Chemical Peels & Dermaplaning Near Me — Cost, Depth and What Each One Actually Does

Chemical Peels & Dermaplaning · What Each One Does

By Jamie Walston · Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center · Reviewed by the BHRC Clinical Team

Depth decides everything a peel can treat. And dermaplaning, whatever you have been told, does not make your hair grow back thicker — there is a controlled study.

1. Depth is the whole story

Peels are classified by the histologic depth of the injury they create. That classification determines what the peel can realistically treat and how long you will be healing. Acid choice, concentration, pH, number of coats, contact time and how the skin was prepped all feed into depth — which is why “a 30% glycolic peel” tells you much less than people assume.

Healing time tracks depth almost exactly. Superficial peels re-epithelialise within 7–10 days, with visible flaking around days three to five. Medium peels complete exfoliation in 10–14 days, with frosting during the treatment and then marked redness, swelling and peeling. Deep peels do not even begin re-epithelialising until day three or four, and the redness can persist for months.

2. The acids, and what each one is good at

Concentration ranges below are as published; remember that depth depends on far more than concentration alone.

• Glycolic acid (an AHA), 30–50% — water-soluble, small molecule, penetrates evenly. The generalist of superficial peeling.
• Salicylic acid (a BHA), 20–30% — lipophilic, so it penetrates sebaceous follicles. That is why it is the acne agent, and it is anti-inflammatory as well.
• Lactic acid, 10–30% — gentler, humectant, good for sensitive or dry skin.
• Jessner’s solution — classically 14% resorcinol, 14% salicylic acid and 14% lactic acid in ethanol. Used on its own as a superficial peel, but more importantly as a keratolytic primer that evens out the penetration of a subsequent TCA application.
• TCA 10–35% — sits on the superficial-to-medium boundary; at 35% it is the workhorse medium-depth agent.

For medium depth, combination protocols are preferred over high-concentration TCA alone — Jessner’s plus 35% TCA, or 70% glycolic plus 35% TCA. Combinations give more even, more predictable penetration at a lower TCA concentration, which is a safety argument as much as an efficacy one.

3. Skin of color: the most important section here

The peel literature is unambiguous on this and it deserves to be stated directly rather than softened: medium-depth peels are not recommended for Fitzpatrick skin phototypes IV and above, because of the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

The mechanism is straightforward. Melanocytes in darker skin respond to inflammation with exuberant, labile melanogenesis. Injury that reaches the dermal-epidermal junction — precisely where medium peels operate — disrupts the basal layer and releases melanin into the dermis. The resulting pigmentation can persist for many months, and can be considerably worse than whatever you came in to treat.

The priming protocol matters as much as the peel. Roughly four weeks of a depigmenting regimen beforehand — hydroquinone 2–4% is the mainstay, sometimes with tretinoin, sometimes as a triple-combination formulation — both reduces post-peel pigmentation and produces more uniform penetration. Rigorous photoprotection before and after is non-negotiable, and scheduling in the lower-UV months is sensible in Southern California and genuinely important in Phoenix.

It is always worth remembering that the treatment itself has the potential to cause or worsen the pigmentation it was meant to treat.

4. What it costs at West Hollywood

Rejuvenation Club members save 20% on every treatment plus priority scheduling. A series is nearly always better value and a better outcome than a single deeper treatment, particularly in darker skin. We also run peels at BHRC Summerlin.

5. Dermaplaning — what it is, and the myth

Dermaplaning is manual exfoliation performed by drawing a sterile surgical blade — usually a #10 — across taut skin at roughly a 45-degree angle. It removes the stratum corneum and simultaneously shaves off vellus hair, the fine “peach fuzz.”

What it genuinely achieves: smoother surface texture, temporary removal of vellus hair, noticeably better makeup application, and improved penetration of whatever you put on afterward. That last one is why it is so often done immediately before a superficial peel or an active topical — with the stratum corneum gone, penetration is more even.

What it does not do: create any dermal injury, stimulate collagen, treat wrinkles, scars, laxity or pigment at depth, or produce any lasting change. Vellus hair regrows over about three to four weeks and the stratum corneum regenerates continuously. It should not be described as “anti-aging” or “collagen-stimulating,” and we are not going to describe it that way.

Who should avoid it: anyone with active inflammatory acne, pustules or cystic lesions (the blade can traumatise lesions and spread infection), active herpes, open wounds, sunburn or eczema in the area, a keloid tendency, recent isotretinoin, or an active rosacea flare. Frequency should not exceed about every three to four weeks.

One honesty note: there is essentially no clinical trial literature on dermaplaning as a cosmetic procedure. Every substantive claim about it rests on mechanism and clinical practice rather than controlled data. It is a low-risk, immediately satisfying mechanical exfoliation — and that is the honest extent of it.

6. Complications and contraindications for peels

• Dyschromia — both hyper- and hypopigmentation. The dominant risk, and the reason depth is chosen conservatively in darker skin.
• Herpes simplex reactivation — a history of orolabial HSV requires prophylactic antiviral therapy before a peel. Tell us.
• Bacterial superinfection and scarring — uncommon, and more likely with deeper peels or with picking.
• Contraindications — active infection or HSV outbreak, open wounds, recent isotretinoin, keloid tendency, recent resurfacing or facial surgery or radiation, pregnancy (for medium and deep peels and for salicylic acid), inability to comply with sun avoidance, and for phenol, cardiac, hepatic or renal disease.

Questions we get asked

Keep reading

• Chemical peels at BHRC West Hollywood
• Chemical peels at BHRC Summerlin
• Clear + Brilliant — resurfacing with minimal downtime
• HydraFacial cost in Beverly Hills
• Acne and acne scar treatment at BHRC
• Aging skin — the full range of options
• RF microneedling — when a peel is not deep enough

Book at any of our six locations

References

1. International Peeling Society — Basic chemical peeling: superficial and medium-depth peels — depth classification, agents and the Fitzpatrick IV+ caution. peelingsociety.com
2. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology (2018) — A practical approach to chemical peels: fundamentals and a step-by-step algorithmic protocol. jcadonline.com
3. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology — Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation in skin of color — epidemiology, clinical features and treatment. jcadonline.com
4. Journal of Investigative Dermatology — Shaving and hair growth — the controlled unilateral-shaving study finding no effect on hair weight, width or growth rate. jidonline.org
5. American Academy of Dermatology — Chemical peels: what to expect, recovery and who is a candidate. aad.org

Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center. This content is for general education and does not create a physician-patient relationship or constitute medical advice. Chemical peeling agents used for cosmetic resurfacing are not subject to FDA premarket approval; there is no such thing as an FDA-approved cosmetic chemical peel. Depth selection is a clinical judgement made in person. Candidacy, dosing, results and pricing vary by person and are confirmed at a free consultation. Reviewed by the BHRC clinical team.