Table 1.

Peeling agents used in different chemical peel types [16,17,24].

Peel Type	Peel Agent	Depth of Penetration
Superficial	AHA—glycolic acid (30–50%), lactic acid (10–30%), mandelic acid (50%) BHA—salicylic acid (30%) Pyruvic acid (50%) Resorcinol (25–50%) Jessner solution (3–7 coats) TCA (10–35%—1 coat)	Superficial/stratum corneum exfoliation/epidermal necrosis Penetrates the outer layer of the skin to exfoliate gently
Medium	AHA—glycolic acid (>70%)—with or without pretreatment Jessner solution BHA—salycilic acid (>30%) TCA (30–50%)—with or without pretreatment Jessner solution TCA 35% + glycolic acid 70%	Medium penetrates the outer layer of the skin Reaches the middle layer of the skin to remove damaged skin cells
Deep	TCA (>50%)—pretreatment Jessner solution Phenol 88% Baker-Gordon phenol peel (50–55% phenol)	Deep/reticular dermal necrosis Reaches deep into the middle layer of skin to remove damaged skin cells