Medical Skin Peels

What is a medical skin peel?

A medical skin peel is a chemical peel carried out in a clinic, using stronger formulas than anything available for home use. The peel gently exfoliates the surface of the skin, encouraging fresher skin to come through.

At Vista Clinic we use Neostrata professional peels, chosen to suit your skin at a consultation. Medical grade glycolic acid is a common starting point, because it suits so many skin types.

What can a chemical peel help with?

Peels can help improve the look of dull, uneven or congested skin, rough texture, fine lines and blemish-prone skin. They can also help soften the look of persistent redness across the nose and cheeks, and the rough, scaly patches that years of sun leave behind. Depending on your skin, we may suggest a Neostrata brightening or rejuvenating peel. Because every skin is different, we always assess before we recommend.

What happens at your appointment?

We start by cleansing the skin and checking it is suitable on the day. The peel itself takes only a few minutes, and you may feel a light tingling while it works. Afterwards we go through simple aftercare, including keeping the skin protected from the sun. The same guidance, and the point at which peeling skin is worth ringing us about, is in our aftercare guide for peels.

How long do results last?

Many clients notice their skin looks brighter within days of a single peel. For concerns such as uneven tone or texture, a course of peels spaced a few weeks apart helps build a longer-lasting improvement. Occasional maintenance peels then keep the result ticking over.

Can a chemical peel help with keratosis pilaris?

A chemical peel for keratosis pilaris can help smooth the look of the rough, bumpy texture the condition causes. Exfoliating peels are one of the options we discuss for it, alongside the right home skincare. We will look at the area at your consultation and tell you what is realistic.

Can a peel help with facial redness and rosacea?

A peel cannot cure rosacea, and we would not describe it that way. What the clarifying peel can do is help calm the look of the redness that sits across the nose and cheeks, and improve the texture of skin that flushes easily. Rosacea reacts badly to being over-treated, so we start gently and check how your skin answered before going any further. If your redness is not settled, or if it involves the eyes, we would want your GP to look at it first.

Can a peel help with freckles and pigmentation?

A course of brightening peels can help fade the look of freckles and patchy pigmentation over time. Results build gradually, and daily sun protection matters just as much as the peels themselves. We will be straight with you about what a peel can and cannot shift.

Medical skin peels at Vista Clinic in Stillorgan, Dublin

We are based in Stillorgan, South Dublin, with weekday evening and Saturday appointments. Every peel starts with a consultation, so you can ask questions and we can make sure the treatment suits your skin. You can also explore our other skin treatments.

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The peels we use

Neostrata’s ProSystem range is supplied to medical professionals only, and we mix and match within it rather than applying one fixed peel to everyone. That means fine lines, acne and pigmentation can often be addressed in the same session.

The glycolic and retinol peel is the anti-ageing one. Glycolic acid comes from sugar cane, and it works by loosening the bond that holds older, rougher, drier cells at the surface. The clarifying peel uses mandelic and citric acid, and suits oily or acne-prone skin, open pores, scarring, and the rough bumpy texture of keratosis pilaris, and it can help take the heat out of redness around the nose and cheeks. The brightening peel is citric acid based and is aimed at uneven pigmentation, sun spots, age spots and melasma. The clarifying peel can be used on its own or layered under one of the others.

Sun damage shows up as more than pigment. Actinic keratosis, also called solar keratosis, is the rough, dry, scaly patch that turns up on skin with years of sun behind it, most often on the face, scalp, forearms and backs of the hands. A rejuvenating peel is one of the things we discuss for the look and texture of sun-damaged skin. Actinic keratosis itself is a change a doctor should assess, so if you have a patch that is new, sore, bleeding or changing, we will ask you to see your GP before we treat the area.

Peels are most often done on the face, but they also suit the chest, back, décolletage, neck, hands and feet. A face peel takes about 30 minutes unless it is combined with something else.

When a peel is not suitable

We check all of this at the consultation. Some of these mean postponing rather than ruling the treatment out.

• regular sunbed use or a lot of recent sun
• pregnancy
• Accutane in the previous six months
• recent microdermabrasion
• porphyria
• diabetes
• active skin disease
• radiation treatment, or skin that is already traumatised
• a history of cold sores, which can flare after a peel

Aftercare for the week after

• keep out of the sun, including sunbeds, for at least a week
• no strenuous exercise or swimming for 24 hours
• no waxing, extractions, electrolysis or microdermabrasion for at least a week
• leave the skin alone, so no rubbing or picking
• no AHAs, BHAs or exfoliating masks for 24 hours
• moisturise morning and night
• wear sunscreen

Frequently Asked Questions

How many skin peels are needed?

A course of 6-8 treatments may be recommended.

A single treatment with an AHA peel can improve the appearance of your skin, but repeated treatments have the most effect, including improving your skin’s texture and reducing the signs of ageing or sun damage.

How long after a Glycolic – Retinol Peel may I return to normal activities?

Make-up can be applied immediately. You may experience mild redness following your peel. One to three days following your procedure, you may notice mild to moderate peeling of the skin.

How long does a skin peel appointment take?

Glycolic skin peels on the face are approximately 30 minutes. However, this will vary if it’s combined with another treatment.

Where in Dublin can I have a medical skin peel?

Vista Clinic is at 18 Priory Office Park, Stillorgan, Dublin, A94 R5P6. We are open Monday to Friday from 2pm to 9pm and on Saturday from 2pm to 6pm. Sunday is by reservation only.

Do I need to talk to someone before booking a peel?

Yes, because the peel is matched to your skin rather than picked off a list. Our peel treatments are adjusted to each patient’s needs, and we mix and match peels to target different issues in one treatment.

How much does a skin peel cost in Dublin?

Prices are set out in the panel on this page, including the add on rate if you are having a peel alongside another treatment. How many sessions you need is agreed with you rather than assumed, and our full price list covers every treatment we provide.

Thinking About a Chemical Peel in Dublin?

People searching for a chemical or glycolic peel in Dublin are usually deciding between a one off appointment and a course, and want to know which one their skin actually needs.

That is a conversation worth having first. Tell us what is bothering you and what you have tried, and we will be straight with you about whether a peel is the right starting point.

Cost varies with how many sessions you have and whether the peel is added to another treatment on the day, so treat the figures on this page as a guide. The clinic is in Stillorgan in south Dublin, and you can call or message before committing to anything.