VI Peel
A VI Peel being applied with gauze. It is painted on in layers and left to work, and the skin peels over the following days rather than that day.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
VI Peel vs Chemical Peel
A VI Peel is a chemical peel. It is one brand's ready-mixed kit, sold to clinics in a sealed bottle. An unbranded peel is mixed for your skin on the day, so the clinician picks the acid and the strength. No trial has compared the two.
At a glance
| The difference | VI Peel | Chemical Peel |
|---|---|---|
| What it is, and what is in it | A branded kit, strengths undisclosed | Named acids at published strengths |
| What the evidence looks like | One small study, no control group | Dozens of small trials, mostly a tie |
| Downtime | Peeling from day three, for 3 to 4 days | Depends entirely on depth |
| Sessions and cost | 3 to 6 peels, then 4 a year | 3 to 6 sessions, price tracks depth |
Chemical Peel
A chemical peel being brushed on. The solution is painted over the skin and left for a set number of minutes — nothing is passed over the skin and nothing is injected.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What it is, and what is in it
VI Peel
A branded kit, strengths undisclosed
A sealed, pre-mixed bottle with a take-home aftercare kit. The clinic does not choose the formula, only which version to open. The maker lists TCA, phenol, retinoic acid, salicylic acid and vitamin C for the face versions, but not the percentages.
Chemical Peel
Named acids at published strengths
A category, not a product. The acid and the strength are both known: glycolic acid at 30 to 50 percent, salicylic acid at 30 percent, TCA at 35 percent, and so on.
How it works, illustrated
Chemical Peel
How deep it goes
VI Peel
Sold as medium, but not checkable
No strengths are published, so nobody outside the company can classify the depth. A clinic page that gives it a set depth is asserting something the maker has never published.
Chemical Peel
Judged on the skin, not the bottle
A superficial peel stays in the outer layer. A medium peel reaches the upper part of the layer beneath. A deep peel goes further still. The operator judges it by frosting, a whitening of the skin: patchy is superficial, an even coating is medium, a solid enamel look is deep.
What the evidence looks like
VI Peel
One small study, no control group
Thirty people had a VI Peel and botulinum toxin on the same day. Reported improvements were 60 percent for wrinkles, 59 percent for even colour and 70 percent for skin tone. The toxin muddies the wrinkle number.
Chemical Peel
Dozens of small trials, mostly a tie
A review pooled 12 trials and 387 people with acne. It set glycolic, salicylic, Jessner's and TCA peels against each other. No pairing beat another.
Downtime
VI Peel
Peeling from day three, for 3 to 4 days
No makeup for four hours, then post-care products only for the rest of the week. Also SPF 50, no exercise for 72 to 96 hours and no direct sun for a week.
Chemical Peel
Depends entirely on depth
Superficial peels have mild downtime and can be repeated often. Medium peels take 7 to 10 days for the skin to seal over. Deep peels take 14 days or more.
Sessions and cost
VI Peel
3 to 6 peels, then 4 a year
Every four to six weeks, then four a year to keep it up. That is the maker's recommended course, not a trial result.
Chemical Peel
3 to 6 sessions, price tracks depth
Trial protocols cluster at three to six sessions, most often every two weeks.
Who tends to be happy with it
VI Peel
- Best for - Someone who wants a set routine, with the aftercare handed to them.
- The mindset - You are buying consistency, not a stronger or better-tested peel.
- Worth knowing - You will not be told the strengths.
Chemical Peel
- Best for - Someone with a specific problem, such as acne, melasma or sun spots, who wants the acid chosen for it.
- The mindset - You are buying the clinician's judgment. The result tracks their skill.
- Worth knowing - You can ask what is in it and at what strength.
The fine print
VI Peel
The VI Peel is made by Vitality Institute Medical Products and sold for professional use only.
Professional-use products are exempt from the ingredient-declaration rules that cover consumer cosmetics, which is why the VI Peel's strengths are not published. Who may legally perform a peel is set state by state.
Chemical Peel
In a drug alert dated 30 July 2024 the FDA said it has not approved any chemical peel product, and that peels should only be used under a dermatologist or a licensed, trained practitioner. That covers the whole category. The VI Peel holds no drug approval and no device clearance, and no peel acid has ever been cleared as a device.
That is not the same as unregulated: the FDA acts on marketing claims. In July 2024 it warned sellers whose claims turned peel solutions into unapproved new drugs, and named consumer-sold strengths including TCA at 50 to 100 percent and glycolic acid at 70 percent.
Conditions treated
Chemical Peel
Indented (depressed) scars
A peel works on the surface layers. Scars that dip below the skin are missing tissue further down than a peel reaches. The flat marks beside them do respond.
1 / 10→
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
A series of light peels speeds up the shedding of surface pigment, so it helps brown marks far more than gray ones. Done gently and spaced out, it adds to a good home routine rather than replacing it. Done too strongly, especially on deeper skin tones, the peel itself inflames the skin and creates a fresh round of marks.
