 It was originally used on a clandestine basis by early Hollywood stars in the 1920s and was incorporated into mainstream practice in the 1960s by Thomas Baker.The active ingredient is croton oil, which causes an intense caustic exfoliating reaction in the skin.Resurfacing and restoring skin with chemical peel was introduced in the second half of the 19th century by the Austrian dermatologist Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra (1816–1880), founder of the Vienna School of Dermatology.