Until now, our choices for restoring the skin’s youthful appearance have been limited. Glycolic acid treatments, while popular, are quite superficial and do not remove as much of the rough, dead outer skin layer as the microdermabrasion process. Up to 12 glycolic peels may be required to duplicate the effects of just 3 microdermabrasion treatments. In addition, the microdermabrasion process eliminates the risk of an adverse reaction to the conventional peel and is more predictable in the way it interacts with the skin.
Laser skin resurfacing, a technique that has largely replaced dermabrasion and deep chemical peels, is a remarkable procedure for treating more advanced sun-damage, deeper lines and wrinkles, and serious acne scarring. This more aggressive procedure can provide dramatic results but requires sedation, is more expensive, and can only be performed on lighter skin types.