered by a clinic or prove a treatment’s benefit.Health Canada · Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist (2025-08-13) · Classification of Products at the Cosmetic-Drug Interface

GST or HST applies to taxable cosmetic treatments: 13% in Ontario, 5% where only GST is charged. The clinic prices here are before tax. A treatment for a medical or reconstructive purpose may be exempt when it meets the applicable health-care exemption’s conditions, including who supplies or performs the service; its purpose alone does not establish an exemption.Excise Tax Act · s. 165, Sch. V Pt. II ss. 1, 1.1, 1.2 and 5 to 7, Sch. VIII

The answer depends on the procedure and its risks. Ontario’s Regulated Health Professions Act reserves procedures below the dermis and administering substances by injection among its controlled acts. Section 30 separately restricts health treatment or advice where serious bodily harm is reasonably foreseeable to regulated professionals acting within their scope, subject to the Act’s exceptions. A peel stopping within the dermis does not by itself establish that anyone may perform it. The clinic pages describe aestheticians applying peels, and one reserves its trichloroacetic acid peel for a physician; those are staffing descriptions, not a legal determination. Other provinces set their own rules.RHPA ss. 27 and 30 · clinic pages

The placebo-controlled trial is a university dermatology department’s, at Wakayama Medical University. The systematic review reporting it declares no competing interests and a provincial science grant; the trichloroacetic acid review declares no conflicts. This page could not verify the trial’s funding because its full text was not available. A university affiliation or a trial naming an acid rather than a brand does not establish independence from a manufacturer.Chen 2018, PMID 29705755, reporting Kaminaka 2014, PMID 24447110 · Sitohang 2021, PMID 34504524

Glycolic acid on eight of the nineteen pages, salicylic on seven, Jessner’s solution on six, trichloroacetic acid on six, phenol on one; five name a branded solution instead of, or beside, an acid. Strengths where a page states them: glycolic 10 to 30%, Jessner’s 14%, trichloroacetic acid 10 to 20% on one page and 15 to 50% on another. Most pages price a peel without naming what is in it.clinic pages, 19 read

A series of 3 to 6, 2 to 4 weeks apart, on most pages stating a count; one page says 1 to 2 months apart, and the pages selling a medium-depth peel put it once or twice a year. The acne trial gave five peels 2 weeks apart; the photoaging trials three to five, 2 to 14 weeks apart.clinic pages, 7 stating a count · Chen 2018, PMID 29705755 · Sitohang 2021, PMID 34504524

Sources

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