Every peel at Afterglow is customized to your skin, so your exact timeline depends on the depth we chose together at your appointment. Our customized peels are generally gentler and faster to resolve, while a deeper reset like The Perfect Derma Peel comes with a longer, more visible peeling process.

• Day 1 (treatment day): Skin may feel tight, warm, or slightly stinging for the first hour or two — this settles quickly. Clients will leave with everything needed to care for it overnight.

  Day 2–3: Skin often looks and feels like a mild sunburn — pink, tight, and can be sensitive to touch. For gentler peels (like our Acne Bootcamp Peel), this is typically the extent of it, with light flaking beginning around Day 2.

  Day 3–5: For medium-depth peels (like The Perfect Derma Peel), visible peeling and flaking usually kicks in here. Skin usually looks worse before it looks better, and that's completely normal and part of the process of receiving a peel. Avoid the urge to pick or peel anything manually; let it shed on its own timeline. It’s normal for areas of the face to peel multiple times.

  Day 5–7: Flaking tapers off, revealing brighter, smoother skin underneath. Some residual pink or dry patches are normal as the final layers finish turning over.

  Day 10 and beyond: This is when clients say ‘the juice was worth the squeeze!’. Beautiful, radiant results show up on Day 10 and beyond — clearer tone, smoother texture, and a visible brightness that builds over the following month.

2-4 weeks before:

• Pause any injectables two weeks prior and filler four weeks prior; if you have received neuromodulators (ex: Botox, Xeomin, Jeuveau) or filler (Juvederm and Restylane) inside of treatment the window we will have to reschedule your chemical peel.

• Pause any other advanced treatments such as laser or microneedling four weeks prior.

3–7 days before:

• Pause retinoids and retinol 3-5 days prior. If you are using an Rx tretinoin, stop use one week prior.

• Skip any other exfoliating acids, like peel pads or at-home devices on the treatment area.

• No facial waxing, threading one week prior to your chemical peel.

• No direct sun exposure, sunburns, self-tanner or tanning beds one week prior; any heavily sun-exposed skin can't safely be peeled.

24–48 hours before:

• Continue to stay out of direct sun and skip self-tanner on the area we're treating.

• Come in well hydrated (drink water, vs. just applying facial moisturizer).

• NO alcohol and restrict caffeine the day before if you can; both can heighten sensitivity.

Day of:

• Arrive with a clean face if possible — no makeup, minimal product.

• If you're prone to cold sores, let us know in advance so we can talk through antiviral prophylaxis with your physician beforehand.

• Hands off. Do not pick, peel, or scrub off flaking skin. Let it shed naturally; picking can cause scarring or uneven pigment.

• No fur baby kisses; avoid kids/partner touching your face until you’ve done your first post-treatment cleanse.

• Skip actives. No retinoids, AHAs/BHAs, or anything exfoliating until about day 8, where you can gently exfoliate last lingering flaking.

• Sun protection is non-negotiable! Your skin is especially UV-sensitive right now. Apply SPF everyday and reapply every 2-3 hours.

• No hot yoga, hot pilates, saunas, steam rooms or intense sweat sessions for 48–96 hours; heat and sweat can irritate peeling skin.

• Keep it simple: gentle cleanser, barrier-support moisturizer, SPF. If you are using Face Reality products and received a FR peel, you can resume your normal routine on Day 3; The Perfect Derma Peel clients can resume their routine on Day 6-7.

• Makeup: hold off for at least 24–48 hours. Wash your makeup brushes/sponges prior to using for the first time post-treatment.

• See the products section below for instructions on which products to use, and when.

In the days following a chemical peel, we focus on supporting your skin barrier and speeding up recovery time.

• (Plated) SKIN SCIENCE Intense Serum — our #1 recommendation post-procedure. The exosome technology works with your skin's own regeneration signals right when they're most active. The benefit is that clients will speed up recovery, reduce inflammation, and increase signaling for more collagen and elastin growth.

• Hydrinity Hyacyn Active — A purifying mist we reach for multiple times a day for the following few days. It's the easiest way to keep newly-treated skin hydrated and comfortable without touching it — the active ingredient, hypochlorous acid, is anti-microbial and anti-bacterial, keeping the skin clean and less likely to experience post-treatment breakouts.

• Colorescience Barrier Pro 1-Step Cleanser — mild enough for flaking skin, while being thorough enough to keep skin clean.

• Colorescience Face Shield Flex or No Show SPF — non-negotiable every single day; we recommend using this from Day 2 forward. Colorescience’s SPFs are all mineral-based, non-irritating, and essential to protecting the new skin you’ve just invested in.

NOTE:

Clients who have received The Perfect Derma Peel will go home with post-procedure kit, included with treatment. Follow the specific instructions included with this kit on caring for your skin. Resume your normal skincare routine on Day 6-7.

Clients who received a Face Reality Acne Bootcamp Peel can usually resume their customized Face Reality skincare routine on Day 2 or 3.

Clients who received a fully customized chemical peel can usually resume their skincare routine on Day 3-5.