←2 / 10→
Melasma
Light peels, spaced out, speed up the clearing of surface pigment when they are added to creams and sun protection. They are an addition and never a replacement. Depth is the whole issue: a peel strong enough to leave the skin red and peeling can inflame it and leave the patch darker than it started, which is one of the commonest ways melasma gets worse.
←3 / 10→
Acne
Modest benefit for clogged pores and a better one for the dark marks left behind. Needs repeat sessions, and the benefit fades if the daily treatment stops.
←4 / 10→
Dark Circles Under the Eyes
Light peels done around the eye can lift brown pigment over a course of treatments, and they are a reasonable next step when creams have stalled. Settings have to be gentle, spaced further apart and often preceded by weeks of a preparation cream, because over-treating eyelid skin leaves more pigment than it removed. On deeper skin tones, ask directly how many people with your skin tone the clinic treats.
←5 / 10→
Keratosis Pilaris
A stronger version of the acid creams, applied in a clinic to the arms or cheeks. It can smooth the texture for a while, and the effect fades in the same way, so the daily cream is still needed afterwards. It is an add-on for people who want a faster start, not a replacement for the routine.
←6 / 10→
Sun Spots (Solar Lentigines)
Lightens spots across a whole area rather than one at a time, which suits the backs of the hands, the forearms and the chest where spots are scattered widely. Usually a course rather than a single treatment, and the result is a general evening out rather than each spot disappearing. Depth matters: a peel strong enough to leave the skin raw can leave a darker mark instead.
←7 / 10→
Actinic Keratosis
A medium-depth peel takes off the damaged top layer across a whole face or scalp at once, so it treats the field rather than single spots. It is an option when creams have not been tolerated. The skin is red and peeling for about a week, and results depend a lot on who is doing it and at what strength.
←8 / 10→
Stretch Marks
Medium-depth peels have some evidence for modest improvement in mature marks, mostly when used alongside another treatment rather than on their own. Because they work by controlled injury, the same pigment cautions apply on deeper skin tones, and a test patch is worth insisting on.
←9 / 10→
Acne Scarring
Repeated medium-depth peels smooth the edges of shallow scars and even out the tone around them. The effect on texture is modest next to laser or needling. On this page peels earn their place mostly for the flat marks sitting alongside the scars rather than for the scars themselves.
←10 / 10
Related topic illustrations
Chemical Peel
Microneedling
Moderate evidence. Aimed at indented scars, which a superficial peel does not touch. More downtime per session, and usually done once the acne itself is under control.
1 / 2→
Microdermabrasion
Limited evidence. Sands the surface instead of dissolving it. No peeling and little lasting effect on acne, which is why it is often bundled rather than sold on its own.
←2 / 2
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is a VI Peel a real chemical peel?
Yes. It is a professional chemical peel sold as a pre-mixed branded kit. The manufacturer lists trichloroacetic acid, phenol, retinoic acid, salicylic acid and vitamin C as the ingredients in its facial formulas. What the brand adds is standardization and packaging, not a different mechanism.
Is a VI Peel stronger than a regular chemical peel?
There is no way to answer that from published information, because the concentrations in the VI Peel are not disclosed. Products sold for professional use only are exempt from consumer ingredient-labeling rules. An unbranded peel is described by its agent and its percentage, so its strength is knowable; the branded kit's is not.
Which costs more, a VI Peel or a regular chemical peel?
Nobody can tell you reliably, because there is no authoritative price for either. No professional society or government dataset publishes a price for any branded peel, and the last separate national average for chemical peels generally was $519 in 2020, a surgeon fee that excludes facility costs. The $1,829 figure that circulates online is a blended average for all skin resurfacing including ablative laser, not a peel price.
Which is better for melasma or dark patches?
For pigment problems, the honest answer is that a peel chosen for the job has evidence behind it and the branded kit does not. Trials in melasma have tested glycolic acid, salicylic-mandelic combinations, Jessner's solution and TCA, generally finding them broadly similar to each other and better than placebo. The VI Peel has never been tested for melasma in a controlled study.
Is the VI Peel FDA approved?
No, and neither is any other chemical peel product. The FDA stated on 30 July 2024 that it has not approved any chemical peel products and that consumers should only use them under the supervision of a dermatologist or licensed and trained practitioner. No peel agent holds a drug approval or a device clearance. That is a statement about the regulatory pathway, not a finding that peels are unsafe.
How long does the peeling actually last?
With the VI Peel, the manufacturer says shedding usually starts around day three and lasts three to four days. For chemical peels generally, the published figure is different and describes something else: a genuine medium-depth peel takes 7 to 10 days for the skin to reseal, and a deep peel takes 14 days or more. Visible flaking finishing is not the same as the skin having healed.
Can I wear makeup afterwards?
You will get two very different answers. The VI Peel instructions say no makeup or topical products for the first four hours, and makeup is acceptable after that. Standard guidance for medium-depth and deep peels says makeup after one to two weeks, once the skin has healed. Follow the instruction that matches the peel you actually had, and if in doubt ask the person who applied it.