Trying out dermabrasion

Before there were lasers, superficial acne scars were smoothed out
with a procedure known as dermabrasion. Dermabrasion was used
to minimize small acne scars. As the name implies, dermabrasion
involves removing the top layers of skin.
Dermabrasion has been around for many decades. Initially, sandpa-
per was used to remove damaged skin and allow new skin to grow
in its place — yes, I’m serious. But now, electrical machines are
used to abrade the skin. These gadgets have quickly rotating
wheels that have a rough wire brush (fraise), or a burr containing
diamond particles. The wheel is attached to a motorized handle.
Dermabrasion may make ice-pick scars and depressed fibrotic
scars more noticeable if the scars are wider under the skin than at
the surface. Dermabrasion is used mainly for the “softer” scars. It’s
rarely used for hypertrophic scars. Over the past decade, this pro-
cedure has fallen out of favor with the availability of newer, easier-
to-use techniques such as lasers. I no longer recommend it.
A qualified dermatologic or plastic surgeon performs dermabra-
sion on a single visit as an office procedure. First she anesthetizes
your skin with a numbing spray, such a Freon. You may also be
given a sedative to make you drowsy before she sheers away your
scar tissue. A full-face dermabrasion can be as costly as a laser
resurfacing procedure. It can cost $2,500 to $4,500.
In darker-skinned people, dermabrasion may cause dramatic
changes in pigmentation and worsen hypertrophic or keloidal scars.