Microdermabrasion certainly is a safe treatment if performed by the appropriate person. Unfortunately, it is not a very effective treatment for acne scars and fine lines.
Microdermabrasion is a glorified exfoliation procedure. It has little to no physiologic effects on the skin. It certainly will make the skin feel nice and smooth and allow other medications that are placed on top of the skin to penetrate more evenly and deeply so that those medications can be more effective, but as a single stand alone treatment, I must admit that I am underwhelmed with the performance of microdermabrasion.
One of the new tools that has come out lately is the PIXEL laser, which is a true fractional ablative smoothing laser that works terrifically for superficial lines and wrinkles, especially the crinkly lines underneath the eyes.
The PIXEL laser is also superb for treating acne scars. Once again, this is a true laser that needs to be operated by a physician only, as opposed to a microdermabrasion unit, which you can find in any strip-mall spa.
Both my patients and I have been extremely pleased by the results of the Pixel laser to treat superficial lines and wrinkles and acne scars. The procedure is well tolerated, relatively painless, and fast.
In my opinion, it works like, but out-performs the well known FRAXEL laser. Essentially, the pixel laser requires a treatment once a month for four months for satisfactory results.
