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Chemical Peel vs Cortisone Injection

Chemical Peel: An acid solution applied in the office to shed the top layers of skin. Superficial peels clear pores and fade brown marks; medium peels reach texture and deeper sun damage. It does not fix indented scars.

Cortisone Injection: A tiny shot of diluted steroid into one inflamed acne cyst. It flattens that spot in a few days. It treats the bump, not the acne.

Reviewed by Dr. Schwarz, Board-Certified Dermatologist
Last updated: 10/22/2026
Editorial illustration for Chemical Peel, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.Editorial illustration for Cortisone Injection, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.
Choose ifKey differencesWhat is it?What it treatsTreatment areasSkin tonesHow it worksBefore your treatmentDay of treatmentAfter your treatmentRisksCostQuestionsRelated

Choose Chemical Peel if…

Choose for brown marks, clogged pores or dull, sun-aged texture — not for indented scars.

  • Melasma or dark marks alongside creams
  • Clogged pores and mild acne
  • You can avoid sun before and after

Choose Cortisone Injection if…

Choose for one painful acne cyst that needs to flatten fast, or for keloids and patchy hair loss.

  • A single painful cyst before an event
  • A raised keloid
  • A patch of alopecia areata
Fine together

Can you have both?

A cortisone injection can calm a single painful cyst at any point in a peel plan.

Key differences

● Chemical Peel
● Cortisone Injection
DowntimeNone → 2+ weeks
1–2 days
None
PainMinimal → Needs anesthesia or sedation
Mild
Mild
Results showImmediately → 3+ months
1–4 weeks
Within days
How long it lastsWeeks → Years or permanent
3–6 months
Weeks
Visits neededOne → Every few months
A longer series (4–6+)
Every few months
Cost per visit$ → $$$$$
$
$
ReversibleYes, can be undone → No, permanent
No, fades slowly
No, permanent

What is it?

Chemical Peel

Cortisone Injection

What is it?

It is controlled exfoliation.

A chemical agent creates a controlled skin injury.

There are three depths.

Superficial, medium and deep peels differ in recovery and risk.

The acid name is not enough.

A peel is not defined by ingredient or percentage alone.

Deep peels need a medical setting.

Phenol peels carry serious systemic risks.

It is injected into a lesion.

An intralesional steroid calms local inflammation or scarring.

It differs from joint injections.

It is not a systemic steroid treatment.

The diagnosis matters.

Infected or uncertain lesions should not be injected.

Side effects can last.

Skin thinning, fat loss and pigment change may persist.

What it treats

Evidence level
Chemical Peel
Cortisone Injection
Strong evidenceMost established uses
—
Inflamed acne on light skin. The spots sit in a patch of pink, and the ring of redness around each one is easy to see. A few have a yellow-white head, and the skin between them is dry and flaking.

Acne

Flattens a painful cyst within days.

A raised, smooth, firm scar on the upper chest on light skin. It is shiny pink-red and hairless, and its edges spread well past the small mark it grew from.

Keloids

Softens and flattens raised scars.

A round smooth bald patch on the scalp.

Alopecia Areata

Regrows hair in patches.

Moderate evidenceSome supportive research
Flat tan patches with soft irregular edges across the forehead and upper cheek of an adult with light skin, the surface completely smooth.

Melasma

Light peels help alongside creams.

Inflamed acne on light skin. The spots sit in a patch of pink, and the ring of redness around each one is easy to see. A few have a yellow-white head, and the skin between them is dry and flaking.

Acne

Clears clogged pores.

AI-generated educational illustration of Sun Spots: 1. Sun Spots Header — Light Skin; Lighter skin. Not a clinical photograph.

Sun Spots

Fades spots.

A relaxed forehead with faint shallow horizontal fine lines.

Wrinkles and Fine Lines

Deeper peels smooth lines.

A smooth, dome-shaped lump about two centimetres across on the upper back on pale skin, with a tiny dark pore at its center and faintly pink skin over it.

Epidermal Inclusion Cyst

Calms an inflamed cyst.

Little evidence
A relaxed forehead with pronounced deep horizontal furrows.

Deep Wrinkles

Light peels can't reach deep lines.

—
Not effective
—
dark keratin plugs in dilated pores on the nose and adjacent left cheek, with the face turned to the person’s right on light skin.

Blackheads

Not for clogged pores.

Can make it worse
Redness and fine superficial vessels across a light-skinned cheek and nose.

Rosacea

Very irritating.

Acne scarring on light skin. Small sharply cut pits and broad shallow dips across a cheek, several sitting inside faint flat pink marks, with no active spots.

Acne Scarring

Can cause dents in skin.

Treatment areas

Treatment areas

Face; the selected area depends on the concern and treatment plan.

The specific lesion, scar or affected patch determines the treatment site; there is no fixed body distribution.

Skin tones

Skin tone
● Chemical Peel
● Cortisone Injection
Lighter skin
Low risk
Light and medium peels suit most.
Low risk
A small dent is possible.
Medium skin
Some risk
Light peels are safer; dark marks possible.
Some risk
Lighter patches can show.
Deeper skin
Higher risk
Stick to light peels with an experienced provider; deeper peels risk lasting dark or light patches.
Some risk
Lightening and dents are more visible; low doses help.

