Skin Peeling on Face: 9 Ways to Delicately Treat Symptoms
What Works With or Without a Sunburn
Medically reviewed by Brendan Camp, MD
Skin peeling on your face is a normal response to damage and loss of your epidermis (the upper layer of skin). A chemical peel triggers this action to improve your skin's appearance. Skin peeling can be a problem when it happens due to other factors.
The right way to treat peeling on your face depends on the cause of the problem. Causes can involve external factors like sunburn or chemicals. It can also happen due to skin diseases like xerosis cutis (severe dry skin) or certain drugs.
Treatments for peeling skin can include home remedies, over-the-counter (OTC; nonprescription) products, or prescription treatments. If your peeling skin is a sign of a health problem, you may have to resolve that issue before you see changes.
This article describes treatments for peeling skin on your face and its causes. It also explains how to take care of peeling skin on your face.
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How to Control Facial Skin Peeling
Controlling spontaneous and unwanted skin peeling, also known as desquamation, depends on the cause of the problem. In some cases, the solution involves treating an underlying health condition. In others, it depends on a combination of treatments to correct the external factors that trigger the peeling.
The following treatments can help control facial skin peeling:
Medical Treatments
Different Medications for Chronic Conditions
Facial skin peeling can occur as a side effect of certain long-term topical (on the surface of the skin) and systemic (body-wide) medications you may use to treat chronic conditions. Acne medications, antihistamines (treat allergies), statins (treat cholesterol), and diuretics (remove excess fluid from the body) can cause excessive skin drying, leading to peeling. Changing to a comparable medication under the guidance of your healthcare provider may reduce peeling.
Systemic Antibiotics
If your skin peeling is caused by a bacterial infection like impetigo or infected eczema, antibiotics are typically prescribed to eradicate the bacteria and heal the infection causing the problem.
Topical Corticosteroids
Corticosteroid ointments or creams can treat the symptoms of peeling and flaking skin on your face. These products are available in the following potency levels:
Low-potency corticosteroids: Typically available in both OTC and prescription products with hydrocortisone and suitable for your face and other areas with thin skin
Moderate-potency corticosteroids: Used on your face but require a prescription
High-potency and ultra-high-potency corticosteroids: Prescription drugs are reserved for areas with very thick skin, like your hands and feet.
Over-the-Counter Products
Moisturizers
When treating flaky, peeling skin, dermatologists recommend applying a moisturizer immediately after washing and drying your face. Ointments and creams are preferred because they are typically more effective and less irritating than lotions. Look for fragrance-free products with the following ingredients:
Jojoba oil
Dimethicone
Petrolatum
It's important to note that lactic acid and urea can be potentially irritating, especially if used on facial skin that is already irritated and scaling.
Anti-Inflammatory Pain Relievers
Take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like Motrin or Advil (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen sodium) to treat painful facial skin peeling caused by sunburns or other uncomfortable skin conditions.
These treatments treat pain and inflammation associated with peeling, but may not address the peeling itself.
Home Remedies
Hydration
Adding to the usual amount of water you consume may help increase the hydration of your epidermis and your deep layers of skin. This can help reduce skin peeling and flaking.
Aloe Vera or Soy
Aloe vera and soy are common ingredients found in OTC moisturizers. These substances have antioxidant properties which can help accelerate the healing process, especially in peeling caused by sunburn or other skin damage.
Honey
Research indicates that honey has properties that can promote tissue repair and modulate immunological responses. This may be beneficial in healing peeling facial skin.
Cool Compresses and Showers
Cool compresses can ease the pain of facial sunburn and prevent your skin from peeling further if it results from a burn. A cool shower can help treat skin peeling on larger areas. Avoid using soaps or bath oils, which can irritate the problem.
Skin/Chemical Peels
A chemical peel involves the application of an acid solution to your face. It is used to treat wrinkles, remove damaged skin cells, treat acne, and correct scars and sunspots. This treatment and other types of aggressive removal of peeling facial skin are not advised. Removing the dead skin before it's ready to come off can prolong the healing and make the unhealed skin vulnerable to bacteria.
Causes: Why Is the Skin Peeling on My Face?
There are many causes of unintended skin peeling on your face that can also involve your neck and ears. These factors include allergies, environmental factors, and health problems. Dry skin peeling and flaking skin on your face can be caused by the following:
Allergic or Inflammatory Reactions
Allergic or inflammatory reactions may include:
Contact dermatitis: This is an inflammation of your skin due to direct contact with irritants like chemicals. It can also occur when a substance such as a perfume, dye, or cosmetic triggers an immune response.
Atopic dermatitis: This is the most common form of eczema, which can leave your skin prone to itching and rashes.
