Hello Beauties! Today I’m going to tell you about my personal experiences with three of the most popular, non-surgical skin treatments:
- Microdermabrasion (Price $125)
- Dermaplaning (Price $125)
- Microneedling (Price $125 + $125 for “optional” special serum infusion, total $250)
If you’re considering one of these treatments, I think this review will help you decide.
I decided to try these procedures because I was looking for a way to rejuvenate my skin without being too invasive and I’ve had all three performed within a six month period.
While I loved all of them, I definitely have a favorite so keep reading!
Treatment #1 – Microdermabrasion
What is Microdermabrasion?
Microdermabrasion is an non-chemical, non-invasive procedure that uses a small electric instrument to spray tiny exfoliating crystals onto the skin while suctioning away all the debris.
Some use a fixed diamond crystal exfoliating tip which essentially scrapes the surface layers of the skin while suctioning.
Both methods exfoliate to remove the superficial layer of dry, dead skin cells to reveal younger, healthier looking skin.
Microdermabrasion works best on problems such as dull skin, brown spots and age spots. It can also help improve acne and remove black heads.
This is a subtle treatment with virtually no down time aside from a little pinkness for about 24 hours. It can be performed on all skin types and colors.
My Experience with Microdermabrasion
I was so excited to get my first microdermabrasion treatment! I had only had regular facials done before, and while they’re super relaxing and pampering, they really don’t create a huge change in the skin.
My technician use a fixed diamond crystal tip (vs. the exfoliating spray type) and I had it done on my face, neck and chest.
Those are my three problem areas with fine lines and wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation and just dull, aging skin.
The procedure itself was quick and painless and I was in and out in about an hour. She cleansed and prepped my skin, and went to town dragging the pen across my face in a methodical manner.
You can feel the suction and I especially liked how it felt on my nose, sucking all the pores clean!
When she was done she showed me all the gunk that had been suctioned off my face which was gross! The whole tip was filled with brown gunk – all my dead skin. But seeing that made me feel optimistic!
She then applied a light pumpkin enzyme peel which took another 15 minutes. I could feel it tingling but this was a fairly gentle peel on the alphahydroxy scale.
Post-micro is a great time to have an add on treatment such as a light peel since it will penetrate more deeply through the fresh skin.
Leaving the salon post-microdermabrasion, my skin was a little pink but nothing drastic and no tenderness, and my skin was definitely glowing!
Here’s my before and after pic, the after pic was about an hour post procedure. I don’t have any makeup on in either picture.
By the next day, the pinkness was gone and my skin looked great. Not a drastic change, but I did feel like I had a better radiance to my skin.
It was smoother, more even toned and my makeup went on more smoothly. There wasn’t a huge change to my hyper-pigmentation, but it did seem a tad lighter all around.
This picture was from about a week post microdermabrasion (with a little bit of makeup). I do feel like I had a bit of a glow and I got a few compliments on my skin.
For a moisturizer, I used Kollagen Intensiv Cream which felt so good on my sensitive skin, like a drink! It’s very gentle and hydrating.
I liked the results, so I had a second treatment done about a month later.
Again I had a temporary glowing of the skin, smoothness, more radiance, and overall I feel like my skin texture improved a bit which seemed to last.
I think Micro-dermabrasion is a good treatment, and I think a series of treatments would have more of a cumulative effect.
For best results, it’s recommended that you do a series of 5-6 treatments at least 3 weeks apart.
However, I decided to try something different! Dermaplaning….with a razor! Eek!
Treatment #2 – Dermaplaning
What is Dermaplaning?
Dermaplaning is a method of exfoliating the skin by using a scalpel (basically a very sharp blade) to gently scrape off the top layer of dull, dead skin cells in order to reveal a smoother, brighter complexion.
Dermaplaning offers some of the same exfoliating benefits as microdermabrasion, however there is quite a difference.
Dermaplaning also removes the velus hairs from your face (the peach fuzz) to leave your skin smooth all over whereas microdermabrasion does not.
However, with microdermabrasion you get the added bonus of the suctioning of pores around the nose, chin, and mouth or wherever you may have enlarged, clogged pores.
Both treatments exfoliate to prime the face for further skin rejuvenation such as chemical peels or even laser resurfacing.
Since dermaplaning requires a skilled hand (it is a straight razor ya’ll), it’s essential you choose your practitioner wisely.
My Experience with Dermaplaning
I’m not gonna lie, I was a little afraid of a couple of things. One, I was afraid of someone going at my face and neck with a straight-edged razor!
Two, I was afraid my peach fuzz would grow back thicker, like when you shave your legs. I don’t have a lot of peach fuzz and it is blonde so it’s not that noticeable.
My skin was prepped which basically consisted of a general cleansing of the area and before I knew it, she started scraping away with the blade.
She did my face first, gently scraping small sections of the skin at a time, before moving on to my neck and then my chest.
It doesn’t hurt and it’s actually less of a sensation than microdermabrasion since there’s no suction. It took about 45 minutes to do all three areas.
