What is a chemical peel a chemical peel involves applying a solution to the skin in order to cause the outer damaged layers of skin to slough away this will leave you with younger smoother glowing and more evenly pigmented skin what sort of chemical peels are there we classify chemical peels according to the depth at which they work light peels most commonly use alpha and beta hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid lactic acid malic acid l ascorbic acid or salicylic acid dif