Microdermabrasion and Microhydrabrasion

As a kid, come December, school would be over and you'd toss off your shoes and socks for a summer of barefooted fun.

But ... ouch! Shod feet are soft feet. Those first scrambles over the beach rocks were carefully ginger.

And then week after week the daily running skipping and scrambling saw your soles get stronger and smoother and firmer. 

That, by analogy, is microdermabrasion.

Whether with silicone crystals, organic crystals, or "crystal-free", microdermabrasion amounts to a medical-level work-out for your skin, abrading away surface dead skin cells in order to stimulate and promote firmer stronger skin in response, while leaving in the meantime a fresher young-skin glow.

Even better than microdermabrasion is "microhydrabrasion".

Microdermabrasion performed *with* cool water makes the treatment more comfortable *and* more effective.

The sad reality is that the dead cell layer of our epidermis tends to thicken as we age, even as the structural living cell layer of our dermis thins.  Microdermabrasion abrades away a portion of the redundant dead cell layer, leaving a fresher younger-looking surface straight away, while all that abrasive rubbing kicks the dermal repair mechanism into gear, pushing the dermis to thicken itself.

I often call microdermabrasion "gym for your skin", and just like a solitary visit to the gym isn't going to get your body into shape, so too it is a *course* of microdermabrasion treatments that is going to get your skin into shape. Weekly or fortnightly.

The dead cell layer thickens in acne as well, and all that extra oil means those dead skin cells stick around, contributing to the pore blockages that give rise to comedones.

Each microdermabrasion session removes excess surface dead skin cells, diminishes surface oil, leaving further comedone formation less likely.

And what is the best way to draw out the contents of an active comedone? The suctioning function in microdermabrasion draws out comedone contents most cleanly without traumatising the comedonal wall. 

Microdermabrasion might be said to be like *ironing* your skin, in that it helps sand down the bumps while stimulating thickening of the dips. So regular microdermabrasion treatments can help thicken up atrophic acne scars. Suitable for mild scarring (deep scars need other treatments we have).

Pre-treatment with microdermabrasion will augment the effect of lots of other skin treatments by rendering treatment penetration into the dermis more efficient and effective.

We think it mandatory prior to Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT), for example.

In fact, care must be taken that *overtreatment* does not occur if, say, a skin peel is performed after microdermabrasion. The effect could be *too* strong.

Because just about everyone can benefit from a microdermabrasion treatment, and because it is virtually not possible to be allergic or entirely intolerant of simple mechanical abrasion, microdermabrasion is commonly offered in "facials" and non-diagnosed skin treatments. It can safely be paid for in a gift voucher, for example, secure that the treatment will be pleasant and appreciated.