A comparative histologic study of the effects of three peeling agents and dermabrasion on normal and sundamaged skin.

This paper reports the histologic findings in normal and sundamaged skin, created by 60% trichloroacetic acid (TCA), 100% phenol, Baker's phenol mixture, and dermabrasion at 3 days and 60 days after treatment. Half of the peeled areas were unoccluded, and the other half were occluded. It was found that the various escharotic agents seem to wound sundamaged skin with the same type of graduation as non-sundamaged skin. Furthermore, a layer of enlarged papillary dermis consistently developed, the thickness of which seems directly related to the strength of the escharotic agent, or the overall wound depth or the healing time necessary for complete recovery.