For someone who hasn’t done much with their skin over the years, and is looking to freshen up their look, starting with an exfoliating treatment such as microdermabrasion or a chemical peel is a great way to bring the skin back to square one. A microdermabrasion or chemical peel can get you off to a fresh start! But first, it’s important to know a little about what to expect.

Here are a few points to consider before your first appointment:

What Is Best For My Skin?

All skin types need to be exfoliated; it helps to keep the skin functioning normally, and prevents dullness due to build-up of dead skin cells, as well as many other benefits. However, there are different types of exfoliation the benefit different types of skin.

Someone with dry skin will see better results from a physical exfoliation such as microdermabrasion. Where an oilier, or acne prone skin type will benefit from a peel containing salicylic acid. For the pregnant, breast feeding, or sensitive skinned patients the Indermica Infusion Facial treatment is a great option as the gentle crystals and activators exfoliate the skin without feeling too harsh. Also, it doesn’t contain any ingredients that could be potentially harmful during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Know What You’re Having Done

Terms like “dermabrasion” and “chemical peels” tend to give people the mental image of Samantha Jones in that memorable episode of Sex and The City where she has a peel that will make her look 10 Years younger, but not before a rather painful looking recovery time. That is not the case with this level of exfoliating treatments.

Microdermabrasion and Chemical peels only affect the epidermal layers of the skin. It’s a deeper level of exfoliation that you could achieve at home, but not aggressive enough to have any considerable amount of downtime afterwards. They work to remove dead skin cells, and excess oils and impurities giving the skin a brighter appears, a smoother texture.

Microdermabrasion is a physical exfoliation which means that it is manually removing dead cells from the surface of the skin. Think of this as buffing your skin, much like sandpaper. While a chemical peel uses a mixture of alpha hydroxy acids to dissolves dead skin cells, allowing them to be washed away with the peeling solution.

Preparing For The Microdermabrasion or Chemical Peel Treatment

If you’re an exfoliating junkie like me this step might be hard! About 3-5 days prior to your treatment you will want to stop using any sort of exfoliant on your skin. This includes scrubs, enzymes, retinols, or any acids. This is important to ensure your skin in not too sensitive on the day of the treatment. If you have already exfoliated away the dead skin cells, there is not much left for the microdermabrasion or the chemicals to work on, and they will attack the healthy cells which may irritate or even damage the skin.

Be Cautious of Your Sun Exposure

Sun exposure is very damaging to your skin, and you should protect your skin on a regular day. It’s important to ensure you avoid direct sun exposure prior to an exfoliating treatment, and even more important afterwards!

You want to be sure the skin is in a healthy state prior to treatment, and that it is not sensitive as the chemicals and microdermabrasion could irritate the skin, causing further damage.

What To Do After Microdermabrasion or Chemical Peel Treatment

Now that you have removed the unwanted layers of dead cells the skin is in its freshest and more natural state. This is the best time to introduce a new skin care regime, because without that barrier of dead cells your products can penetrate the skin more easily allowing them to work for effectively. Products only treat the skin superficially, so giving them a chance to penetrate even deeper will give you a more dramatic results, as well as getting your monies worth!

Also, same as before the treatment you must be VERY cautious of your sun exposure you have even less protection afterwards. And take a break from your exfoliants for a few days after. Your skin has been exfoliated enough already!