Once she was finished, she applied a collagen plumping mask and let it sit for about 15 minutes which felt amazing! Once that was done, I was out the door and couldn’t wait to peek in the mirror.
I had some pinkness and I could actually see a few lines (scrape marks) where maybe the razor went a little too deep in those spots, which freaked me out a little as I was afraid it would scar.
How did my skin look? Once again I was glowing! My skin was a little pink that evening, but overall my face was more radiant, soft and fresh looking.
I forgot to take a picture just before, but this picture was taken the day after Dermaplaning. The pinkness had pretty much subsided.
It seemed to soften the fine lines and wrinkles on my cheeks and my serums and moisturizers seemed to absorb better with this fresh layer of skin being exposed.
My face felt tighter this time. You can feel yourself healing and those little tiny scrape marks actually felt rough like I had a micro scab on it but they healed up and left no marks at all.
And to the naked eye, you couldn’t really see those marks, only if I looked closely in the mirror.
Overall I was happy, and the result was just about the same as it was with microdermabrasion, except my pores didn’t look as cleaned out with the dermaplaning.
I think for that reason, I would choose microdermabrasion over Dermaplaning. If you’re more concerned about the peach fuzz, then go with dermaplaning.
You’ll get that overall fresh-faced, glowing feeling of a deep exfoliation with both and an increased effectiveness of your anti-aging treatments and serums.
However, if you want the most bang for your buck, you’ll definitely want to read about my experience with microneedling! I saved the best for last!
Before you read about my experience, here’s a video of my sister Katie getting microneedling! She has two scars on her forehead that she really wanted to try and smooth out. Owie!!
Treatment #3 – Microneedling
What is Microneedling?
Most of us have probably seen that picture of Kim Kardashian with a bloody face and thought what the heck?
Kim actually got the micro needling with PRP (platlet rich plasma) which is where they take your own blood, spin it in a centrifuge and inject the PRP or apply topically. I didn’t use my own blood, I used snail juice instead. 😉
Microneedling, AKA “collagen induction therapy” is a minimally invasive procedure where small needles are used to create micro purferations in the skin.
These tiny “holes” give the skin the opportunity to react as if it were injured, which stimulates collagen and elastin production.
Results can include improved texture and firmness, reduced fine lines and wrinkles, as well as reduction in scars, pore size and stretch marks.
These micro purferations also support the penetration of special serums that are infused into the skin during the treatment, and some are more expensive “add on’s” than others.
During the healing process, the skin is renewed due to the collagen production and it can take 6-8 weeks for the full result to be seen (all the while your skin is building up collagen).
While it is considered “minimally invasive” this treatment definitely went deeper and left the marks to prove it.
However, this is the treatment that gave me the best results, and I’ve got my next microneedling appointment scheduled for mid August!
My Experience with Microneedling
So there’s a couple devices they can use for Microneedling. One is a roller with a bunch of tiny needles on it that they manually roll over your face in a certain pattern.
However, the more precise way is to use a Dermapen, which is an electric pen with a tiny roller tip on the end that has needles on it which is what they used on me.
I was afraid this was going to hurt, and it is a bit uncomfortable at times. But the pain was tolerable and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
The forehead was definitely more tender since there’s less skin there and it’s closer to the bone.
A couple times she went a little deep along my jawbone and that kinda hurt too. It definitely made me flinch a couple times – I mean, they are poking holes in your face with needles!
The sound and friction made me think of how it might feel to get a tattoo on your face! I doubt this was nearly as painful however.
Here’s me before, she applied a numbing cream to all the areas and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
About those expensive add-on’s…..the standard is to infuse hyaluronic acid (a moisturizing agent) into the skin with the Dermapen.
I paid $125 extra for a special “snail serum” with growth hormone to be infused into mine.
Gross right? Well apparently these snails have the ability to shield all of the harmful effects of the environment like the sun, so apparently it gives your skin this same super power!
The snail juice is called Biopelle Tensage Serum 40 and came with 12 vials. She used 3 on my face for the whole treatment, so I had 9 leftover. I used one full one each morning and at night for the next few days.
I wanted to document this so she stopped in the middle of it before wiping me clean so that I could take a picture.
It also depends on the depth of the needles. I believe she used a .5mm on my forehead and 1.5mm on the rest of my face, neck and chest, next time they’ll go deeper and use 2mm.
So just after the treatment, my skin looked very pink, with darker red patches all over. Enough to make me want to go straight home and hide at least for the rest of the night.
Here’s my during photo, she had already wiped up the excess blood but I wasn’t a “bleeder” as she put it. I kinda look scared! LOL
And here’s me after I got up from the table about to leave, obviously I went straight home!
I was told to not wear makeup for 24 hours (I went 48 hours) and to use only gentle products with no active ingredients for a full week.
So this means nothing with glycolic acid or other AHA’s (alphahydroxy acids), hydroquinone, etc. You want to use something calming and moisturizing.
