How Dermabrasion Is Done and What to Expect From This Procedure

Dermabrasion is usually done to treat scars from acne’s appearance, lines that are very fine located around the mouth area, scars caused by injuries (not very deep), superficial growths on the skin and tattoos needing removal.

This procedure is done with use of a brush made of wire or a wheel attachment of diamond with edges that are rough. These remove the skin layers on the top part, the wheel or brush rapidly spins, leveling and removing the skins layers on the upper part. During this procedure the skin is injured and does bleed, this is supposed to happen. As the injury starts to heal, the skin that is new replaces the skin that was damaged and removed by the dermabrasion.

Treatment of the facial area is what dermabrasion is mostly used on, although other areas of the skin can be treated too.

There is little in preparation for this procedure, but your doctor will give you a detailed instructional pre-operative sheet to follow, this is important to help keep complications during the procedure to a minimum.

The skin areas which are going to be treated will be marked and cleaned thoroughly. A localized anesthetic will be used in numbing your skin before the procedure starts, along with the application of packs of ice on those areas for about 25 minutes before treatment begins. At times, the doctor may use a spray for freezing if he feels that the skin area is not been prepared well enough by the other methods. Sedation and medication for pain management are also used.

Treatment is done on one area and then on another. The doctor will stop the bleeding by the use of gauze and then the treated areas will be cleaned, ointment will be applied and then they are covered with sterile dressings.

Your healing and recovery after dermabrasion will mostly be determined by which areas were treated and how large and deep those treatment areas are. Within 7 days skin re-growth should start to occur. This will make the skin have a red or pink , appearance, but will normally fade away within about 10 weeks of time. While you are waiting for the redness to fade, you may use cosmetics to hide the discoloration as long as it has been approved by the doctor who did your treatment.

There is minimal pain and discomfort involved for most people. Usually you’ll be able to jump right in to your everyday routines as soon as 2 days afterwards. Some patients do need to have medication for pain prescribed for them by the doctor though, due to a low pain tolerance and if swelling is involved a corticosteroid medication may also be prescribed along with it to reduce the inflammation of the areas.

Several times during the day you will need to clean the areas properly, this is very important to the healing process. You should apply more ointment every time you take off your dressings and clean the areas. Exposure to the sun should be avoided after treatment and sunscreen should be put on everyday.

Risks of dermabrasion treatment includes redness, tenderness, pain, discomfort, scarring, sunlight sensitivity increased, infection, discoloration of the skin and acne break outs.