There are a variety of ways to rejuvenate your facial appearance without surgery. Medical spas today offer a range of treatments and products designed to improve the health and appearance of your skin, often with little or no downtime required. But to truly get the most out of your medical spa experience and your skin care routine, it’s important that you understand what different procedures can do for you.
When it comes to skin rejuvenation, microdermabrasion and microneedling are often confused with one another. Here is a closer look at the differences between the two.
Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion is an ablative procedure. This means that the procedure gently abrades away the outer layer to resurface your skin. This can be an effective method of skin rejuvenation, and the same theory is used in many procedures, including chemical peels and even at-home exfoliation.
Microneedling
Microneedling, however, is non-ablative. Non-ablative procedures do not remove the outer surface of the skin, but instead encourage the skin to produce a new surface layer. This means that rather than addressing the skin’s surface only, microneedling is so popular because it stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to promote improvement from within.
Comparing Your Options
Because microdermabrasion is an ablative procedure that focuses on removing the outermost skin cells, it is most effective in treating surface skin issues. Men and women concerned with mild acne scars, rough texture, and mild pigmentation may benefit from a series of microdermabrasion treatments.
Unlike microdermabrasion, though, microneedling is capable of addressing deeper skin issues. Since microneedling encourages the production of brand new tissue, microneedling treatments like SkinPen® can improve the appearance of deep scars, wrinkles, brown spots, and even stretch marks.