FDA Warns of Danger From At-Home Chemical Peels

Don’t use a chemical peel to help rejuvenate your skin unless it’s done under the supervision of a trained professional, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised.

“FDA is warning consumers not to purchase or use certain chemical peel skin products without appropriate professional supervision due to risk of serious skin injuries,” the agency said in a news release issued this week.

A dermatologist or licensed and trained practitioner should always be on hand when a peel — which is designed to remove layers of skin — is being applied.

The FDA reminded consumers that it has never approved a chemical peel, and some contains levels of acid so high that they can cause chemical burns.

Nevertheless, many of these products “are sold in beauty product stores and online and marketed for purposes such as acne, discoloration, wrinkles and collagen production,” the agency noted. “They contain ingredients such as trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid, salicylic acid and lactic acid in varying concentrations that are too high to be used safely at home without supervision.”

Just how dangerous an unsupervised chemical peel might be depends on how concentrated an acid is used and the number of applications and length of time each is applied.

“These products remove layers of skin to varying depths and may cause severe chemical burns, pain, swelling, infection, skin color changes and disfiguring scars,” the FDA warned. “These injuries may even require emergency care or specialty care from a dermatologist or surgeon.”

The FDA is highlighting six different products and has issued warning letters to their respective makers about selling the peels:

MÔOYAM TCA 50% Skin Beauty Solutions lactic acid skin peel 90%, sold online by Amazon
Skin Beauty Solutions lactic acid skin peel 90%, sold by Walmart
TCA 100% Trichloroacetic Acid Whitening SA Peels, sold by Isis Gold
TCA 100% Skin Peel Lactic Acid 90%, Salicylic Acid 80%, Glycolic Acid 70%, and Modified Jessner Solution Peel 14%, sold by Matte Beauty
LACTIC Acid Skin Chemical Peel 90%, GLYCOLIC ACID Skin Cosmetic Grade Peel 70%, Combination Peel GLYCOLIC 35%, LACTIC 45%, SALICYLIC ACID Skin Chemical Peel 30%, sold by Skin Beauty Solution
100% TCA Skin Peel” and “GLYCOLIC ACID 70%, sold by Repare Skinscare