TCA Peel Before & Afters - Full Process

Why I Picked A 20% Peel

I was almost 38 when I did this peel in 2020, and my skin is dry to sometimes normal. I did the peel on myself at home.

I used a 20% TCA peel from Platinum Skincare. I’d done one about six months before and shared my results, so this was my second one. Personally, I would never go above 20%. If a friend asked me, I’d tell them not to start with TCA at all. In my opinion, it’s ideal to try other peels first (like glycolic, mandelic or even lactic) so your skin gets used to them and you find out if it’s sensitive. After that, I’d start with the lowest percentage TCA Platinum Skincare sells (I believe it’s under 10%). They also sell the peels in smaller trial sizes, which sometimes allow you to do several peels. The owner has a YouTube channel with instructional videos, and I’d watch lots of them before trying a TCA peel at home.

How I Prepped My Skin In The Weeks Before

I’d been using Retin-A about once or twice a week. I stopped it three to five days before the peel, and I think you’re supposed to stop five to seven days before. That’s probably why my peel ended up so much deeper than normal.

For months I’d also been using The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + Hyaluronic Acid. Alpha arbutin is a pigment inhibitor, and I used it to help prevent post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which means dark spots that can show up after skin gets irritated or injured. Platinum Skincare also sells a product called Fade Bright with a higher percentage of alpha arbutin, plus azelaic acid, kojic acid and resveratrol. I bought the full size to start using it too.

Peel Day: Getting Set Up

I double cleansed my skin and then wiped it with alcohol to de-fat it and get it ready for the peel. I left a little eye makeup on and washed it off later. I poured some of the peel into a small tray, put on a glove and used a gauze pad to apply it.

Applying It And How It Felt

I started on my forehead. Honestly, the pain was so much more intense than I expected, and it was 81 degrees in my room with no fan, which didn’t help. I got heavy frosting, which is when the skin turns white as the peel works. I rushed because of the pain, and I didn’t have enough solution on the gauze for the bottom part of my face, so I went back over it to keep the peel even. As it went on, I felt an intense pulsating feeling I’d never had before.

The Days After: Spots, Swelling And Tightness

The next morning I woke up to a bunch of brown spots and discoloration. That’s pigment from underneath being brought to the surface, and some of it comes off when the skin peels. The area by my eye that frosted the most was actually swollen and a bit sore to the touch.

Then my face got tighter than any peel I’d done before. I could barely open my mouth, and the skin on my chin started cracking. My son said I looked 40 years older.

The Peeling

The peeling started in one area and moved outward. My forehead skin was really thick and peeled later, even though I thought I’d applied a thinner layer there. The skin under my eyes took the longest of all. I never pulled any skin off. When a piece was just hanging on, I’d trim it with scissors. The peeling stopped completely about six days after the peel.

My Aftercare

I washed my face with First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser, which is very mild with no active ingredients, or with Kirk’s castile soap. Then I mixed a little of the alpha arbutin serum with avocado oil in my hand and applied it, and followed with First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. A heavy layer of sunscreen was the most important thing of all.

I ran out of my usual ointment, so I made my own with beeswax, castor oil, avocado oil and carnauba wax. For a couple of days I slathered it all over because it stopped me from picking, but I realized my skin needed air to heal, so after that I only put it on areas that cracked or felt sore. After my peel before this one, a little fresh aloe from my plant healed a few raw spots within hours. This time my aloe plants had died, so I didn’t have any.

My Results

Once the skin under my eyes peeled off, the bumps under my eyes were drastically smaller, and my whole under-eye area looked better. The fine lines around my eyes were much less visible too. The results from this peel seemed a little more pronounced than the one six months earlier. About ten days after the peel, my skin felt completely back to normal and I’d already used The Ordinary’s glycolic toner without any problems.

What I Learned

I wasn’t as prepared as I should’ve been, and I didn’t have everything I needed for the days after. I also learned not to slather ointment over my whole face. I kept using sunscreen and alpha arbutin for the next couple of weeks, because the biggest complaint I’ve seen online is hyperpigmentation coming back after a TCA peel, and big hats help too. I still can’t say if TCA peels are totally worth it. I don’t think I can answer that until I do a series of them.