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Clear + Brilliant vs Microdermabrasion

Clear + Brilliant: A low-energy fractional laser aimed at dullness, early fine lines, and rough texture. It is the gentlest treatment in this family, with about a day of downtime and a correspondingly small change per session.

Microdermabrasion: A handheld device sands the dead top layer off the skin with fine crystals or a diamond tip while a vacuum lifts the debris away. It leaves skin smoother and brighter for a few days. Newer treatments now do more for acne, pigment and scarring.

Reviewed by Dr. Schwarz, Board-Certified Dermatologist
Last updated: 10/22/2026
Editorial illustration for Clear + Brilliant, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.Editorial illustration for Microdermabrasion, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.
Choose ifKey differencesWhat is it?What it treatsTreatment areasSkin tonesHow it worksBefore your treatmentDay of treatmentAfter your treatmentRisksCostQuestionsRelated

Choose Clear + Brilliant if…

Choose for gentle brightening and smoother texture with about a day of downtime — small change per session.

  • Dull skin or uneven tone
  • Early fine lines
  • You want minimal downtime

Choose Microdermabrasion if…

Choose for a quick, comfortable brightening with no downtime — newer treatments do more for acne, pigment and scars.

  • Dull skin before an event
  • You want no downtime
  • No active acne or rosacea
Alternatives, not combined

Can you have both?

Both refresh tone and texture with little downtime. Most people choose one per visit; space them at least 2 weeks apart if alternating.

Key differences

● Clear + Brilliant
● Microdermabrasion
DowntimeNone → 2+ weeks
1–2 days
None
PainMinimal → Needs anesthesia or sedation
Mild
Minimal
Results showImmediately → 3+ months
Within days
Immediately
How long it lastsWeeks → Years or permanent
3–6 months
Weeks
Visits neededOne → Every few months
A longer series (4–6+)
A longer series (4–6+)
Cost per visit$ → $$$$$
$$
$
ReversibleYes, can be undone → No, permanent
No, fades slowly
No, wears off

What is it?

Clear + Brilliant

Microdermabrasion

What is it?

It is a nonablative fractional laser.

Clear + Brilliant treats selected cosmetic skin concerns.

Treatments vary.

Options depend on the system and handpiece.

“Gentle” is not risk-free.

Burns and pigment changes can still occur.

History matters.

Tanning, pigment changes, herpes and skin disease should be discussed.

It is mechanical exfoliation.

An abrasive tip or crystals with suction remove surface skin.

Results are modest.

Changes are cosmetic and temporary.

It is superficial.

It differs from surgical dermabrasion.

Some skin is unsuitable.

Active disease, infection and fragile skin need assessment.

What it treats

Evidence level
Clear + Brilliant
Microdermabrasion
Moderate evidenceSome supportive research
Uneven Skin Tone.

Uneven Skin Tone

Evens tone with a series.

Dull Skin on light skin.

Dull Skin

Brightens with a series.

Limited evidenceEarly or small studies
Enlarged Pores on light skin.

Enlarged Pores

Smooths texture.

A relaxed forehead with faint shallow horizontal fine lines.

Wrinkles and Fine Lines

Softens fine lines.

Uneven Skin Tone.

Uneven Skin Tone

Mild improvement.

Little evidence
—
Acne scarring on light skin. Small sharply cut pits and broad shallow dips across a cheek, several sitting inside faint flat pink marks, with no active spots.

Acne Scarring

Too superficial for most scars.

Flat tan patches with soft irregular edges across the forehead and upper cheek of an adult with light skin, the surface completely smooth.

Melasma

Small, temporary change.

Not effective
A relaxed forehead with pronounced deep horizontal furrows.

Deep Wrinkles

Too gentle.

Ice Pick Scars on light skin.

Ice Pick Scars

Too superficial.

—
Can make it worse
—
Redness and fine superficial vessels across a light-skinned cheek and nose.

Rosacea

Friction worsens redness.

Treatment areas

Treatment areas

Face; the selected area depends on the concern and treatment plan.

Face; the selected area depends on the concern and treatment plan.

Skin tones

Skin tone
● Clear + Brilliant
● Microdermabrasion
Lighter skin
Low risk
Brief redness.
Low risk
Brief pinkness.
Medium skin
Low risk
Gentle settings suit most.
Low risk
Gentle settings.
Deeper skin
Some risk
Lower risk than stronger lasers; ask about dark-mark prevention.
Some risk
Aggressive passes can leave dark marks.

How it works

Clear + Brilliant

Microdermabrasion

How it works
Clear + Brilliant mechanism diagram. Creates tiny heat zones: Fractional energy treats small columns while sparing nearby tissue. Supports surface renewal: Healing can help improve uneven tone and superficial texture. Remodeling develops gradually: A course may improve skin appearance; response varies.
Microdermabrasion mechanism diagram. A handpiece buffs the surface: Abrasive material or a diamond tip loosens outer cells. Suction collects debris: The device removes loosened material from the surface. Superficial texture may improve: Smoother skin can be temporary; deep scars are not removed.
Diagram explanation

Creates tiny heat zones: Fractional energy treats small columns while sparing nearby tissue. Supports surface renewal: Healing can help improve uneven tone and superficial texture. Remodeling develops gradually: A course may improve skin appearance; response varies.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

A handpiece buffs the surface: Abrasive material or a diamond tip loosens outer cells. Suction collects debris: The device removes loosened material from the surface. Superficial texture may improve: Smoother skin can be temporary; deep scars are not removed.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

Before your treatment

Clear + Brilliant
Microdermabrasion
2–4 weeks before

2 weeks before: Sun and tanning: No tanning, self-tanner or sunburn.

