Dermabrasion Vs. Microdermabrasion: What's the Difference?

Microdermabrasion is a light "peel" that has no downtime. It gives you a freshened look by removing the very top layer of skin cells. It may improve very shallow acne scarring, skin tone and lighten superficial wrinkles. Dermabrasion is much deeper procedure as it removes the skin down to the deeper collagen layer so the skin is fully resurfaced. Some patients have this done around their mouth to smooth out any fine or deep wrinkles or some choose... more

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. Micro-dermabrasion may be performed by an aesthetician as it does not go as deep as dermabrasion and this helps avoid the risk of scarring. 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.... more

Microdermabrasion is a procedure commonly done by aestheticians. The Dermabrasion is done by physicians. The most common way I utilize to describe them to a patient is very simple. Imagine that you buy an old table at a garage sale. This table has scratches and scrapes. These are the wrinkles. The Microdermabrasion is just applying Pledge on the table. You get a nice finish for about a week, but you still have wrinkles and sun damage. The Dermabrasion is scraping all the surface to a deeper... more

There is almost no comparison between these two procedures. Microdermabrasion is more of a spa treatment to offer a very mild improvement in skin texture. Dermabrasion generally refers to a surgeon performed procedure that is excellent for acne scars or deep wrinkles. However, the recovery time is obviously greater for dermabrasion.

Microdermabrasion is a procedure most commonly performed by Aestheticians and involves the outermost layer of the epidermis (stratum corneum). Dermabrasion (performed by Physicians) is a much deeper treatment and removes tissue into the outer layer of the dermis (papillary dermis). Dermabrasion allows for regeneration of the epidermis and thicker collagen bundles in the dermis, which helps remove lines and wrinkles on the face. Dermabrasion is a skin resurfacing procedure and achieves... more

The difference between these two procedures is all about depth of penetration into the skin. Dermabrasion actually goes down into the dermis layer and requires healing as if you had a burn. Microdermabrasion is superficial and requires no recovery but does require multiple treatments. They are for very different problems.

There are many forms of microdermabrasion, but all of them are very superficial. A simple version could be considered "sand blasting" the skin, and cleans out pores. It is generally performed by aestheticians. True dermabrasion is when a high speed drill with a diamond bur is used to lower the level of your skin. It is a surgical procedure only performed by physicians, and does result in bleeding. It is very useful for deep lines, but it has a significant recovery period (it... more

Dermabrasion is a surgical procedure that proceeds down to the dermis and will typically result in bleeding. It is most commonly performed by a physician. It is frequently used to manage superficial scars and contour irregularites. Microdermabrasion is a skin care intervention that essentially exfoliates the skin in an agressive fashion using a sand blasting type technique. It should not produce bleeding and it is most commonly performed by an aesthetician. It may improve skin texture.... more