“How much downtime?” is the first question almost everyone asks the Med Spa about a chemical peel.
It has five different answers, because chemical peels here run five depths.
“We have different peels for different concerns,” the Med Spa team says. Here is what that means in practice.
The Five Depths, From Lightest to Deepest
Gel peels. The entry point. “For clients who want less downtime, maybe with more superficial textural issues, we have our gel peels. We have a glycolic and lactic acid peel, which is great for photo-damaged skin that needs a little more hydration and light exfoliation. We also have a salicylic and mandelic gel peel, which is good for acne, fungal acne, and any kind of congestion, especially for skin that’s a little more oily.”
Micro peel solutions. A step deeper. “Our next level is the micro peel solutions, a glycolic 20% and a salicylic acid option. Like the gel peels, these go a little deeper and have more downtime. The glycolic is for textural issues, hydration, and more of a glow, but a bit more advanced. The salicylic is better for congestion, oily-prone skin, or blackheads. With these, clients still need to stay out of the sun.”
The advanced corrective peel. “Then we have our advanced corrective peel, which has salicylic acid, lactic acid, and resorcinol, so it’s really good for photo-damaged skin, congestion, inflammation, fine lines, texture, and hormonal acne. It’s kind of an all-in-one, but more advanced with more downtime, at 14% lactic and 14% salicylic.”
Smart TCA. The deepest option in the building. “Our Smart TCA system is one of our most aggressive peels. The TCA penetrates deeper into the skin, so it helps with photo aging, fine lines, and wrinkles. It has more downtime, and clients might experience more shedding. That’s our deepest treatment.”
Pricing runs the same arc: “Our gel peels start at $100, all the way up to around $250 per session for our more aggressive peels.”
How the Depth Gets Chosen
Not by what a patient saw online. By what the skin is doing.
“During a skincare consultation for chemical peels, we assess the skin based on the patient’s main concern, and that’s how we determine which depth to go for,” the team says. “If the patient has superficial fine lines and wrinkles, the appearance of their pores is an issue, or they have post-acne hyperpigmentation, that’s going to need a more superficial peel. If the patient’s concern is deeper fine lines and wrinkles, some skin laxity, or deeper acne scarring, we’d need a deeper chemical peel that reaches all the way down to the dermis in order to get the patient’s wanted result.”
| Concern | Typical Depth |
|---|---|
| Superficial fine lines, pore appearance, post-acne marks | Gel or micro peel |
| Oily skin, blackheads, congestion, hormonal acne | Salicylic or advanced corrective |
| Photo damage with texture and hydration needs | Glycolic, or advanced corrective |
| Deeper lines, mild laxity, deeper acne scarring | Smart TCA, or a different treatment entirely |
What Peel Day and Recovery Actually Look Like
“Peel day and recovery can look different for every patient,” the team says.
“Usually with a superficial peel, patients only experience some light flaking and light dryness, which is why keeping the skin hydrated and drinking a lot of water is so important. With a deeper chemical peel, flaking usually starts around day three to four, and the patient gets more of a shed, think of a snake-like shedding effect. The patient can use clean scissors to trim off the skin as it starts to shed, but again, they really need to focus on hydration, drinking a lot of water, and keeping the skin nice and moisturized.”
Sun rules apply to both, and they are firm. “With both, use sun protection and reapply sunscreen every two hours. Sun exposure is not recommended within the first two weeks after the peel, especially with a deeper one. It can take a week to a week and a half to fully shed, so I’d limit sun exposure for at least two weeks after treatment.”
Dr. Agullo sets a longer line than most patients expect. “After a light to moderate peel, there is strict no sun exposure for the first four weeks, and it continues to be strict for the first three to four months, although there is a slight leeway,” he says.
For melasma patients, he does not treat it as a recovery window at all. “Now for patients that we’re treating for melasma, really, the avoidance of sun exposure and protection should be a lifetime lifestyle.”
He puts heat in the same category as sunlight. “We’re very strict afterwards about sun exposure and being religious about using a sunblock, and even avoiding heat and activities like hot yoga, because melasma can come back with heat, not just direct sun exposure.” A sauna or a hot yoga class in the early weeks carries the same risk as an afternoon outside.
Makeup is less restricted than people expect. “Makeup is generally safe after a couple of days. If you don’t mind looking a little crazy while you’re shedding, you can apply makeup on top, as long as you’re always wearing your SPF.”
The Mistake That Undoes the Result
Ask what goes wrong and the answer is never the peel.
“The most common mistake is not listening to your aftercare instructions,” the team says. “Exfoliating too soon can cause barrier damage. Being in the sun without sunscreen, or wearing it but not applying enough or reapplying every two hours, which is super important. Activities that expose the skin to heat can also aggravate it and cause hyperpigmentation. And not having a good skincare routine, or not moisturizing enough afterward, can cause an adverse reaction.”
In El Paso, that heat warning is not theoretical. A peel in August and a Saturday afternoon outdoors are a bad combination.
Why the Med Spa Stops at Medium
The peel menu here has a ceiling, and Dr. Agullo would rather patients understand it than assume it is an oversight.
“In our practice, we only perform light to medium peels, so the results are light to medium,” he says. Two reasons drive that, and both are local.
“Now we are limited because we only perform light to medium peels, because most of our patients are in the higher Fitzpatrick scale, skin types ranging from three, four, five, and six. Patients in the one and two can have deeper peels without having as much risk of hypo or hyperpigmentation, and this is true also for laser treatments. So we are limited by the geography as well, in terms of lots of sun exposure in the southwest.”
Higher-melanin skin answers injury with pigment, and a peel is a controlled injury. The region compounds it. “El Paso and the southwest area is known to be sunny almost year round, so even in the winter, it’s difficult to block sun exposure.”
For higher-risk patients the team does not simply treat and monitor. “On higher risk patients, we will pre-treat with skin lighteners and prepare the skin beforehand,” Dr. Agullo says.
When a patient needs more than a medium peel delivers, the answer is a different device rather than a stronger acid. “We can get better resurfacing with our Sciton MicroLaserPeel and Profractional laser, and we can get skin tightening with our Morpheus8.”
His overall read on peels is still positive. “Peels work great to resurface the skin with shorter downtimes.”
When a Peel Is the Wrong Answer
A med spa does not always volunteer this part.
“Patients who should skip chemical peels and look toward a laser, RF microneedling, or a surgical result are those who have severe skin laxity, severe fine lines and wrinkles, or severe acne scarring,” the team says. “Sometimes peels aren’t enough for those types of patients. If you have those severe concerns, I would recommend a resurfacing laser, Morpheus8, which is our RF microneedling, or even surgery to get your desired result. Every patient is different, and some people do need something a little more aggressive to reach their skin goals.”
That means a resurfacing laser, Morpheus8 RF microneedling, or surgery with Dr. Frank Agullo. The radiofrequency skin tightening guide covers where that line sits.
Dr. Agullo is in the same building, so that referral costs the Med Spa nothing to make. Nobody has to oversell a peel to keep the appointment.
Ready to Talk?
Book a skincare consultation at the Med Spa and get an honest read on which depth your skin actually needs, or whether a peel is the right tool at all.
Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book online at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments. #StayBeautiful
@RealDrWorldWide on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, @Agullo on X, or @AgulloPlasticSurgery on Facebook.
Cross-links
- Patient guide on agulloplasticsurgery.com: “Chemical Peels in El Paso: Which Depth Your Skin Actually Needs” (link once live)
- Editorial version on drworldwide.com: “The Peel Is Not the Hard Part” (link once live)
