Two words on a Boulder County treatment menu do a great deal of work without explaining themselves. “Chemical peel” covers a $150 superficial acid treatment that leaves no visible flaking and a $395 medium-depth peel that will have you shedding for the better part of a week, so ask which one you are booking. “Microdermabrasion” has quietly stopped being sold as a standalone treatment almost everywhere in the county, surviving as a $75 add-on or replaced outright by hydradermabrasion devices with brand names. Colorado draws a line through all of it, and the line is anatomical rather than commercial. Under the state’s barber and cosmetology rules at 4 CCR 731-1.8, a licensed esthetician or cosmetologist may not perform any service that “penetrates, destroys or alters the client’s skin beyond the epidermis,” or that would require delegation under the Medical Practice Act. Anything deeper is a medical act performed under a physician’s delegation, which is a different transaction with different oversight.
The training thresholds are specific too. Rule 1.9 requires 24 hours of cosmeceutical coursework before a licensed esthetician or cosmetologist may perform chemical resurfacing exfoliation at all, and 14 hours before performing microdermabrasion or other manual resurfacing exfoliation, which is limited to Class I and Class II devices. The same rule bars any product with “the potential to or result in the structural alteration or destruction of skin below the epidermis.” Separately, Colorado’s HB25-1024, signed into law in 2025, requires a physician or advanced practice registered nurse who delegates medical-aesthetic services to someone who is not a licensed health-care provider to make certain disclosures to the patient. At 5,430 feet, where the air is dry and ultraviolet exposure is stronger than at sea level, the aftercare on any of these is the part that decides the result. Here is what seven Boulder County operators actually publish, and what the prices tell you.
Mōv Aesthetics — both peels, priced side by side
Mōv Aesthetics at 3005 47th Street, Suite F3, in east Boulder publishes a number for each of the two peels it sells. VI Peels start at $350; BioRePeels start at $250, with members getting 15 percent off either. The practice describes the VI Peel as a mid-depth peel that reaches beneath the top layer of skin, with peeling starting within 72 hours and the heaviest days falling on days three to five, and recommends a series of three to four peels four to six weeks apart. BioRePeel it describes as a 35 percent TCA formulation designed in Italy that uses biphasic technology to exfoliate without visible peeling, given in four to six sessions two to four weeks apart. Mōv names Brittany Collins, D.O., as co-founder and medical director, and co-founder Ashley as a licensed esthetician. The practice states that both peels are performed by a team led by a board-certified physician.
Boulder Skin Bar — three VI Peel formulations, and a named medical director
Boulder Skin Bar at 1435 Yarmouth Avenue, Suite 106, publishes exactly which formulation it would put on your face. It lists VI Peel Precision Plus for advanced pigmentation, VI Peel Purify for acne-prone skin, and VI Peel Advanced for mature skin, with sessions running 30 to 45 minutes. The practice names Dr. Gregory A. Buford, MD, FACS, as medical director and states he is a board-certified plastic surgeon; it names Taylor Nichols as lead aesthetician and laser specialist, a graduate of Rocky Mountain Laser College with certifications the practice lists as including chemical peels, dermaplaning and microdermabrasion. Two practical details worth knowing before you call: pre-treatment guidance is to stop all retinoids and alpha hydroxy acids three days beforehand, and cancellation inside 24 hours carries a $100 fee, with no-shows charged the full service cost. Open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Vasu Skin Solutions — the fully published price list
Vasu Skin Solutions, at 2490 Junction Place, Suite 102, in the Boulder Commons building two blocks north of the RTD Boulder Junction station, puts every number on a public page. The Perfect Derma Peel is $330, or three for $850, with a booster add-on at $50. DiamondGlow, a three-in-one device treatment that exfoliates, extracts and infuses serum, is $190, or four for $675, with dermaplaning added for $80. Standalone dermaplaning is $120, or three for $310. A skincare consultation is $75 and includes VISIA imaging to assess sun damage, pigmentation, redness and texture; the fee applies to any treatment within a year, and the practice states that if Vasu is not the right fit it will say so and waive the fee. The office runs Monday to Friday by appointment only, which matters if you were hoping to book a Saturday.
