title: An examination of the phenol-croton oil peel: Part II. The lay peelers and their croton oil formulas.
abstract: From the turn of the century, lay face peelers, known as "skinners," ran "beautifier" salons. Beginning in the 1920s, lay peelers were using croton oil-phenol formulas in Hollywood. These persons were renowned, made a good living, and treated many, if not most, of the leading "stars" of the day. They had a treatment, a "secret," that physicians did not. Physicians brought their own wives to the peelers for their expertise. The leading lay peel personalities from the 1920s through to our time are presented. The lay peelers dominated the field until the 1960s, when legal attacks on them, often directly instigated by the newly educated physician peelers, put them at a legal disadvantage. Nevertheless, there was considerable interaction with many plastic surgeons along the way. Some plastic surgeons came into possession of the techniques and some also into knowledge of the ingredients in a formula. The author has presented the recipes of four of the renowned lay peelers, two from Hollywood, Gradé and Kelsen, and two from Miami, Coopersmith and Maschek. These recipes all have 80 to 90 percent less croton oil than the "classic" Baker formula and, therefore, wound less deeply. The Hollywood formulas were used on many celebrities both inside and outside the film world from the 1920s to the early 1990s. These lay recipes are cumbersome to prepare. The author has simplified the preparation of these lay recipes by using USP liquid phenol instead of crystals. These simple formulas are provided in a table and are as easy to prepare as the Baker formula.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Hetter
mesh_terms: D002615:Chemexfoliation / Q000266:history*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000266:history*; D003436:Croton Oil / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019800:Phenol / Q000266:history* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D019800:Phenol; D003436:Croton Oil