Which Resources Are Better: Sales or Scholarly? An Assessment on the Readability, Quality, and Technical Features of Online Chemical Peel Websites

Abstract

Abstract Background Chemical peels are an exceedingly popular cosmetic treatment with a wide variety of suppliers, each with its own online health resource describing the procedure. With increasing reliance on the internet for medical information, it is crucial that these resources provide reliable information for patients to make informed decisions. Objectives The aim of this study was to examine popular chemical peel resources and determine if those that offered chemical peel treatments (Sales) had lower readability, quality of information, and technical features compared with those that did not (Scholarly). Methods The term “chemical peel” was searched in July 2020 and the top 50 websites were retrieved for analysis. Each resource’s readability, quality, and technical features were measured through 8 readability formulas, the DISCERN and Health on the Net Code (HONcode), and 2 website performance monitors. Results The 50 websites were analyzed with an average Fry readability score of 13th grade. Scholarly websites displayed higher readability than Sales (Flesch Reading Ease 54.4 > 47.4, P = 0.047 and Coleman-Liau Index 10.6 < 11.7, P = 0.04). Scholarly resources surpassed Sales both in quality (DISCERN 56.4 > 39.7, P < 0.001 and HONcode 11.8 > 9.5, P = 0.032) and technical features (WooRank 76.9 > 68.6, P = 0.0082). Conclusions The average readability of chemical peel resources is too difficult, and their quality must be improved. Scholarly resources exhibited higher readability, quality, and technical features than Sales websites.