National First Day of Peel Season – September 7, 2026

History of National First Day of Peel Season

The history of skin beauty treatments goes back to Ancient Egypt. The use of black-kohl eyeliner and eyeshadows in dark colors such as blue, red, and black was common. These practices were commonly recorded and represented in Egyptian art, as well as in their hieroglyphs.

In Japan, geishas used sticks of ‘bintsuke’ wax as a makeup base. Sometimes, geishas would also use bird droppings to create a lighter color. In the 16th century, women in Europe would bleed themselves to achieve pale skin was the standard of beauty at the time. Some accounts say that Spanish prostitutes wore pink makeup to contrast their pale skin.

The Middle Ages saw the use of cosmetics continue, where the face was made pale, and the cheeks made red. As far as skin peeling is concerned, ancient Egyptians would scrape their skin with alabaster (a soft white stone). They followed up with topical solutions made with oils, acids, and salt. The Romans and Greeks began with pumice stone and resin and then graduated to sulfur for intense results.

Gypsy populations created the deep chemical peel. Their early experimenting made way for the phenol peel, a medical-grade resurfacing treatment that sometimes requires a general anesthetic. It was in the 19th century that skin peels became popular. It was due to a sharp increase in experimentation led by Austrian dermatologist Ferdinand Hebra, founder of the Vienna School of Dermatology. He tried various processes (including scary experiments with lime and nitric acid) before the tincture (a combination of chemicals with alcohol) became the prototype of the modern chemical peel.

Skin peels today are highly refined, with absorption rates, penetration, and after-effects continuing to improve. The ongoing efforts to minimize trauma while enhancing results have made the skin peel safer and more effective than ever.