There's A whole lot of sanding, planing and buffing going on -- in bathrooms coast to coast. The work isn't to improve the home, but the skin, through the magic of over-the-counter microdermabrasion kits.
At a cost of $10 to $200, the home kits are considerably cheaper than the $100 to $200 a client would shell out for a single in-office microdermabrasion session. And no appointment is necessary. But how do the kits compare with the real thing -- and with each other?
When performed in a health facility or aesthetician's office, microdermabrasion involves scraping off the top layer of dead skin cells, known as the stratum corneum, with a wand-like device that either abrades the skin with a roughened surface or blasts abrasive crystals, such as aluminum oxide, onto the skin. A vacuum device sucks up the debris as the exfoliation goes along.
Professional microdermabrasion, which has been widely available in the U.S. since the late 1990s, takes about 30 minutes and usually requires four to 12 sessions -- spaced a few weeks apart -- for best results.
"The medical-grade microdermabrasion procedure works by producing micro-trauma or gentle exfoliation to the outermost surface of the skin to remove surface debris," says Dr. Joseph Greco, a dermatologist at UCLA's Dermatologic Surgery and Laser Center. That debris includes oil, dust and dead cells that can clog pores and create roughness. In removing that top layer of skin, microdermabrasion can also reduce the appearance of brown spots, acne scars, fine wrinkles and large facial pores.
Home kits now offer a cheap, convenient and gentle alternative to a professional session. They don't penetrate as deeply into the skin surface as medical-grade microdermabrasion, and that's both a plus and a minus -- almost no side effects but subtler results.
"With continued use, you can get an improvement in fine wrinkling, mottling and brown spots, and you can mildly affect acne scarring," says Dr. Justine Park, assistant professor of clinical dermatology at USC and director of pediatric dermatology at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
The only real downside to the kits is that some people may tend to overuse them, scrubbing too much or using them too often, says Dr. Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, a San Francisco-area dermatologist in private practice. Fortunately, those who overdo generally figure it out pretty fast.
Says Park: "Typically, you start feeling pain."
