$199
$199 to $299
Light therapy and mask
None to a few days
4.97★
Overview
Chemical Peels in Irvine
A chemical peel applies an acid to the skin in a controlled way to remove a measured depth of the surface. What changes is which acid, at what strength, for how long. That is the entire decision.
Spectrum uses SkinCeuticals formulations across six options, from a superficial salicylic peel through to a TCA micro peel. Every peel includes light therapy and a treatment mask to support healing.
Strength is matched to your skin and your concern rather than sold as a single product. A peel that is too light does nothing and a peel that is too deep on the wrong skin causes the pigment problem you came in to fix.
Who treats you
Why Depth Decides Who Treats You
Peels are not one treatment and they are not all performed by the same person here. California draws the line at depth, and so do we.
Superficial peels, the glycolic and salicylic formulations, are within licensed esthetician scope and are performed by Leah, our licensed esthetician. Deeper work, including TCA, is performed by Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD.
That split is not a formality. Deeper peels on deeper skin tones carry a real risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and judging that risk before the acid goes on is a physician assessment rather than a product choice.
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4.97★
One case, read closely
Chemical Peel Before and After
Melasma treated with a chemical peel protocol at Spectrum Skin Clinic in Irvine.
Melasma is the hardest thing on this page to treat and the easiest to make worse. Look at the evenness across the cheek rather than at any single patch. Peels lighten melasma in stages and it recurs with sun exposure, so this is a managed condition rather than a cured one.
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The range
The Six Peels and What Each Is For
Priced by agent and strength. Which one suits you is decided at assessment, not chosen from a menu.
Salicylic 20%, $199
Oil-soluble, so it works inside the pore
Salicylic 30%, $249
Same agent, more of it
Glycolic 20%, $199
Water-soluble, works on surface texture and dullness
Glycolic 30%, $240
Stronger surface resurfacing
Pigment Control Peel, $249
Formulated for uneven tone and melasma
TCA Micro Peel, $299
The deepest option offered here
Light therapy and a treatment mask
Added to support healing and reduce the inflammatory response afterward
How a Chemical Peel Works
An acid is applied for a controlled time to break the bonds holding dead surface cells together. Those cells shed and the skin beneath is exposed and prompted to renew.
Depth is the variable that matters. A superficial peel reaches the outer layer only, which is why it can be repeated often and carries almost no recovery. Deeper peels reach further, do more, and carry more risk.
Why salicylic and glycolic are not interchangeable
Salicylic acid is oil-soluble, so it travels into the pore. That makes it the sensible choice for congestion and active acne.
Glycolic acid is water-soluble and works across the surface, which suits dullness and uneven texture. Choosing between them is a decision about what is actually wrong with the skin, not about strength.
Is this the right treatment
What a Peel Treats, and What It Does Not
Peels are excellent at surface problems and poor at structural ones.
Combined approaches
What Peels Are Sequenced With
Peels are usually part of a plan rather than a single event.
Candidacy
Who May Be a Candidate
Most skin types can have a superficial peel. The question is which agent, at what strength, and how often.
Deeper skin tones are not excluded, and they are approached more conservatively, because the risk being managed is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation rather than discomfort.
How the strength is chosen
Skin type, the concern being treated, what you use at home, recent sun exposure and how your skin responded to any previous peel. Strength is stepped up across visits rather than assumed at the first one.
Likely a good fit
Congestion, active breakouts, dullness, uneven texture, post-inflammatory marks and uneven tone, in skin that is calm on the day.
Where it is not appropriate
Active infection, broken skin, cold sores or sunburn mean deferring. Recent isotretinoin, recent resurfacing or a strong home retinoid schedule needs spacing. Atrophic scarring and laxity are not surface problems and a peel will not address them.
What happens
What to Expect
Picking the flaking skin is the single most common way patients turn a good peel into a pigment problem. Let it come away on its own.
Risks
Documented Risks
Risk scales with depth, which is the reason depth is chosen carefully rather than maximised.
Redness, tightness and flaking
Expected rather than adverse. Duration depends on depth.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
The main risk, and higher in deeper skin tones and with deeper peels. This is why strength is stepped up gradually and why sun protection afterward is mandatory rather than advisory.
Prolonged irritation or infection
Uncommon, and more likely if the skin was not calm on the day or if flaking is picked.
Expected downtime, the risk of pigment change and the aftercare that prevents it are reviewed before treatment.
How that risk is managed
Skin type and history are reviewed before any agent is chosen. Strength is increased across visits based on how your skin actually responded, not on what was booked. Deeper peels are performed by the physician.
Aftercare
Cost
Chemical Peel Cost in Irvine
Salicylic 20% and Glycolic 20% are $199. Glycolic 30% is $240. Salicylic 30% and the Pigment Control Peel are $249. The TCA Micro Peel is $299. Every peel includes light therapy and a treatment mask.
Package pricing is available for a series, which is how pigment and texture concerns are usually treated. Ask at your consultation.
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The honest part
How Much Will One Peel Do?
Less than the internet suggests. A superficial peel gives a visible brightening and a smoother surface for a few weeks. It does not transform skin in one session, and any clinic promising that is describing a much deeper peel with much more recovery.
Pigment and texture respond to a series, spaced and adjusted as your skin shows what it tolerates. That is slower to sell and it is what actually works.
Explore
Related Treatments
Aesthetician Services
The full aesthetician treatment menu at Spectrum.
Acne Facial
Clinical acne protocol, where salicylic peels sit alongside extractions.
Melasma
Melasma, where a peel is one part of a wider pigment plan.
Pigmentation Treatment
Pigmentation more broadly, and what causes it.
Dermaplaning
Physical exfoliation, sequenced separately from a peel.
Glass Skin Facial
A gentler option when the goal is glow rather than resurfacing.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Salicylic 20% and Glycolic 20% are $199, Glycolic 30% is $240, Salicylic 30% and the Pigment Control Peel are $249, and the TCA Micro Peel is $299. Every peel includes light therapy and a treatment mask. Package pricing is available for a series.
It depends on depth. Superficial glycolic and salicylic peels are performed by Leah, our licensed esthetician, which is within California esthetician scope. Deeper peels including TCA are performed by Dr. Sabeen Munib, MD.
Salicylic acid is oil-soluble so it works inside the pore, which suits congestion and active breakouts. Glycolic is water-soluble and works across the surface, which suits dullness and uneven texture. The choice is about what is wrong with the skin rather than about strength.
It can, as part of a wider plan using the Pigment Control formulation. Melasma is also the easiest thing on this list to make worse, because too deep a peel on the wrong skin type causes rebound pigment. Skin type assessment comes first, and sun protection afterward matters more than the peel.
It depends entirely on depth. A superficial peel usually means mild redness and light flaking for a few days. Deeper peels mean more. You will be told which to expect before you book.
Not atrophic scarring, which sits deeper than a peel reaches. Peels help the marks acne leaves behind, which is a pigment problem rather than a textural one. True scarring needs resurfacing or subcision.
Yes, and it is approached more conservatively. The risk being managed in deeper skin tones is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so strength is stepped up gradually across visits rather than assumed at the first one.
One peel gives a visible brightening for a few weeks. Pigment and texture concerns respond to a series, spaced and adjusted based on how your skin actually responds. Package pricing exists for that reason.