Chemical Peels or Microneedling- Which is better?

That’s a good question, and one that’s asked often but the answer will always be the same…it depends.

Both treatments are incredibly effective and worth their price but it’s almost like asking which is better: an apple or an orange?

Chemical peels are great for helping with superficial texture issues, acne, congestion (a.k.a. blackheads or those bumps that drive you crazy), skin brightening, and can even help with some fine lines here or there. With chemical peels, you can take a slow approach and use light peels or be a little more aggressive and use medium depth peels that reach your dermis. Those are going to achieve results faster. Those are going to be great if your main concern is to even your skin tone and work on getting rid of sun damage and/or melasma.

A chemical peel involves having a chemical applied to the skin with either a fan brush or a cotton applicator and letting it self-neutralize or neutralize with a specific product, depending on your chemical peel of choice. Your skin will then shed in 2-3 days. This “shedding” could be as mild as a little flakiness to heavy peeling-think of a snake shedding its skin.

Microneedling is a great treatment for those concerned with deeper acne scars, texture and pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, and overall loss of collagen and elasticity.  Microneedling, when done with the right device, can also help tremendously with things like hair loss, but that’s for another post.

This treatment easily reaches the dermis and causes controlled injury within that layer of skin that causes a cascade of reactions that strengthen the collagen you already have in addition to building more collagen. On top of that, this procedure helps to give your skin a healthy and cohesive environment for your cells to do what they need to do for you to have that healthy glow we all crave.

At the end of the day, it’s best to consult your esthetician so they can help guide you in the right decision. Together you can decide which is best for you depending on your lifestyle and on how aggressive or non-aggressive you want to be. And always keep in mind the products and devices being used for these treatments. Here at INH we use only the best. Our chemical peels are from Epionce, Skinceuticals, and VI Peels and we use SkinPen for microneedling, the only FDA device out there with proven results. 

For more information check out the posts talking about each treatment specifically to get a better understanding of how each one works. Or better yet set up a free consultation with one of our skincare experts.