Dermabrasion Procedure for Shallow Acne Scars

Dermabrasion is a fairly affective treatment for acne scars.  There are a couple of points to consider: Dermabrasion is much more aggressive than microdermabrasion  Dermabrasion is more equivalent to CO2 or Erbium laser skin resurfacing (see my other posts) You will have pinpoint bleeding following the procedure Recovery takes about 5 days after dermabrasion Microdermabrasion takes only the most superficial layers of skin off and is by no means... more

Dermabrasion and its effects in acne scarring can be summarized as follows: Limit in certain skin types- Darker skin types may not be candidates due to risk of permanent pigmentation issues Shallow scars respond best Consider therapies which build collagen and utilize dermabrasion as a "finishing" procedure once collagen has been restored.  Dermabrasion is much more effective in this role.

Dermabrasion is a very effective technique to correct some scars, including acne scars. Dermabrasion works by sending down the area around a scar so that the entire surface is on the same level. After dermabrasion, your skin will appear red and may have a small amount of bleeding. This should be treated by placing Bacitracin onto the raw skin. You should also use a sunblock with at least a 50 SPF at all times as this skin is extremely sensitive to sun burning and permanent... more

Pitted scars are deep and rarely respond to dermabrasion. However, shallow acne scars may respond to traditional dermabrasion which may require 2-3 weeks for recovery. In brief, 20 sessions of microdermabrasion will not equal the effects of one dermabrasion procedure. Microdermabrasion, if performed properly as defined, is essentially an agressive expfoliation. (removal of dead cells). You should experience no bleeding. Bleeding indicates that you have passed into the dermis which is not an... more

No one knows how many microdermabrasions are equivalent to one dermabrasion, but if the scars are discolored or shallow, a series is worth a try. At least 6 would be my suggestion. Fraxel Restore also is an option, and we KNOW how well that works for acne scars with about 3 days of downtime. 3-6 sessions are usually needed for acne scars. Full dermabrasion has 7 days of downtime, like Actice FX and Fraxel Repair. Redness lasts several weeks after healing with all abaltive treatments. There... more