Health Articles > Acne > Microdermabrasion Concerns

Microdermabrasion is a ground-breaking beautifying treatment that very efficiently removes the upper layer of dead skin cells to reveal healthier skin below. It removes fine lines, wrinkles, scars and stretch marks and generally damaged skin. It can be done professionally at doctors clinics, spas and even at home, if you are experienced enough. Professional treatments can be quite costly and for a whole treatment regime can cost up to $1000-$2000 depending on where you live. In simple terms, tiny micro-crystals (e.g. aluminium oxide) are blasted onto the skin to remove the dead skin cells, and then a wand is used as a vacuum to clear them up right afterwards. Creams and special ointments can be used to supplement the procedure to make it more enjoyable. If you didnt already know, the procedure is painless and there are very few side-effects. Some people question whether home microdermabrasion will cause more redness or soreness than professional microdermabrasion. The truth is that there will be slightly redder skin after home microdermabrasion, but this is purely because of the modified chemicals within the kit that are safe to be used at home. Make-up can easily be applied to cover this redness, and it will only take 1-2 days for your skin to return to normal. Further, microdermabrasion is not only limited to the face (as many people falsely believe). You can use it on nearly any surface with skin on it. Knees, elbows, shoulders, your back, remember also that mothers can also use to remove stretch marks. More people worry that their skin will start to scale off after the procedure. This is normal, there can also be redness after home microdermabrasion especially, so dont be alarmed. It is a side-effect of the sometimes incomplete abrading effect of the crystals that were used to remove the dead skin cells; some skin cells on the surface of your skin will continue to fall off, but only temporarily for a day or two after the procedure. A final pressing issue is how much force one should I apply with a home system. Gentle force with circular motions over the specific area is the answer. It is not good to apply heavy pressure. Also, if you are someone with sensitive skin, test microdermabrasion on a small patch of skin before you carry out the whole procedure, just to make sure you are not allergic to the material.