When it comes to skincare, there are a variety of treatment options that can help you achieve the look and feel you want. VI peel and chemical peels are among the most common chemical peels procedures performed by most people today.
These procedures are safe to use on all skin types and skin conditions, and they cause little to no irritation. VI peel and Chemical Peel procedures are performed by licensed physicians or specialists at a medical spa or other similar facilities.
These two treatments have different strengths and work differently in treating your given condition. So, which one is better for you? Let’s find out below by discussing each of them in-depth to identify the differences.
Vi Peel
The VI peel works similarly to a chemical peel, but it is designed specifically for people with sensitive skin or who may be unable or unwilling to undergo more intense treatments such as laser resurfacing or microdermabrasion.
VI peel is generally a chemical peel that contains trichloroacetic acid (TCA), salicylic acid, phenol, retinoic acid, and Vitamin C, which work together synergistically to revitalize the skin. This peel is a more recent technique that uses TCA acid and other ingredients to improve the appearance of your skin.
This procedure was developed out of a desire to find a safer and more effective treatment for those who want to reverse the signs of aging. Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA), the major ingredient in this peel treatment, reduces the appearance of wrinkles, acne scarring, brown spots, age spots, sun damage, and enlarged pores.
While traditional glycolic peels can be drying or irritating, causing patients to experience premature peeling and extreme redness lasting one or two days after treatment, a vi peel is less aggressive and produces a lesser degree of skin irritation.
Like the chemical peel, this procedure can reduce the appearance of acne scars and wrinkles while also improving skin tone. It can also be used in conjunction with some laser treatments for better results. VI Peel is a medium-depth peel that can be used on all skin types. This peel works to enhance the tone and texture of your skin while also working to reduce discoloration and improving acne.
VI peel does this by removing the top layers of damaged skin and thus helping the new skin underneath to look healthier and smoother. You can have this procedure on both your face and body to treat a number of issues such as fine lines and wrinkles, acne, dull, dry, rough skin, and hyperpigmentation.
Chemical Peel
A chemical peel is one of the oldest cosmetic procedures in the world. It has been around since the early 1900s. The first recorded chemical peel was performed by a dermatologist in France who used phenol (carbolic acid) to remove skin imperfections.
A chemical peel is a procedure that entails the esthetician or doctor applying a chemical solution to your skin, most often the skin on your face. After several minutes or hours, the solution blisters your skin and eventually peels off, and you’re left with fresh new skin that isn’t as wrinkled, spotty, or scarred as the old one.
This peel generally entails applying an acid (usually glycolic acid) to the skin, which dissolves the top layer of dead skin cells. This allows new fresh skin cells to regenerate and heal. There are three categories of chemical peels: light, medium, and deep types, depending on their ability to penetrate the skin to different depths. Each type of peel is used for different purposes and has different strengths and side effects.
The Different Categories of Chemical Peel
Superficial or lunchtime peels
These peels cause light exfoliation and produce little visible peeling. They use mild acids such as alpha hydroxyl acids (AHAs), for example, glycolic acid and lactic acid, or beta hydroxyl acids (BHAs), for example, salicylic acid. You can have these types of peels repeated monthly or bi-monthly as needed. The VI peel fits into this category.
Medium depth peels
These are peels that exfoliate more deeply and therefore cause moderate peeling. You can use trichloroacetic acid or glycolic for these types of peels. It takes about two weeks for the skin to heal after medium-depth peeling, and often just one treatment is needed.
Deep Peels
A deep peel is a type of chemical peel that penetrates fully into the middle layer of the skin. This deep penetration allows it to effectively remove damaged skin cells.
VI Peel vs. Chemical Peel: Which is Better?
VI peel and chemical peel are both treatment procedures used to address specific skin conditions, including sun damage, wrinkles, and age spots. These procedures utilize a chemical solution to remove damaged outer skin layers and reveal a more rejuvenated, glowing face.
VI peel and chemical peel procedures are not painful. You may feel a warm sensation that lasts for up to five minutes. Most clients return to work or normal activities immediately following the procedure. The VI peel differs from the chemical peel in that it requires virtually no pretreatment of your skin and has little to no downtime allowing you to resume your normal activities immediately after treatment.
A VI peel also has fewer side effects than a chemical peel which may cause scarring, redness, and swelling. VI peel uses a combination of acids and other vital ingredients such as Vitamin C to remove the dead surface skin cells and stimulate the growth of new cells and encourage collagen production. A chemical peel, on the other hand, uses one type of acid (trichloroacetic acid) to do all this work.
The VI Peel is a light peel that won’t cause much irritation. A Chemical Peel, on the other hand, can cause quite a bit of irritation depending on how deep the peel was done. The intensity of the irritation in these two procedures has something to do with the ingredients used in them. Chemical peel, for instance, uses only one ingredient (trichloroacetic acid), which is known to cause irritation of the skin during the peeling process.
Though VI peel also uses this ingredient in its work, it has a vital ingredient (vitamin C) which has anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is what causes the redness and tight feeling after a chemical peel, so by adding vitamin C; there is less inflammation and, therefore, less irritation.
As such, the right treatment for you will depend on the specific skin condition you want to address, your preference, budget, and skin type.
