The ‘Superficial Peel’: These are the mildest of the bunch, as they require little downtime. You may experience some redness for 20 minutes to half an hour afterward, and you may experience some dryness or flaking over the course of a few days, but otherwise, you can get back to business as usual. Typical acids used in superficial peels include glycolic, salicylic, kojic acid and malic acid. Superficial peels are good for treating fine lines and wrinkles, large pores and dark spots, and to help tighten the skin.

The ‘Medium Depth Peel’: generally use trichloroacetic acid at concentrations of 35 percent or less. These types of peels usually use a pure form of the acid that isn’t neutralized, so this treatment is only available with medically trained professionals, like Dr Tara. Medium-depth peels can help treat skin that has a significant amount of photodamage, sun spots, mild to moderate acne scars, wrinkly skin under the eyes or dark circles. The recovery period is five to seven days. The skin is left raw and red, and needs to be constantly covered with ointment, though it shouldn’t be painful.

The ‘Deep Peel’: targets more serious skin issues such as severe acne scars, excessive sun damage or looseness of the skin, also uses trichloroacetic acid, though at concentrations starting at 50 percent to 70 percent, or phenol acid. Deep-depth peels may not be suitable for those with darker skin tones, as they could result in scarring or hypopigmentation. Typical downtime is about seven to 10 days, but could even last two weeks.