What is the difference between microdermabrasion and dermabrasion?
A.) As the prefix “micro” implies, microdermabrasion is a “littler” version of skin abrasion. Dermabrasion often is performed in a hospital or clinic environment. It’s much more invasive. So much more so that it often requires anesthesia and can require an overnight stay. Dermabrasion is done using a spinning metal wheel to “sand” down the skin. The recovery is much longer and more complex than microdermabrasion and can involve antibiotics, special creams, etc. Dermabrasion is, of course, often necessary to treat deeper scars and other skin problems. But, microdermabrasion is very effective for many superficial problems and is far less expensive and invasive.
Dermabrasion is a mechanical procedure that uses a power driver hand-held device to remove the top layers of the skin. It may need general or a local anesthetic, depending on the treated area. Derma abrasion lasts between a few minutes and two hours, depending on the depth and area of the skin resurfacing. After dermabrasion treatment, the skin is red, swollen and extremely sensitive for about 10 days. Dermabrasion can offer visible improvement by treating deep wrinkles, scars, and hyperpigmentation. Microabrasion is much less invasive. It can be performed in an beauty center, doctor’s office or at home, using a personal home micro dermabrasion kit. A doctor uses a sandblaster-like hand-held device to spray and circulate high pressure flow of aluminum oxide crystals onto the skin. Used crystals and dead skin cells are then vacuumed back into the microdermabrasion machine, leaving the skin clean and smooth.
