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Many chemical peels used for treating skin conditions like acne and melasma contain salicylic acid, which in small amounts is perfectly safe, but it can be harmful to a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Salicylic acid is essentially the same as aspirin and works to reduce inflammation. Topically, it works well to exfoliate skin through a chemical peel, but considering that the chemical peel sits on your skin and soaks into your system, it can be dangerous.

If you are pregnant and are looking into getting a chemical peel, avoid the at-home products and ask your doctor what to do instead. He or she will be able to advise you on the best skin care treatments for optimal skin fitness.

For more information on chemical peels, read about what a chemical peel won’t do.

BENEV Salicylic Acid Exfoliator 2

Every year Webster’s adds new entries to its treatise of words. Some of these words are slang, some are modifications of existing words, and yet others are just brand spankin’ new and deserve a little recognition (one of the new words from 2008 was webinar, by the way).

For 2009, Skin Fitness Facts recommends to Webster that it adds the word “lasabrasion,” which is a skin care procedure also known as laser resurfacing, laser peel, and laser vaporization.

This procedure is done in a dermatologist’s office and…you guessed it…involves the use of lasers to treat the skin for various skin conditions such as melasma, acne, scarring, and aging. Said laser makes contact with the damaged skin cells and using heat corrects the problem on the first several layers of the skin.

If lasabrasion isn’t in your budget or if you don’t think you need it, deep exfoliation through an at-home chemical peel or microdermabrasion kit may be right for you.

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It’s Thursday again and I still have chemical peels on the brain. So here is a list of what an at-home chemical won’t do for you (even chemical peels from a dermatologist or esthetician won’t do this):

• Get rid of a double chin

• Tighten skin

• Eliminate deep scarring (it can work wonders on superficial scars)

• Change the size of your pores

I definitely recommend at-home or professional chemical peels, but don’t expect miracles. This is a superficial treatment that will get you mild results and with persistance relatively good results.

If you have sensitive skin or have never had a chemical peel before, I’d recommend seeing an esthetician to get your first. You want to do it right and you don’t want to hurt your skin.

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