June 2025

Phenol peels are known as the strongest peel on the market. Yielding results that far surpass any other at-home or in-office peel, they can give you the skin of your dreams, wiping away wrinkles, blemishes, UV damage and scars. There’s just one catch: you could die. First used in the 1920s, phenol peel before-and-afters have recently gained traction online thanks to jaw-dropping results. In one clip, a woman’s face is crisp and crusted over. Then, her necrotised tissue is pulled back like a Halloween mask revealing fresh, pink skin. She’s almost unrecognisable; decades of deep-set lines, marks and discolouration are all gone. But what makes phenol peels so effective is also what makes them precarious. During the procedure, a doctor applies...