Home » Beauty » Cosmetic Treatments » Of chemical peels and microdermabrasions. Want to improve the vitality of your skin? You can easily reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines on your face with the modern methods available now ' though at a cost. There are also certain risks involved and it will do you good to be apprised of these. There are both surgical and non surgical methods that are being practiced. We will discuss here about the two popular non surgical methods viz. chemical peels and microdermabrasion.

The clientele for both is the same ' it is people who want to reduce the wrinkles and lines that come with age and who want to retain as much of a youthful appearance as is feasible who generally go in for these procedures. If you are looking for something with less side effects, experts say that you should go in for microdermabrasion.

Microdermabrasion

The process adopted here involves blasting the skin with aluminium oxide crystals for resurfacing the skin. Microdermabrasion reaches the dermis (the second layer of the skin) and simply removes the topmost layer which is full of dead skin. The whole procedure might take about a half hour if the practitioner is skilful. If you want to go beyond your face, it might take about an hour.

However, should you suffer from conditions like diabetes, herpes, auto immune disorder, warts, acne or lesions in the skin, please consult your doctor before you undergo microdermabeasion. The common side effect for people with normal health is just a little redness which subsides within two days. This is a fairly simple procedure that even your qualified beauty consultant may be able to handle though most people prefer to go to a plastic surgeon.

Chemical peels

This process involves a little more risk as the potential side effects are far more just as the results too are far more dramatic than microdermabrasion. For starters, this is a far more invasive procedure and therefore you will be well advised to go only to a qualified plastic surgeon in order to reduce the chances of going wrong.

Caustic chemicals are applied to the skin which even out pigmentation, reduce scarring, and also smoothen out wrinkles and lines on the face. The chemicals used are salicylic acid, lactic acid, phenol resorcinol, trichloracetic acid, glycolic acid, alpha-keto acid and Tretinoin Retinoic acid. The whole procedure takes anything from ten minutes to an hour as different chemical combinations have to be used for individual skin type and complexion. Remember to consult your family physician before undertaking this treatment, especially if there is a family history of heart disease.

The side effects of chemical peels include redness, infection, skin irritation, crusting and pigmentation damage. But take heart! These symptoms generally last for about two days to two weeks (depending on the individual), so that means you better be prepared to look quite strange for some time!

It is also good for you to ask around and contact people who have undergone these procedures from the plastic surgeon before you decide which one is best suited for you.