Chemical peel aftercare: protecting the result

A chemical peel is half the treatment; the other half happens at home over the following week. The two behaviours that most often undo a good peel are picking at flaking skin and going out unprotected in the sun, and both are entirely preventable with clear written advice. Patients also need realistic expectations about peeling itself: some peel visibly for days, some barely flake, and both can be a successful treatment. A written sheet sets those expectations, removes the temptation to interfere with healing skin, and gives you a timestamped record of the advice if a pigmentation issue is ever raised. The sheet below covers standard guidance across superficial and medium-depth peels. Copy it, adjust to the peel you use, and send it after every treatment.

The aftercare sheet

Your skin is now going through a controlled renewal. What you do this week determines how good the result is, so please read this carefully.

What to expect

The timeline depends on the depth of your peel:

• Superficial peels: mild redness and tightness on the day, light flaking from around day 2 to 3, usually settled within 5 to 7 days. Some people barely flake at all; this does not mean the peel has not worked.
• Medium-depth peels: redness and a darker, tight, sometimes slightly bronzed appearance in the first days, with more obvious peeling from around day 3 that can continue for 7 to 10 days. Skin can feel notably dry and tight before it sheds.

Your practitioner will tell you which applies to you. Either way, the sequence is the same: tightness first, then flaking or peeling, then fresh skin underneath.

The one rule that matters most

Do not pick, pull, peel or exfoliate flaking skin. However satisfying it looks, skin that is pulled off before it is ready can leave red marks, slow healing and pigmentation that lasts far longer than the peel’s benefit. Let every flake shed in its own time. If a piece of peeling skin is catching, you may trim it carefully with clean scissors, never pull it.

Sun protection is non-negotiable

Apply SPF 30 to 50 every morning, whatever the weather, and reapply if you are outdoors. Avoid deliberate sun exposure and sunbeds entirely until your skin has fully healed, and be careful for several weeks after. Freshly peeled skin is new skin, and UV exposure now is the single most common cause of pigmentation after a peel. If you take nothing else from this sheet, take this.

For the first 24 to 48 hours

• Avoid heat: no saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga or very hot showers.
• Avoid strenuous exercise; sweat stings and heat prolongs redness.
• Cleanse gently with lukewarm water and the mild cleanser your practitioner recommended. No flannels, brushes or scrubbing.
• Avoid makeup until any rawness has settled, ideally 24 hours for superficial peels and until your practitioner advises for deeper ones.

Until your skin has fully healed

• Gentle skincare only: mild cleanser, a simple moisturiser applied as often as your skin feels tight, and SPF.
• Pause all active products: retinol and other retinoids, AHAs, BHAs, vitamin C, exfoliants and anything that tingles. Reintroduce them only when your practitioner confirms your skin is ready.
• Avoid swimming pools while skin is peeling; chlorine irritates healing skin.

Normal versus not normal

Normal: redness, tightness, dryness, flaking or sheet peeling on the expected timeline, mild itching, and temporary darkening of treated areas before they shed.

Contact your practitioner if you notice: increasing redness, swelling or pain after day 3, yellow crusting, weeping or other signs of infection, blistering you were not told to expect, cold-sore activity, or any area that looks raw and is not improving.

If anything worries you, contact your practitioner; that is what we are here for.

When patients should contact you urgently

For your team: worsening redness, swelling or pain after day 3, signs of infection, unexpected blistering and herpes reactivation all need practitioner review promptly, not a routine slot next week. Early review keeps small problems small. Document the advice given at the time of treatment: peel type and depth, the sheet sent, the date and the channel. Pigmentation complaints after peels often surface weeks later, and your record of clear, timely SPF and no-picking advice is what demonstrates the aftercare conversation happened.

Make this automatic

AesthetiClinic emails this aftercare sheet automatically after every appointment, branded to your clinic, and records on the patient file that it was sent and when. Every peel patient gets the same advice on the same day, and the documentation builds itself. See the features page for how it works, and pair it with a signed consent form from the templates library so the whole treatment is evidenced in writing.

General aftercare guidance for UK aesthetics practice. Your practitioner’s specific advice always takes precedence. Patients with urgent symptoms should contact their practitioner or seek medical care immediately.