Evolution Dermatology + Wellness — peels that skip the peeling
Evolution Dermatology + Wellness sits at 1455 Yarmouth Avenue, Suite 112, on the same block of Yarmouth Avenue as Boulder Skin Bar, and it splits its offering in two. On the clinical side it lists the Perfect Derma Peel and custom blends of glycolic, TCA, kojic, mandelic and salicylic acids, plus a PRX Derm Perfection treatment it calls the Glass Skin Treatment — a peel formulated to work below the surface without visible shedding, given in a series of three to five sessions one to two weeks apart, 20 to 30 minutes each. On the aesthetician side, microdermabrasion and dermaplaning appear only as add-ons to a facial, and its 30-minute Express Renewal Facial asks you to pick one or the other. The practice team includes Pauli Morrow, MMSc, PA-C, Kim Guthke, MS, PA-C, Katy Baer, BS, RN, and Michael J. Huntington, MD. Ask about aesthetician pricing when you book.
Boulder Valley Center for Dermatology — the range that shows you the depth
Boulder Valley Center for Dermatology publishes its peel pricing as a range — $150 to $395 — and states plainly that it offers both superficial and medium-depth peels for melasma, sun damage and fine lines, on the face and on the body. That spread is worth sitting with, because it is the price gap between the two procedures the phrase “chemical peel” covers. Its custom facial is $175 and includes microdermabrasion or dermaplaning; a dermaplane add-on to a HydraFacial is $75; an aesthetic consultation is a $75 deposit applied toward treatment or products. The practice runs three offices — 3000 Center Green Drive, Suite 260 in Boulder, 1140 W. South Boulder Road, Suite 202 in Lafayette, and a third in Brighton, which is in Adams County, well outside Boulder County. Confirm which office your appointment is actually in before you set out.
Boulder Dermatology — what dermaplaning is not
Boulder Dermatology, at 3575 Broadway with a second office at 400 S. McCaslin Boulevard in Louisville, prices dermaplaning at $75, three for $200 or five for $350, and lists chemical peels as “Please Call.” Its dermaplaning description says what the treatment is not. It describes the treatment as physical exfoliation “similar in theory to microdermabrasion but without the use of suction or abrasive crystals,” using a sterile surgical blade to remove the top layer of the epidermis along with vellus hair, and it names the people it suits — clients with couperose skin, sensitive skin, or allergies that rule out microdermabrasion or chemical peels. That is a genuine clinical distinction rather than a marketing line, and it is the reason dermaplaning has outlasted microdermabrasion on most menus in the county.
Orange Poppy Spa — the day spa that does not sell peels at all
Orange Poppy Spa at 1290 Alpine Avenue belongs in this article precisely because it declines the category. Its menu runs on gentle exfoliation, microcurrent, oxygenation, nano-infusion and exosome treatments rather than acids, and the spa positions its Ultimate Tri-Fusion Renewal Facial as what it calls a superior choice to chemical peels and radiofrequency. Prices are published in full: a 60-minute custom facial is $150, the 30-minute No Frills Facial is $90, the Better Than 8 Hours of Sleep Facial is $205, and the 75-minute functional facials are $215 to $255. Dermaplaning is a $55 upgrade. The spa states that treatments are performed by licensed estheticians and that neck treatment and extractions are included rather than upsold.
Before You Book
Ask two questions and most of the confusion resolves. First: is this peel superficial or medium-depth, and will I visibly shed? The honest answer determines your calendar more than your budget — a VI Peel or Perfect Derma Peel means peeling for roughly five to seven days, which is a real consideration if you have a wedding, a work trip or a photograph in that window. Second: who is performing it, and under whose delegation? A superficial exfoliation performed by an esthetician who has completed the state’s 24-hour coursework is a legitimate, well-defined service; a medium-depth peel is a delegated medical act, so ask who the supervising physician is. You can ask to see a license, and you can check what a Colorado esthetician, cosmetologist or barber license actually authorizes through the Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure. Third, and specific to living here: every price above was read on September 3, 2026, and every one of these treatments compromises your skin barrier at an altitude where it was already working hard. Sun exposure in the week after a peel is what turns a pigmentation treatment into a pigmentation problem, and a September peel in Boulder means committing to shade and sunscreen through a stretch of the year when the light is still strong and the days are still long enough to catch you out.
