Comparative Study of Glycolic Acid Peeling vs. Tretinoin Peeling in Facial Pigmentary Lesions / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chemical peels using glycolic acid and tretinoin are known to be safe and effective for treating facial pigmentary lesions. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated and compared the efficacy of tretinoin and glycolic acid peeling for facial pigmentary lesions by using a digital camera and L*a*b* color scale in Adobe Photoshop 5.5(R) METHODS: Thirty eight patients with facial pigmentary lesions were treated with 50% glycolic acid and 1% tretinoin peelings. The treatment was performed 2-3 times per week for a period of 2 weeks and a half. Exposure time was 2 minutes for the glycolic acid and 6 hours for the tretinoin. Before and after the treatment, pigmentary lesions were evaluated using self evaluation forms and the L*a*b* color system (Commission International de I'Eclairage) in Adobe Photoshop 5.5(r) (Adobe Systems Incorporated, USA). Corneometer (Corneometer(r) CM820, Courage Khazaka Electronic GmbH, Germany) was used for the evaluation of skin hydration before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Facial pigmentary lesions were significantly improved in 10 out of 38 patients after 50% glycolic acid peeling and in 12 out of 38 patients after 1% tretinoin peeling. The state of hydration of the treated skin improved significantly after the peeling using both 50% glycolic acid and 1% tretinoin. CONCLUSION: Topical 1% tretinoin peeling is as effective as 50% glycolic acid peeling in the treatment of facial pigmentary lesions and more frequent peeling results in quicker improvement than the previous studies without significant side effects.