Post-Microdermabrasion Care & Tips
At Beauty Affairs, we’re not just fans of luxury beauty - we’re fans of all the beauty treatments out there too! Regular facials, peels, dermaplaning and microdermabrasion are all the perfect complement to effective, luxury skincare and can help you make the most of your skincare’s amazing active ingredients.
The thing is, your skincare routine needs to change a little bit each time you get one of these treatments - here are our tips for ensuring you get the most out of your beauty therapist administered facial treatments and keeping your skin glowing with what you’ve got on your beauty shelf.
The facial treatment we’ll be talking about today is microdermabrasion - a minimally invasive facial treatment that has a whole load of benefits for your skin. It’s a treatment that can be done by most skin types for a huge variety of different concerns with the same end goal in mind - radiant, glowing skin.
Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream | $109This ultra-nourishing moisturiser helps to lock in hydration and moisture after a microdermabrasion treatment.
What Is Microdermabrasion?
Microdermabrasion is the process of buffing the outermost layer of dead skin with a microdermabrasion machine, something that only licensed beauty therapists are qualified to do, FYI! The machine has a small nozzle that sprays out an ultra-fine powder, sometimes made from carbon, crystals or even diamond to exfoliate your skin.
As a professional treatment, microdermabrasion has a whole load of benefits for the skin - it can encourage skin cell turnover, boost collagen production, reduce the size of pores, fade hyperpigmentation - the list goes on.
Microdermabrasion is an amazing treatment, but you need to prep your skin properly beforehand and use the right skincare afterwards to ensure that you’re getting the most out of both the treatment and your skincare routine!
Sisley Express Flower Gel Mask | $170
An ultra-hydrating gel mask that’s perfect for cooling and hydrating skin.
Prepping your skin for microdermabrasion is probably just as important as the appointment itself - if you’re a fan of retinol, you’ll want to hold off on using it for at least two weeks before you head in for your microdermabrasion appointment.
Why? While retinol products are amazing at thickening up the dermis (one of the lower layers of skin), their effect leaves the uppermost layer of skin thin, and vulnerable to irritation - especially from a powerful treatment like microdermabrasion. Other products to avoid in the week leading up to your microdermabrasion appointment include exfoliators, especially the chemical kind!
Using an at-home exfoliating product too soon before heading to your microdermabrasion appointment could lead to the tell-tale signs of over-exfoliation: stinging, redness, and a compromised acid mantle. Avoiding active ingredients will help your skin bounce back faster after microdermabrasion and ensure you get the best results possible!
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence | $379Ensuring your skin stays hydrated starts with an essence like this one from SK-II.
What Happens After Microdermabrasion
Right after your microdermabrasion appointment, it’s really important to leave the appointment with sunscreen already on your face. Because microdermabrasion exfoliates skin so intensively, your skin will be more vulnerable to the sun than usual for the next week or so. Bring a tube of your favourite sunscreen with you to protect your skin on the way home - and stay diligent with using your sunscreen and avoiding the sun!
After microdermabrasion, it’s not uncommon for your skin to be a bit drier than it usually is - this might appear as visibly flaky skin and redness. When it comes to getting rid of skin flakes, exfoliating them off isn’t the best thing to do - you could just cause more irritation. The best thing to do is boost hydration, stopping flaky skin in its tracks.
Declare Sun-Sensitive Anti-Wrinkle Sun Cream SPF 50+ | $89This nourishing sunscreen from Declaré is created just for sensitive skin and is perfect for protecting skin right after microdermabrasion.
Best Microdermabrasion Aftercare Tips
One of the best skin care products to use in the days after a microdermabrasion appointment has to be a sheet mask. These masks quench dry, thirsty skin, minimising the appearance of skin flakes and delivering much-needed hydration to your skin for a radiant glow. Anything that boosts hydration is going to help ward off any dry skin, post-procedure!
SK-II Facial Treatment Masks | $220
This set of six sheet masks enriched with Pitera™ is perfect for your post-microdermabrasion skincare routine.
Another crucial tip for taking care of your skin after microdermabrasion is ensuring you’re locking all that hydration in with a good occlusive - a skincare product or ingredient that prevents transepidermal water loss, aka water evaporating away through the uppermost layer of your skin.
Swapping your regular moisturiser out for a richer one, or even using a sleeping mask after moisturiser will go a long way to locking in that essential moisture, preventing those pesky dry skin flakes and making sure you get the results you’re looking for from microdermabrasion!
Shiseido White Lucent Overnight Cream & Mask | $129This rich sleeping mask locks in moisture overnight to ensure you wake up with radiant, moisturised skin in the morning.
Now that you know how to treat your skin - before and after dermabrasion - are you ready to get your beauty affairs in order?
Need help creating your perfect skincare routine? Try our skin quiz!
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