I have reviewed salon microdermabrasion treatments before and now this is a review of a product that you can use at home to get the same treatment. I test out a lot of home-use products that don’t end up on the blog as they just don’t work but this has really impressed me.
Microdermabrasion is a non-invasive form of exfoliation and mild skin resurfacing that removes the dead skin cells from the outer most layer of the skin. The top layer of skin is what is visibly affected by fine lines, wrinkles,
blemishes, acne, and scarring. Basically the microdermabrasion treatment exfoliates this top skin layer to reveal the fresh new skin underneath, whilst promoting new collagen growth and cell renewal.
You should not use this in conjunction with too many other exfoliating treatments such as AHA/BHA acids, chemical peels etc. Try to leave a good few weeks or months between doing harsh facial treatments on your skin, as you want to improve it, not permanently damage it.
Microdermabrasion provides several important benefits for the skin. The treatment smooths dull and rough skin texture, softens fine lines and also scars. The treatment improves the skin’s tone by fading uneven pigmentation, sun damage, age spots, and skin blemishes. It can also be used on the chest and back if you have acne scarring there, but you’d need some assistance from a friend with the back!
Please note, it doesn’t get rid of all of these things, but it does greatly improve them, especially over time and as with everything, it works for a lot of people but not all. If you have a lot of sun damage it will go through the layers of your skin, so exfoliating the top layer off a couple of times a month is going to help but will never get rid of it all (I saw someone moaning about still having sun damage after using the machine, it’s a great machine but it’s not a time machine)!
If you have very sensitive or damaged skin, I think best to test out a salon microdermabrasion facial first, to see if your skin can handle it, so you don’t waste money. You don’t want to spend a lot on a machine that you can’t use.
The PMD Kit Includes
- 6 discs, 4 blue discs (2 for the
face and 2 for the body) along with 2 green discs (one for the face and one for
the body). The discs are coloured
differently for the different levels of exfoliation. The green discs are a
more aggressive treatment and should be used after you have used the
blue discs for a while. The discs are
covered in aluminium oxide crystals and that’s what touches your skin briefly to exfoliate it. - 2 caps – One to work with the
face discs and one to work with the body discs. - Wall charger.
- Instructions book
and instructional video.
If you use this product, you must watch the video on how to use it. I found it really easy to use the machine but a quick google will show you a lot of people who have not used the PMD properly and have ended up with big red marks on their face. Always do a test patch once you have watched the dvd before starting the first treatment. Just for safety.
How to Use The PMD
For facial use, cleanse your face and then pat dry. For your body – use after a bath or shower on clean dry skin.
Place your preferred disc (body or face) onto the top of the machine and screw on the cap that goes along with the disc. Excuse the pics below where the machine is dusty, that’s my dead skin (mmm sexy)! This is definitely a well used machine.
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| Pick the disc to use and push onto the machine |
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| Twist on the cap |
Use your fingers to stretch your skin taut so that it is flat and tight so it is easy to move the machine over the surface. If your skin is not pulled taut the machine cannot glide across it quickly, meaning that your skin will have the abrasive head against it for too long, which can cause damage.
Turn the machine on and working in lines, put the machine on your skin and then pull it in a line for example
from chin to ear, move up a little so as not to repeat the same area twice, as this can irritate your skin, then repeat until you have included all areas you want to cover. Keep the unit moving constantly over your skin. Try not to stay too long in one spot as this is what can cause red marks.
After I have finished a treatment on my face I apply a serum and then either an oil or moisturiser, on the body I use a thicker body lotion straight after each treatment. It is also important to use plenty of sun cream when performing microdermabrasion treatments, as your skin will be more sensitive to the sun.
Where Else Can You Use Microdermabrasion?
The skin on my face is sensitive and while I love using the PMD as it helps get rid of my dry skin, which makes my face look more glowing, I do tend to stick to the T-zone area only for the PMD machine (forehead, nose and chin) which works on any blackheads and my dryness and lines on the forehead while protecting the sensitive skin around my cheeks, eyes and mouth. I only use the PMD on my face once or twice a month.
You can use the PMD for so many things on your body, my favourite uses are on dry skin on my feet, for getting rid of Keratosis Pilaris (clogged pores/red bumps on the backs of your arms), and I do a quick pass over my bikini line (just the crease of the leg bit) and underarms if my skin is getting any ingrown hairs. I even sometimes use it on my shins if they are looking particularly scaly.
Overall
If you’re spending over £100 on anything you really want it to work, and for me this really does. Everywhere that I use the machine the skin is smoother, has less blackheads or spots or ingrown hairs. The skin on my face is much smoother, glowing and fine lines between my eyebrows are reduced.
It works out the price of 2/3 London priced salon facials, and I get exactly the same result as a salon facial as well as being able to use it on my neck, body etc. I think that for the price and the long list of things you can use it for it is well worth it, well designed and really handy.
You can buy the replacement heads fairly cheaply on Amazon, so it isn’t a big expense to upkeep the machine and, because you can change heads, you could always share this with your partner or flatmate without it being unsanitary, just have a separate head for each person.
Buy from QVC website PMD Official Website or Harrods Website personally I would go with QVC for the 30 day moneyback guarantee and the fact it’s cheaper!
*product provided for review, honest opinion as always.