Tried a new acne treatment on a client and her skin peeled like crazy

I used a higher strength salicylic acid peel on a client last week, 30% instead of my usual 20%, because she had really stubborn congestion around her chin. She said her skin felt tight by the next day, then by day three she had visible peeling that she wasn't expecting. I learned that even small jumps in percentage can cause way more reaction than I thought, especially on someone who hasn't done peels before. Now I'm thinking I should start lower and build up slower, even if the client wants faster results. Has anyone else had a similar surprise with upping the strength on a peel?

2 comments

2 Comments

gonzalez.grant1mo ago

Right! So @robert_roberts I feel that toner struggle in my bones lol. I did the exact same thing with a mandelic peel once, went from 10% to 15% thinking "what's 5% gonna do?" and my client looked like she had a bad sunburn for a week. Now I literally count out the percentages like I'm measuring gunpowder or something, because apparently skin is that sensitive. She wasn't happy and I wasn't happy, lesson learned hard.

robert_roberts1mo ago

Oh yeah I learned that the hard way with a toner that was only 2% stronger than my usual one.