Toxic epidermal necrolysis: This skin disorder is a life-threatening reaction to medication, most often from anticonvulsant drugs and antibiotics.
Cosmetic ingredients: Common ingredients causing allergic reactions such as facial flaking, peeling, or swelling are natural rubber and latex, fragrances, preservatives, dyes or chemicals in dyes and color additives, and metals.
Autoimmune and Infectious diseases
Autoimmune and infectious diseases may include:
Pemphigus: This rare autoimmune disorder causes your body to attack cells in the outer layers of skin and mucous membranes.
Facial psoriasis: Facial psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes red or pink sores covered in silvery-white plaques that can flake or peel off.
Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome: This skin infection is caused by certain strains of Staphylococcus bacteria. The bacteria produce a toxin that causes large areas of the skill to peel or fall away.
Skin Conditions
Skin conditions that may cause skin peeling include:
Sunburn: This common condition is your skin's reaction to overexposure to the sun or other ultraviolet light. Peeling begins several days after the sunburn appears.
Xerosis cutis: This is excessively dry skin that is likely caused by changes in the composition of your skin that make it unable to retain moisture.
Edema: This is swelling caused by the buildup of fluid in the tissues of your body. It can occur due to health problems, eating too much salt, taking certain medicines, and other causes.
Seborrheic dermatitis: Also known as dandruff, this is a type of eczema is caused by environmental and genetic factors. It makes the skin on your scalp to peel off into flakes. It also causes flaky, dry skin on your nose, forehead, eyebrows, and the top of your chest.
Acne: While peeling isn't a common symptom of acne, it can be triggered by popular treatments that dry the skin, including topicals like benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, retinol, and antibiotics with alcohol-based preparations. Oral medications like Claravis (isotretinoin) may also lead to skin peeling.
Other Factors
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies: Lacking the following vitamins and minerals can contribute to dry facial skin which can worsen to flaking and peeling without treatment:
Radiation therapy: Radiation treatment for diseases like cancer can cause the treated area to turn dark, dry, and peel, resulting in facial skin peeling if the treated area is close to your face.
Skin Peeling on Other Body Parts
Skin peeling as a reaction to skin conditions or disease can occur anywhere on your body. While the following problems can occur on your face, they are characterized by skin peeling that starts on other parts of your body:
Exfoliative dermatitis: Also called erythroderma, this causes severe inflammation of the skin over 80% to 90% of your body. It is often followed by peeling and flaking of the top layer of your skin. It can be a complication of psoriasis, eczema, some cancers like lymphoma, or certain chemicals.
Hand eczema/hand dermatitis: This form of contact dermatitis can be triggered by genetics, contact allergens, or irritating substances.
Toxic shock syndrome: This is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. In addition to a high fever and organ failure, it can cause a rash and skin peeling, usually on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet.
Peeling skin syndrome: This refers to a group of rare inherited conditions that make your skin peel and tear easily. It can affect your entire body or just your hands and feet.
Plaque psoriasis: Plaque psoriasis is a chronic immune disorder that makes your skin cells multiply too quickly. It causes scaly patches on your scalp, elbows, knees, and other parts of your body that can flake and peel.
Skin Care With Facial Peeling
Living with facial peeling requires extra attention to your skincare routine. Using the right techniques can help you reduce symptoms and the amount of peeling that occurs.
Follow these tips for skin care with facial peeling:
Do not pull off peeling skin: Avoid the temptation to pull off or exfoliate peeling skin. Allow it to fall off as part of the healing process, especially as a result of sunburns, when the peeling skin can serve to protect the new skin underneath.
Avoid rubbing your thin facial skin with a washcloth or towel: The friction can worsen your facial peeling. Using your clean hands to wash your face and patting your skin dry with a towel are better options for peeling facial skin.
Read product labels carefully: Use fragrance-free cleansers that are also free of alcohol and retinoids.
Apply moisturizers: Doing so immediately after washing and drying your face to lock in the benefits of the moisturizer.
Use a humidifier to add moisture to the air in your home: This is especially important in the winter months if you live in cold climates that require heating.
Protect your facial skin from harsh weather: Wear scarves and face masks, and use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or greater year-round.
Read Next: Which Facial Sunscreens Do Dermatologists Actually Recommend?
Summary
Skin peeling on your face can occur as a result of chronic or acute problems. While unsightly, it is proof of your skin's process of repair and regrowth after trauma, disease, or irritations.
Treatment for skin peeling on your face varies based on the cause of your problem. In many cases, treatment may involve prescribed treatments and daily moisturizing along with proper skincare. Drinking plenty of water and avoiding harsh chemicals can support healthy skin before and during peeling.
Consult your healthcare provider if you have skin peeling on your face or peeling that does not improve. This issue can be a sign of an underlying health problem that needs care.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
