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.
Key facts
Treats
Surface dullness
Recovery
Usually no downtime
Treatment plan
Often 5–6 sessions, 1–2 weeks apart
Typical cost
About $75–200 per session
What is it?
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
Dull Skin
Brightens with a series.
Uneven Skin Tone
Mild improvement.
Acne Scarring
Too superficial for most scars.
Melasma
Small, temporary change.
Rosacea
Friction worsens redness.
Treatment areas
Microdermabrasion
Face; the selected area depends on the concern and treatment plan.
Microdermabrasion
Face; the selected area depends on the concern and treatment plan.
Skin tones
Lighter skin
Low risk
Brief pinkness.
Medium skin
Low risk
Gentle settings.
Deeper skin
Some risk
Aggressive passes can leave dark marks.
How it works
Diagram explanation
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.
Types
Two kinds of devices are used. Both buff the outer layer; one uses crystals, the other a textured tip.
Before your treatment
The week before
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
Before you arrive
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
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 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
Skin is pink, smooth and slightly tight, a little like mild windburn.
After your treatment
First 24 hours
Days 1 to 3: Some people get a couple of days of dryness or fine flaking.
Days 2–7
Days 3 to 7: The dead layer rebuilds, and skin looks and feels its best.
Weeks 2–4
Weeks 1 to 2: The polish fades.
Time to results
Same day
How long results last
A few days
Risks
Most people leave pink and are normal within hours. The problems that do occur nearly all come from too much suction or too many passes over one patch.
Bruising or pinpoint red dots
Suction too high or held too long. It clears over a week or two, and the settings should be lowered next time.
Grazes or scabs
Usually around the nose, the upper lip or a bony edge where the tip lingered. Leave them to heal and do not pick.
A dark mark
New brown marks two to four weeks later, more likely after heavy passes or sun exposure. More visible on deeper skin tones, and the earlier they are treated the shorter they last.
A cold sore outbreak
The treatment can set one off. Antiviral medicine works best started early.
Ongoing stinging or redness
Skin still raw or reactive after a week has been over-treated. The next session should be gentler or skipped.
Cost
Typical cost
About $75–200 per session
Pricing
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 it.
Alternatives
Superficial chemical peel
Dissolves the dead layer instead of sanding it and gets inside the pore, so it works on clogged pores and post-acne marks as well as on texture. Costs a few days of flaking, which microdermabrasion does not.
Topical retinoid
Does at home, daily and cheaply what microdermabrasion does occasionally, and reaches deeper, with effects on acne, pigment and fine lines that no surface treatment matches. Needs weeks of adjusting and some irritation up front.
Hydradermabrasion devices
Wet resurfacing machines that use the same sanding idea with fluid and suction, more comfortable, and it delivers serums at the same time. Heavily marketed, and the evidence behind it is not stronger than for what it replaced.
Microneedling
Aimed at indented scars and texture, which microdermabrasion does not touch. More downtime per session, more cost, and usually done once active acne is controlled.
Home chemical exfoliants
Salicylic and glycolic products used a few times a week give a similar or better surface result for a fraction of the price, with more irritation if overused.
Leave-on chemical exfoliants, salicylic 0.5 to 2% or glycolic 5 to 10%
A different mechanism with better evidence than sanding, used two or three times a week. This is the sensible default for anyone wanting smoother skin at home.
At-home microdermabrasion wands and kits
Much weaker suction and a gentler abrasive than an office machine. Safe if used lightly and infrequently, and the result is a mild polish rather than anything lasting.
Scrubs with fine rounded particles
The same surface polish for a few dollars. Coarse gritty scrubs, including crushed shell and pit powders, cause micro-grazes and are worth avoiding.
Cleansing brushes and silicone tools
Mild mechanical exfoliation. Daily use on already-exfoliated or inflamed skin causes more irritation than benefit.
Questions
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.
Related
Acne Scarring
Melasma
Microneedling
Tretinoin
Rosacea
Microdermabrasion vs Microneedling
Chemical Peel vs Microdermabrasion
Clear + Brilliant vs Microdermabrasion
Dermaplaning vs Microdermabrasion
Glycolic Acid Peel vs Microdermabrasion
Hydrafacial vs Microdermabrasion