Chemical Peel With A Beard! – Can Men Have Chemical Peels?
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Male grooming has never been as popular as it is now, the demand for great skin for men is growing by the day and just as important for you gents as it is for us girls.
Cosmetic procedures are on the up as well as minimally invasive skin rejuvenation treatments such as the chemical peels.
But you may well be thinking is it OK or even possible for men to have a chemical peel, the very thought of putting acid on your male skin conjures up all kinds of thoughts and questions!
Can you have a chemical peel with a beard? Can you shave before or after a chemical peel? Is it going to be painful?
Don’t worry, I’m here to answer all these questions right here right now whether it be looking to go for a professional chemical peel or whether you can do it yourself at home, I’m here to help!
Can Men Have Chemical Peels?
Yes you absolutely can, although male skin is slightly thicker than female skin you can still get beautiful results from a chemical peel, but there are some extra rules you have to follow before and after to make sure you are not going to make your skin too sensitive or exposed to the peel.
Obviously you guys have facial hair to consider, so here are the rules regarding facial hair and peels.
Can I have a Chemical Peel With A Beard?
This is not a problem but I would advise if possible you trim your beard as short as you can then it is possible the peel can get through to the skin.
There are some exceptions though.
There are different types of chemical peels meaning they contain different acids.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) are the ones that contain Lactic, Glycolic, Malic, Mandelic acid.
Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHAs) are your salicylic acid any peels containing these acids will be fine to go over your beard, however I would avoid any peel that requires layering these include Trichloroacetic (TCA) or Jessners.
So that’s beards covered.
Can I Shave Before Having A Chemical Peel?
Shaving is actually a form of exfoliation so every time you shave you are removing the top layer of surface skin cells so if you do this immediately before a peel, the peel could penetrate your skin deeper than intended and cause irritation.
You can shave but leave at least 24 hours before you have your peel.
Can I Shave After A Chemical Peel?
If you can avoid shaving for a few days this is the best option, if you must shave your 2nd best option is to use an electric razor, if you are desperate for the smooth clean shave you must apply lots of shaving foam and be really gentle!
If you have done a deeper peel and you skin is flaking try not to shave the flakes, definitely don’t pull them off, but with well moisturised skin gently try to message them off before shaving.
Are Chemical Peels Good For Mens Skin?
The reason why men will benefit from chemicals peels is they are not only great for increasing cellular turnover and improving collagen production, unclogging pores and reducing lines and wrinkles, they are great for ingrown hairs so if this is something you struggle with, regular chemical peels can really help.
Should I Avoid Anything After A Chemical Peel?
Ideally you should avoid anything that is going to make you hot and sweaty for the first 48 hours until the skin starts to exfoliate, otherwise sweat can get trapped beneath the skin and cause inflammation or even post inflammatory hyper pigmentation.
So try to keep out of the gym, saunas and steam rooms.
== >> For more information on Chemical Peels Click Here < ==
What Are The Best DIY Chemical Peels For Men?
Here’s my pick of some of the best ones for all budgets I think you’ll love.
Perricone MD No rinse Exfoliating Peel
This is a leave on Peel you can actually use every day after cleansing, it will leave your skin bright and clear with added moisture due to the added her hydrating hero ingredient hyaluronic acid.
It should a great one to pop over facial hair too.
Expect to see smooth, glowing skin and plumped out fine lines and wrinkles.
The Best Chemical Peel for Acne/Blemish Prone Skin For Men
The Murad Repleishing Multi Acid Peel is a two-step Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) peel which promises 33% accelerated cell renewal in just 7 days.
It will unclog pores and fight off the blemishes in no time.
Be prepared for gorgeous glowing skin guys.
The Best Chemical Peel To Control Shine
The Omorovicza Blue Diamond Peel is a powerful blend of AHA’s, peptides and amino acids to give your skin an amazing by-weekly opulent treatment.
