VI Peel

What is the VI Peel?

The VI Peel is a medical chemical peel combining trichloroacetic acid, retinoic acid, salicylic acid, phenol and vitamin C. The acids break the bonds holding dead surface cells together so the outer layer sheds over the following week, and the skin that replaces it is more even in tone and texture.

It is performed here by our licensed medical aestheticians, in a physician-owned practice with a physician on site.

What actually happens over the seven days?

Worth knowing in detail, because the process is the treatment and patients who are surprised by it tend to interfere with it.

Day one: the solution is applied in about 30 minutes. You leave with it still on your skin, looking slightly bronzed or tight. It stays on for several hours before you wash it off at home.

Days two to three: skin darkens slightly and begins to feel tight. Peeling usually starts around day three, typically around the mouth first.

Days four to five: the peak. Sheets of skin lift, particularly around the nose, mouth and jaw. This is the part people are not prepared for if nobody told them.

Days six to seven: peeling finishes and the new skin is visible.

The single most important instruction: do not pull at loose skin. Let it come away on its own. Pulling lifts skin that was not ready and is the most common cause of an uneven result or a mark that outlasts the peel.

Which formula is right for me?

Precision is the standard formulation. Precision Plus adds boosters aimed at hyperpigmentation and melasma. There is also a body formulation for chest, back and arms, where skin is thicker and heals more slowly than the face.

Your provider will recommend based on what you are actually treating rather than defaulting to the strongest option.

Is a peel safe on darker skin?

It can be, with care, and this deserves a straighter answer than it usually gets.

Any treatment that provokes inflammation in the skin carries a risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and that risk is higher in Fitzpatrick IV to VI. This is not a reason to avoid peels altogether — it is a reason to assess your skin first, sometimes pre-treat, and choose depth conservatively rather than aggressively.

If you have melasma specifically, that requires its own conversation. Melasma is a chronic, relapsing condition and an aggressive peel can worsen it. We will tell you that rather than sell you a series.

Who should not have a VI Peel?

We do not perform peels during pregnancy or breastfeeding — the formulation contains retinoic acid and salicylic acid. Recent isotretinoin use is a reason to wait, and we will discuss timing. Active cold sores, broken skin or an active infection in the treatment area all mean rescheduling.

If you have a history of cold sores, tell us: a peel can trigger an outbreak, and we can pre-treat for it.

Is the VI Peel FDA-approved?

No, and neither is any other chemical peel. The FDA has not approved chemical peel products as a category, which is worth knowing so that nobody can sell you one on the basis that theirs is.

What matters instead is who is applying it, at what depth, on which skin, and whether they screened you properly first.

What should I expect afterward?

Sunscreen, daily and without exception, for at least two weeks. New skin after a peel is genuinely vulnerable to pigment change, and sun exposure during that window can undo the result you paid for.

Use the aftercare kit as directed, keep skincare simple while peeling, and hold off on retinoids, exfoliants and other actives until your skin has settled.

Why choose PhillyMedClub for the VI Peel in Philadelphia?

Performed by our licensed medical aestheticians in a physician-owned practice with a physician on site, and prescribed by what you are treating rather than by what is strongest. Precision is the standard formulation, Precision Plus adds boosters aimed at hyperpigmentation, and there is a body formulation for chest, back and arms — your provider recommends between them rather than defaulting upward. We assess skin type before we treat: any treatment that provokes inflammation carries a risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and that risk is higher in Fitzpatrick IV to VI, so we sometimes pre-treat and we choose depth conservatively. Melasma gets its own conversation, because an aggressive peel can worsen it and we would rather say so than sell you a series. Plan for five to seven days of peeling. From $250 a session in Fishtown, Philadelphia.