Here’s me later on at night, the same day of the procedure. Red all over with darker patches.
It does take about a week for the healing process and during that time my whole face felt really “tight,” similar to how you might feel with a sunburn.
I did mention my face felt “tight” after the Dermaplaning, but this was definitely a more noticeable tightness.
I didn’t have any scabs, just mainly the tightness as all those tiny holes were healing and my face definitely begged for moisture. The red patches cleared up within a week and I saw results right away!
At day 6, my skin was already softer, smoother, and my hyper-pigmentation patches looked as though they’d been broken up – yay!!
I saw more regular skin in between the brown spots where there used to just be all brown.
Here’s the side by side before and after, of just after the procedure (when I got home) and six days later:
Fast forward two weeks and my results continue to show! Every day my face looks better!
My face is so much smoother, and my wrinkles are less noticeable, and every day my dark spots have continued to become lighter.
I think this treatment definitely allows your anti-aging products to work their very best!
Here’s a picture showing my results after about 10 days:
Full results take 4-6 weeks as your collagen continues to rebuild and repair itself.
So over time, your skin just becomes plumper and younger looking! I still use Kollagen Intensiv as my every day moisturizer and anti aging treatment cream, which also helps to build up the collagen in your skin to plump it up.
I absolutely think Microneedling is the best bang for your buck as compared to Microdermabrasion or Dermaplaning.
All three treatments are the same price, which is roughly $125 just for the face. I paid more since I got my face, neck and chest done but that’s baseline price. They usually offer packages as well which can bring the price down if you get more than one.
My next appointment is scheduled for mid-August! I am a little nervous because they’ll be going deeper so I’ll probably look even worse, but this is a treatment that brings REAL RESULTS.
I am OK looking like I got into a fight for a few days for younger looking skin that does not require surgery!
Joovv Red Light Therapy
Check out my blog on the Joovv Red Light. Have you ever paid $150 – $200 for a facial where the give you 5 minute red light therapy at the end and it’s supposed to be the best thing ever? For collagen production, acne, circulation, inflammation?
Well, I bought a full body Joovv Red Light and have it on the back of my office door. May seem crazy (and it was expensive), but I will never have to pay for this treatment and the benefits are many! I use it 5-8 minutes about 3-4x a week now!
Does Microneedling look too painful or will you try it? Leave comments below!
Q: Hi! I was thinking about doing Microneedling for my age spots and scars on my chin. Will this help? –Jo
A: Jo, it should help yes, it builds collagen. I would do a series of three treatments spaced 4-6 weeks apart for best results. ~Rachel
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Q: Have you ever tried Meta-therapy… Dermatude… it is a form of microneedling that perforated the skin but does not reach the live tissue ( the epidermis) so there is virtually no bleeding, resulting in much less down time and recovery while affecting the same results. I would be very interested in your opinion and research on this treatment. –Lauren
A: Hi Lauren, I haven’t tried Dermatude, but it looks like it would be a good treatment. I like that they have a very skinny needle they can used to target deeper wrinkles. I’m pretty much sold on microneedling however, I go in for a 3rd treatment next week. I really only look a little red for a couple of days, so to me that’s very little down time. No makeup for 24 hours, but if you schedule it on a Friday, you can wear makeup to work Monday and hide it for the most part. If you decide to try it, let me know how you like it! Rachel
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Q: My main issue of concern is my under eye tear troughs, these are quite deep and the skin is thinner here with a different texture to the rest of my facial skin, which treatment would you advise to help plump up this area and improve the skin texture. –Sandra
A: Sandra, they can do a gentle treatment around the eyes with the microneedling. They don’t do dermabrasion around the sensitive eye area nor the dermaplaning since there’s no way to adjust the level of it. With microneedling there’s a smaller device they switch to to use around the eye area. I would visit a spa who performs the procedure and tell them your concerns and see what they advise. But I do remember them doing it gently around my eyes. Good luck!~Rachel
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Q: Does dermaplaning do anything to inhibit regrowth of facial hair? –Teri
A: Teri, I don’t think so…in fact it would the same as shaving…since they use a little blade to remove the hair…. I think waxing would be best to inhibit hair growth. Mine did not grow back “thicker” though or anything like that 😉 Thanks, Rachel
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Q: What should I try first and how long should I wait in between I have a dermaplaning gift card and a micro needle –Christina
A: Hi Christina, I would probably do the derma planing first and then micro needling a few weeks later. Dermaplaning didn’t do much aside from remove the peach fuzz and a little exfoliation, micro needling is a much more effective treatment. Good luck! Rachel
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Rachel Vrabel
Rachel is Chief Editor of Women’s Blog Talk and writes reviews across the spectrum of anti-aging, health and beauty. She has an English degree from USF and worked in finance for 15 years before establishing this website in 2011. She loves having a place she can share her inspiration for health and beauty and continue to help others! She lives in South Florida with her husband and her hobbies include beach volleyball, HIIT training and combing the beach for sea glass and shells.
