I really wanted to stay away from any type of "extreme" treatments that could
have potentially damaging effects, and microderm, as it is affectionately
referred to by it's practitioners and devotees, was just agressive enough for
what I wanted to achieve.
I had acne scarring for years that I thought would never go away unless I had
laser therapy or some sort of deep, ablative treatment like regular dermabrasion
(a deeper form of microdermabrasion which can result in bleeding). Then I
started reading about how some people with superficial acne scarring, meaning
acne scarring that was not too deep, but just deep enough to be noticeable to
the naked eye, had a pretty good improvement in their scars after receiving
several microdermabrasion treatments.
Cost of Microdermabrasion Treatment Kit
So, I decided to make and appointment at a local salon and spa near where I
live. I booked an entire six treatment package, for a little under $600. It
was a little pricey as far as I was concerned, but if it would produce
significant results I was willing to shell out some extra cash for "flawless"
skin. My first set of six microdermabrasion appointments actually yielded
pretty impressive results.
The roughness that appeared namely on my chin virtually disappeared after six
treatments, and also I noticed that the (then) fine lines around my eyes also
appeared to be diminished. The lines around my eyes did return though, so I
believe their disappearance may have been due to some irritational swelling of
the tissue around my eyes.
However, the acne scars were noticeably reduced for about 5-6 months after this
initial round of treatments. I did notice they somehow seemed to "reappear"
though, and ended up going back for a second and third round of the microdermabrasion treatments,
with pretty good improvement each time.
Here's what I've found with microdermabrasion though, as a sort of "drawback".
The results are fairly signiifcant, but you do have to return after a few
months, as the results somehow tend to fade over this time period, and they need
a "retouching", so to speak.
It is usually recommended that you get a round of six treatments every year most
of the time, but I've found that I have to return for more treatments well
before the six months is up, to maintain the results gained.
What should you expect after a microdermabrasion treatment? Well, first of all,
the day of your appointment to recieve a microderm treatment, you should
probably make sure your social calendar is fairly sparse. The reason for this
is that I've found my skin is very red and irritated looking the day of a
microderm treatment, and it is not easily covered with makeup.
Also, your skin will flake off and be susceptible to sunlight, so make sure you
use a powerful SPF lotion for the days following your treatments, since the UV
rays can more easily penetrate the fragile skin and do damage as they're so
adept at doing.
You will need to constantly keep your newly abraded skin moisturized, so keep a
very emollient cream around, and apply it about three times for the first day or
two after your treatment, to help with flakiness and excess dryness. Keep in
mind that the first few days after a treatment, or maybe just the first day,
depending on your skin, your skin will most likely look worse than it did
before.
The abrasion of the machine causes your skin to look extremely iriritated, and
actually can make acne scarring look worse, since it is freshly exposed. This
will go away, but as a warning so you are not caught totally off guard, expect
it to look worse, not better at first.
I would say in general that microdermabrasion is a great treatment for those
worried about aging or scarred skin, however it can get very expensive if you
choose to continue with treatments. You can schedule a consultation with an
esthetician to see what skin treatment is perfect for your specific skin care
concerns, but microderm may very well fit into this regimen for you.
If you're looking for a less expensive way to achieve similar results, but with
a lot more treatments, there are currently also home microdermabrasion kits that
can help diminish scars as well.
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