HydraFacial vs Microdermabrasion – Which is best for me?

It’s not very often that a facial treatment becomes so widely popular that almost every clinic in the country races to offer it. Loved by men and women worldwide, the HydraFacial seems to have blown practically every other facial treatment out of the water when it comes to both popularity and results achieved. But, before the HydraFacial came along, microdermabrasion was the reigning queen of the facial world. With similar promises to minimise pores and fine lines, diminish scarring, tackle blemishes and leave skin looking soft and radiant, many people are left asking – what is the difference, and which is best for me?

What is the HydraFacial?

The HydraFacial is a medical-grade hydradermabrasion device that cleanses, exfoliates, and extracts dead cells and impurities. After these steps, it then infuses the skin with antioxidants, peptides, and hyaluronic acid. This multi-step rejuvenation procedure is used to invigorate the skin and works to treat various skin problems such as enlarged or clogged pores, fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, and dry skin, acne and dullness.

How does it work?

HydraFacial employs a unique, spiral suction tip that dislodges impurities and delivers targeted serums deep into the pores for intense hydration and softening. This pain-free combination stimulates collagen production and bestows fresher, healthier-looking skin, all while treating undesirable skin issues and concerns.

What is Microdermabrasion?

Microdermabrasion has been used for many years to stimulate cell turnover and renewal in the skin. A microdermabrasion treatment generally uses either crystals or a diamond tip to buff away the skin’s surface, removing dead cells in the process.

It’s an exfoliation treatment that digs deep to improve your skin’s overall appearance, including tone and texture. It can also be used to treat skin concerns such as fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, sun damage and acne scars.

What is the difference between the two treatments?

HydraFacial moves beyond microdermabrasion by incorporating multiple techniques such as skin peels, painless pore extractions, skin hydration and antioxidant nutrition in one treatment. Each treatment stage builds upon the previous step to encourage even better results than if it were to be applied as a stand-alone treatment. The result is a comprehensive rejuvenation without any one step being overly aggressive on the skin.

Once the skin has been cleansed and exfoliated, it’s ready to be saturated with vital nutrients such as antioxidants, peptides, and hyaluronic acid during the treatment’s final stages. As the pores are thoroughly cleansed, exfoliated and opened up, they’re able to absorb the serums deeper than if they were to be applied topically as a cream. This is the key difference between HydraFacial and microdermabrasion – the HydraFacial is a multi-stage facial treatment that uses a gentler, more controlled dermabrasion technique as just one of the steps.

Unlike the manual extraction performed through sanding in microdermabrasion, HydraFacial uses a vacuum tip to cleanse and remove impurities. This method is considered to be much kinder to the skin and more effective.

Which is best for me?

Deciding whether to opt for a HydraFacial or microdermabrasion to get your skin glowing comes down to your particular skin concerns.

Acne

Patients with acne shouldn’t use microdermabrasion, and if you have breakouts, you may find the procedure only aggravates them further.

However, the HydraFacial gently removes impurities and can infuse the skin with acne-fighting serums to target the problem at its core.

Pigmentation

Microdermabrasion can improve skin radiance and fade dark spots of other types of hyperpigmentation; however, usually this is combined with a course of chemical peels for best results.

Microdermabrasion is also known for tampering with the skin’s colour balance and may leave behind lighter or darker spots. On the other hand, HydraFacial promises to reveal a smooth, more even skin tone immediately after treatment. As the HydraFacial combines multiple treatments, it can target pigmentation more effectively during the same treatment session. You practitioner can also combine it with skin brightening serums to encourage a pigmentation-free, brighter complexion.

Before an event

When you leave a HydraFacial appointment, your skin looks like it’s just been on a two-week retreat. It glows and is plump and even. In some cases, you may have some slight redness or irritation. However, your skin will generally look much healthier than it does in the hours after leaving a microdermabrasion appointment.

Click here to find out more about the HydraFacial and how we use the treatment at Illuminate Skin Clinic.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that results and benefits may vary from patient to patient taking into consideration factors such as age, lifestyle and medical history.