2 weeks before: Sun and tanning: Tanned skin risks blotchy pigment and usually gets the treatment postponed.

Not specified
The week before

Actives and hair removal: Stop retinoids, retinol and exfoliating acids about 3 days before.

Actives and hair removal: No waxing, threading or hair removal creams on the area.

3 to 5 days before: Actives: Stop retinoids (tretinoin, adapalene, retinol), benzoyl peroxide and exfoliating acids.

Hair removal: Stop waxing, threading and hair removal creams on the area.

Day of treatment

Clear + Brilliant
Microdermabrasion
Before you arrive

Clean face: Clean face, no makeup.

Skin condition: Clean skin, no makeup.

Skin condition: Do not come with a sunburn, a fresh tan, an active cold sore, a rosacea flare or inflamed acne.

Arrival & prep

Skin is cleaned, and the provider checks what you have stopped using and whether you have had sun.

If crystals are used: Eyes: Contact lenses come out and eye protection goes on.

Skin is cleaned and dried, the provider picks a crystal or diamond tip and sets the suction, and eye protection goes on, which matters more with a crystal machine.

Treatment

The cream comes off and a roller handpiece moves over the face in overlapping passes, usually four to eight per area.

It feels warm and prickly and builds with each pass. It takes 15 to 20 minutes. Most people call it a strong tingle, much milder than Fraxel.

The handpiece is drawn across taut skin in overlapping passes, usually two or three per area.

A full face takes 20 to 30 minutes. It often finishes with a mask, serum, moisturizer and sunscreen, and is sometimes done just before extractions or a light peel. Not painful, more like fine sandpaper with steady pulling from the vacuum.

Before you leave

Pink, hot, sometimes slightly swollen, like a mild sunburn.

Skin is pink, smooth and slightly tight, a little like mild windburn.

After your treatment

Clear + Brilliant
Microdermabrasion
First 24 hours

Days 1 to 4: Skin feels dry, tight and faintly like fine sandpaper, and often looks duller before it looks better.

Days 1 to 3: Some people get a couple of days of dryness or fine flaking.

Days 2–7

Days 5 to 7: The rough layer is gone and skin looks brighter and smoother.

Days 3 to 7: The dead layer rebuilds, and skin looks and feels its best.

Weeks 2–4

Week 2 onward: The fresh look softens over the next few weeks unless another session follows.

Weeks 1 to 2: The polish fades.

Time to results

About 1 week

Same day

How long results last

Months with maintenance

A few days

Risks

Risks
  • Dark patches
  • Redness that keeps increasing
  • A cold sore outbreak
  • A breakout or small white bumps
  • Bruising or pinpoint red dots
  • Grazes or scabs
  • A dark mark
  • A cold sore outbreak
  • Ongoing stinging or redness

Cost

Per session

A full-face session runs about $300 to $600 in the US, with neck, chest or hands extra.

In the US it usually runs about $75 to $200 a session, often bundled inside a facial rather than priced on its own.

Insurance

Insurance does not cover this.

Insurance does not cover it.

Questions

Clear + Brilliant

Microdermabrasion

Individual Questions
Is Clear + Brilliant worth it?

Depends what you are buying. For generally good skin already on a retinoid and sunscreen, it is reasonable maintenance. For acne scars, established wrinkles or sagging, it is not, and the money goes further elsewhere. One session buys a glow lasting a few weeks.

How is it different from Fraxel?

Same manufacturer, same principle, far less energy. Clear + Brilliant is shallower and gentler, about a day of downtime and much less change per session. Fraxel goes deeper, does more for scars and lines, and costs about a week of downtime.

Is it really a lunchtime treatment?

Redness settles within hours, which is where the phrase comes from. But days two to four bring dryness and fine flaking, and skin looks best five to seven days later. Book a week before an event.

How many sessions do I need?

Four to six, two to four weeks apart, then maintenance every one to three months to hold it. One session gives temporary brightening.

Does it help acne scars or large pores?

Not indented scars — they sit deeper than this reaches. Pores can look smaller because the surface is smoother, but the pore does not change size and the effect fades.

Is it safe on deeper skin tones?

One of the gentler light-based options, used across skin tones, but not risk-free. Dark patches can still happen, settings should be adjusted, and the Permea handpiece carries more risk of worsening pigment.

Is microdermabrasion still worth doing?

It depends what you want. As a comfortable, low-risk polish before an event or for skin that cannot handle acids, it does what it says. For acne, scarring, wrinkles or pigment, other options have overtaken it, and a superficial peel or a home retinoid will usually do more for the same money.

Does it help acne scars?

No. Indented scars sit in the deeper layer and the treatment stops at the dead cells on top. Microneedling, lasers, subcision and filler are what that needs.

How is it different from microneedling?

Microneedling makes tiny channels into the deeper layer to trigger collagen repair, with a few days of redness. Microdermabrasion sands the surface and never breaks the skin. The similar names cause most of the confusion.

Is it different from dermabrasion?

Completely. Dermabrasion is a surgical resurfacing done under anesthesia that sands into the deeper skin, with weeks of recovery and real scarring risk. Microdermabrasion is a surface polish with none of that.

How often should I have it?

Courses are usually five or six sessions one to two weeks apart, then monthly. The effect of each session fades within days, so it comes down to how often you want that day of smoothness.

Is it safe on deeper skin tones?

Yes, and one of the gentler options, because it uses no acid, heat or light and does not reach the pigment cells. The thing to avoid is over-treatment, since irritation can leave a temporary dark mark.

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