It reduces sebum (oil) production, firms the skin, with brightening, lightening and cell renewing ingredients.
All of the above are really safe home peels and are great to be using daily or a couple of times a week and you will start to see improvements in skin quality over time as you use them.
If you were looking for the more the hardcore of peels you can get that from the peels below, just always use with caution and make sure you always follow the instructions provided with peel to ensure safety.
70% Glycolic Acid Deep Strength
If you are wanting a seriously deep peel and are prepared for some down time then this peel is the one for you.
I would definitely not recommend this strength peel to anyone new to chemical peels or with sensitive skin, also available in a 30% and 50% always start low and build up.
It does come with peel prep, a neutralising solution and a hyaluronic acid serum.
This is great for targeting lines and wrinkle and any pigmentation problems you might have.
For issues with oily, acne prone skin, the Salicylic acid Peel will be more up your street.
Again with this one, 30% is the higher strength but it is advisable to start with the lower strengths and build up.
With the higher strength you can expect visible peeling on days 4-5.
It’s definitely great for controlling breakouts.
An important point to note with any form of exfoliation especially skin peels is the importance of protecting your skin with a high factor daily SPF.
Final Thoughts
Chemical peels can be a great addition to any mans skincare regime, whether it’s going to see a professional once a month for a medical grade treatment or DIY treatment at home.
There’s plenty of choice from the more gentle daily or weekly exfoliating peels to the shall we say more hardcore deep chemical peel you might do once and decide never again or love the results and make it a monthly workout for your skin.
Either way I’d love to here your thoughts and experiences, please do so in the comments below.
Thanks for this great article.
I hav been looking at skin care products and routines and this article answered several of my questions. Congrats on such an amazing website. I will be back for sure.
Thank you so much Russ, I’m glad you found it helpful. Thank you for commenting.
Hi Amy,
Finally, something for us guys, LOL.
I was actually going to ask you about chemical peels for men when I last commented on one of your articles.
I’ve always had pretty good skin, but I guess as we get older, the skin does tend to suffer a bit more.
So, I have often thought about “skin grooming” so to speak.
As I’ve mentioned, I usually tend to have good skin, but I can occasionally get oily skin. Whether this is due to the amount I sweat (lots of exercise) or the odd-late night or a week of poor eating, I’m not entirely sure.
Would I need to use a chemical peel specific to oily skin or are one of the options you’ve suggested okay?
As always Amy, a really informative and interesting read.
Partha
Always great to hear from you Partha.
If you find your skin can be quite oily the Omorovicza Blue Diamond Peel is great!
The Murad replenishing peel is also fab for oily skin, these are your daily options but if you are wanting the stronger peel you would go for the salicylic acid peel, this one you would just use as and when you wanted a really deep peel, definitely not more than once a month.
Also don’t forget to have a little break from the exercise if you do the deep peel, just til your skin starts to flake, you don’t want to encourage sweating after a peel, this isn’t a problem with the daily ones as they are more superficial and you won’t be trapping sweat under the dead skin.
Let me know if I can help with anything else.
Thank you so much for your response Amy.
To be honest, I do really want to try a chemical peel just to see what effect it has, although I’m not too sure about making it a daily routine.
Trying something like this once a week would suit me fine (if that’s plausible) and seeing if it makes a difference.
I’m inclined to avoid to the stronger peels, because more than anything my skin is quite sensitive (I only get oily skin every once in a while, and usually when I’ve been avoiding a healthy lifestyle).
Thanks for the recommendations, I’m on it, and I’ll let you know how I get on.
Partha
A weekly peel is a nice balance, the one I suggested to you already is great for a once or twice a week treatment, you’ll skin should feel great for it! (Omorovicza Blue Diamond Peel)
Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Amy,
I’m going to have to show this to my husband, since he’s always looking at improving his skin on his face. It’s funny, because he always claims he’s a “Manly Man”, but then he looks at things like the charcoal masks, and other ways to make his skin glow around his super long, manly beard.
