Microdermabrasion - Key word: Abrasion

For those of you who are curious about microdermabrasion, I thought I would share my experience. Microdermabrasion is an exfoliation procedure that is achieved by spraying microcrystals across the surface of the skin. It is supposed to leave the skin glowing, improve the texture of coarse skin, and reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and large pores. I went because a friend of mine had it done and raved about it. I decided to give it a try. I went to a well known spa in the area for numerous visits. Each time, all of my makeup was removed and a headband was put on my hair to keep it out of the way. The crystals shoot out of a wand or pen-like device at very high power. I was surprised at how uncomfortable it was. It felt like someone was scratching the skin off my face! Am I bleeding? Is it supposed to feel like this? I was assured that everything was okay. The technician said some clients compare the feeling to being licked by a cat's tongue. Really? It felt more like someone was rubbing my face on a cheese grater! I bore through it and held out hope I would go home with a smooth, glowing complexion. Well, the glow eluded me. I went home looking, and feeling, like I had a sunburn. Next day - sunburn effect still there. People at the office are looking at me funny. The next day, somewhat back to normal. I think I went once every 2 weeks for about 5 appointments. The bad thing was that with each appointment she increased the pressure of the spray. My face started to break out in between visits and eventually started weeping from too much abrasion. I told the technician and she didn't seem too concerned. I quit going. As I researched this topic on the internet for this blog article I read on spas.about.com: "Microdermabrasion is not recommended for sensitive skin, skin that easily reddens, or skin with acne breakouts." Well, hello! I meet all three of those criteria! So needless to say, I will not be going back for microdermabrasion treatments and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with sensitive skin or thin skin. I know there are a lot of people out there who have had great experiences with microdermabrasion, but it is definitely not for everybody.