Abby Borbon-Roaquin is manager and clinician at Ulan Medical Spa in San Diego, California. Here, she discusses the differences between diamond and crystal microdermabrasion.
A quick exfoliation procedure designed to remove dead skin cells, microdermabrasion uses either crystals or a diamond-tipped head to abrade the skin with a suctioning and vacuuming action. Exfoliating your skin is important because as we age, our skin doesn’t turn over as quickly as it did when we were younger. When you don’t exfoliate, you get a buildup of dead skin, which makes it look dull and gives it an uneven texture. Exfoliation smoothes the texture, replacing dead skin with new skin. A layer of dead skin can accentuate your wrinkles and lines. It also clogs your pores, making you more prone to pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads.
There are two types of microdermabrasion: mechanical and chemical. There are also two types of mechanical microdermabrasion:
- Diamond microdermabrasion: The diamond microdermabrasion tip is round with a hole in the middle and has thousands of tiny, uniformly sized diamond particles, which can be natural or synthetic. The diamond particles, plus the suction, exfoliate your skin. The procedure takes about 20 minutes and there is no downtime.
- Crystal microdermabrasion: Here, aluminum oxide or sodium bicarbonate crystals are blasted onto your face to exfoliate and then suctioned away. This procedure can have downtime. Diamond microdermabrasion has become more popular and more accurate to use for a technician. For example, with diamond microdermabrasion, you can exfoliate closer to your lip lines and eyes.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