How it works

Chemical Peel

Cortisone Injection

How it works
Chemical Peel mechanism diagram. The agent and depth are selected: The clinician matches the peel to the skin and concern. Controlled chemical injury occurs: The chosen agent acts on the planned skin layers. Skin heals and renews: Results and recovery depend on the peel depth and technique.
Cortisone Injection mechanism diagram. Medicine is placed in a lesion: A clinician injects an appropriate corticosteroid preparation. Inflammatory signaling decreases: The steroid reduces local immune and inflammatory activity. The lesion may soften or flatten: Response depends on the condition, dose, and placement.
Diagram explanation

The agent and depth are selected: The clinician matches the peel to the skin and concern. Controlled chemical injury occurs: The chosen agent acts on the planned skin layers. Skin heals and renews: Results and recovery depend on the peel depth and technique.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

Medicine is placed in a lesion: A clinician injects an appropriate corticosteroid preparation. Inflammatory signaling decreases: The steroid reduces local immune and inflammatory activity. The lesion may soften or flatten: Response depends on the condition, dose, and placement.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

Before your treatment

Chemical Peel
Cortisone Injection
2–4 weeks before

2 weeks before: Sun and tanning: No tanning, no sunburn.

4 weeks before: Pigment cream: On deeper skin tones, a pigment-blocking cream first cuts the risk of dark patches.

Not specified
The week before

Actives and hair removal: Stop retinoids, benzoyl peroxide and acids 3 to 5 days before.

Actives and hair removal: No waxing, threading or hair removal creams.

Do not pick: Do not pick, squeeze or heat the spot.

Day of treatment

Chemical Peel
Cortisone Injection
Before you arrive
Not specified

Clean skin: Wash your face and skip makeup on the area.

Arrival & prep

Skin is checked, photos taken, and you confirm what you have stopped using.

The provider checks that the spot is an inflamed acne cyst and not a boil.

Treatment

Skin is cleaned and degreased, eyes and lips protected, acid brushed on in layers.

It stings and builds over 2 to 5 minutes, then gets neutralized. The visit takes 20 to 30 minutes. A light peel burns briefly and most people tolerate it; a medium peel is genuinely uncomfortable, and the burning can last an hour.

The skin is wiped with alcohol.

A very fine needle goes just into the bump and a small amount of fluid goes in, under 10 seconds per spot. The sting is sharp for a few seconds, worse if the cyst is already tender, but most people rate it lower than they expect. Numbing does not help much — the needle stick is the whole procedure.

Before you leave

Pink, tight skin, sometimes with mild swelling and stinging for a few hours.

A tiny red dot, sometimes a small raised bleb that flattens within an hour.

After your treatment

Chemical Peel
Cortisone Injection
First 24 hours

Days 1 to 3: Skin darkens slightly, dry and rough.

Days 1 to 2: The bump softens and the ache fades.

Days 2–7

Days 4 to 7: Light peels finish flaking.

First few days: A pinprick mark, sometimes a small bruise, fading over a few days.

Days 3 to 7: Most cysts are flat.

Weeks 2–4

Weeks 1 to 2: Some people break out for a week or two as clogged pores clear.

Not specified
Time to results

1–2 weeks after each peel

24–48 hours for a cyst

How long results last

Months with good skincare

Treats only that spot

Risks

Risks
  • Dark patches
  • Prolonged redness
  • A cold sore outbreak
  • Dent in the skin
  • Lighter patch of skin
  • Visible small vessels

Cost

Per session

A superficial salicylic or glycolic peel runs about $100 to $300 a session in the US, a medium-depth peel about $400 to $900.

Roughly $50 to $250 per office visit in the US, usually billed as an office visit plus a procedure charge rather than per spot.

Insurance

Insurance rarely covers peels for acne or post-acne marks — they count as cosmetic.

Insurance often covers it, since acne cysts count as medical rather than cosmetic.

Questions

Chemical Peel

Cortisone Injection

Individual Questions
Do chemical peels work for acne scars?

Not for indented scars. Peels fade the flat brown or red marks left after a spot — people call those scars, but they are discoloration. Depressed scars need microneedling, lasers, subcision, or filler.

Which peel is best for acne?

Salicylic acid, usually — oil-soluble, so it works inside the pore. Glycolic acid suits surface dullness and pigment. Some providers combine them, or use a salicylic-mandelic blend on deeper skin tones.

How many do I need?

4 to 6 sessions, 2 to 4 weeks apart, then maintenance. One peel gives a temporary glow.

Are peels safe on deeper skin tones?

Superficial salicylic and glycolic peels are, with good data behind them. Deeper peels can leave a lasting dark or light patch. Depth, not the acid, matters.

Will I actually peel?

Often not much, and that is fine. Sheeting does not mean it worked; mild flaking does not mean it did not.

How fast does a cortisone shot work on a cyst?

Softening begins within 24 to 48 hours and most spots are flat by day three to five. That figure traces back to one small 1983 trial — it matches what dermatologists see but has never been tested at scale. The mark left behind takes weeks longer, and the injection does not speed that up.

Will it leave a dent?

It can. A shallow depression happens when the dose is too strong, so a lower concentration is the main protection. It is uncommon — most dermatologists see it in well under one patient in a hundred — and it often fills in over several months. But it is not reliably temporary. About half the clinicians who do see it report it lasting more than six months, and occasionally it is permanent. That is why you ask what concentration is being used.

Can I get one before an event?

Yes, the most common reason people ask. Aim for three to five days ahead so the swelling has time to drop. A same-day injection rarely looks better by that evening.

Does it stop acne from coming back?

No. It treats only the spot it is injected into. Preventing the next cyst needs a daily treatment plan, and the guidelines call this an add-on.

Is it safe on deeper skin tones?

Yes. The risk is a lighter patch at the site, more noticeable and slower to fade on deeper skin tones. A lower concentration reduces it, so ask.

Is this approved for acne?

Not in the United States, strictly speaking. The FDA labeling lists intralesional use for keloids, alopecia areata, discoid lupus and others. Acne is not on it. Off-label use for an acne cyst is routine, legal and recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology, but almost nobody says it out loud. In the UK, NICE withdrew its recommendation in 2026 after UK-licensed triamcinolone injections stopped being available — a supply and licensing decision, not a safety one.

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