Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion is a process that utilizes minute crystals in the exfoliation or sloughing away of dead skin. In principle, the roughness of these crystals help get rid of the gray layer of dead cells that coats the outer skin or epidermis. This encourages faster cell regeneration as the skin repairs itself. Also, without the old skin in the way, absorption of treatments being ministered to the new skin becomes easier.

Alice Hart- Davis of London's newspaper the Evening Standard, describes likens her experience with microdermabrasion to "sandblasting." ("The Day I Sandblasted," 2005, p. 24) While she says that the treatment did deliver what she expected, the lotions and solutions used in the preparation phase before the process itself made her skin extra-sensitive and sting during the procedure.

Chemical peels

As the name implies, chemicals are placed on skin to induce "peeling." The object of this is to eliminate old, sun or smoke damaged skin to reveal the fresh new skin underneath.

There are three types of peels available: superficial, medium and deep peels ("The Appeal of Perfection;," 2006, p. 29).

Superficial peels are done to treat wrinkles, acne scars and darkened patches of skin. Alphahydroxy acids (AHAs) are commonly used during this type of peel. It is fast and require no time at all for recovery.

Medium peels call for treatment by medically trained professionals. Trichloracetic acids are sometimes combined with glycolic acid and applied to the skin's surface. This may hurt a bit as it is common for a "burning" or stinging sensation to accompany the few minutes the solution remains on the skin. Recovery may take up to six weeks during which skin may be a little reddish or even appear brown.

Deep facial peels require the use of anesthetics and a lot of time for recovery. This is best used for people with coarse wrinkles and severely damaged skin. Only registered dermatologists and surgeons should treat patients requiring deep peels.

Laser resurfacing

While surgery or lasers cannot completely remove a scar, scar pigmentation, shape and alignment may be manipulated to make the scar less noticeable according to Dr. David G. Lefell, dermatologist and surgeon from Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. ("Scarred for Life Not," 2003, p. 12)

Lasers penetrate through the skin and cause a "controlled" burning of the second layer of the skin called dermis. This would stimulate the production of new skin cells to replace the ones damaged in the process. Patients are however warned that healing is different from person to person and there can be "no guarantee that another noticeable scar will not form in place of the old scar or that the second scar will not be worse than the first." ("Scarred for Life Not," 2003, p. 12)

The effectiveness of laser resurfacing in diminishing scars have lots of people hopeful that scars left by acne and the like will soon be a thing of the past. Such treatment is expensive though, since it is more of a cosmetic procedure, very few insurance companies will cover such expense.

Subcision and Excision

"Subcision involves having a small needle break up the scar tissue underneath the skin's various depression-type pits." ("Coming Face to Face," 2002, p. B01) This process helps detach the scar from the underlying tissue and creates a space for blood clotting to form. This clotting would then raise the scar's depression and make it appear level with the rest of the skin.

In excision, the scar is surgically removed by the doctor who then patces the skin with stitches. This is usually done for scars with jagged edges. ("Coming Face to Face," 2002, p. B01) there is however, always the possibility of a new scar forming where the stitches join the treated skin.