I swear, he tries to be more high maint than I am! I’m super simple, I use soap. Always have, always will. Nothing special on my face, just a mild soap every night before bed, and rinse, and bam, done.
I think I started this because my skin is sensitive to chemicals and so I’ve always used natural makeups, and cleaners that are non-chemical, but natural.
Do you recommend a chemical peel if you have sensitive skin?
Hi Katrina, 🙂 my husband is exactly the same and he loves a chemical peel now, in answer to your question about can you have a chemical peel if you have sensitive skin is yes you can but I would go for an enzyme peel, these are lovely for sensitive skin, they are made with fruit enzymes which gobble up the dead skin cells and there are some great ones with added soothing and calming ingredients, have a look here for some suggestions, hope you find it helpful and thank you for commenting. https://beautifulskinguru.com/best-enzyme-peel-masks-you-can-do-at-home/
Hi Amy,
WOW. This is so interesting to me. I thought I was well up on the male grooming thing, but as it turns out I need to learn a lot more. If I think hard I can remember my mate and my brother talk about this before, but I didn’t think they ever did it. Now that I’ve asked them and showed them your article, they are well into the chemical peeling. Why didn’t they tell me? Was my question and they just shrugged their shoulders 🙂
So, I’m going to have to give this a go because it seems like it could have many benefits. I imagine there will be lots of women coming across your article and sharing this with their husbands and boyfriends within a few seconds of reading it 🙂
Thank you for sharing this and informing me. Keep up the amazing work you do.
All the best,
Tom
Hi Tom, you’re right it usually is the woman that get their boyfriends or husbands on the good skincare but once you start seeing the results your hooked!
Thanks for reading my article and taking the time to comment.
Hey Amy, thanks for sharing this post on the chemical peel for men. Being a guy who takes care of my self, I was interested in learning more about this. Frankly, I’ve had no idea what a chemical peel is, let alone how to do one or what products to use. I have a pretty long beard that took me a while to grow and groom so I’m on the fence here LOL simply because I don’t want to shave or even trim my beard. In any case, thanks a lot for sharing this post. Keep up the good work with your site 🙂
Hi Ivan, I completely get that! You could always peel around the beard if it was ever something you wanted to do, theres still plenty of skin to receive the benefits.
Great article on Chemical Peel With A Beard! – Can Men Have Chemical Peels? I never thought about this before so I’m glad you have shared it. I will share with all the special men that I know. Beards have become popular now so I’m sure men are wondering.
Men are really starting to take an interest in their skin and beards and facial hair are so popular at the moment, thanks Alyse.
Hi Amy,
I’m wondering which chemical peel will work for pigmentation that develop years ago?
I used to swim a lot, without sun protection. Yikes! I used glycolic acid without much success. Do you have recommendation for daily sunblock that does not have a white cast? Would love to hear from you soon!
Hi Ina Sabrina, pigmentation can be really stubborn and often looks worse before it gets better as the pigment comes to the surface before if eventually fades from he skin.
You may need to try a stronger acid and just keep going with the peels, the pigmentation won’t go after one treatment unfortunately it will take perseverance.
As far as a daily sunscreen check out this post, there are some lovely recommendations on here you should find helpful https://beautifulskinguru.com/sunscreen-and-ageing-everything-you-need-to-know/
This was really interesting! I was wondering how men could do a chemical peel with a beard. It is true that nowadays skin care is not limited to women anymore. Many men now also take care of their skin, which is wonderful! Beards are “in” nowadays, aren’t they? Whenever I drive or walk past a hairdresser, the male models on the posters usually have beards 😉 So, your article comes at a perfect time 😉
Hi Christine, they are aren’t they! my hubby is never cleanly shaven! and he loves taking care of his skin as do many other men almost as much as us women.
So it’s definitely good to know they can have chemical peels with the facial hair.
Thank you for commenting.