The most common side effects of microdermabrasion may be mild skin irritation, an increase in acne, and some skin discoloration. People with sensitive skin are usually more prone to microdermabrasion side effects than people who do not have sensitive skin. The skin discoloration side effect also seems to be more pronounced in people who naturally have darker skin. People who have microdermabrasion to help with their acne symptoms and acne scarring may also have more breakouts than usual for a few weeks after the procedure. Most of the microdermabrasion side effects are temporary and relieve themselves once the skin has had time to heal.
There are probably very few people who do not experience some skin irritation after having microdermabrasion done. When microdermabrasion is performed, the entire top layer of the skin is removed. This usually causes skin irritation that many people would find similar to a sunburn. Redness, itchiness, and flakiness or peeling of the skin are side effects of microdermabrasion often reported by people who have just had the procedure. Once the skin has had a chance to heal, these side effects typically disappear.
Many people have microdermabrasion done to help with their acne. For this reason, it may come as a surprise to these people when acne tends to worsen just after a microdermabrasion procedure. Even though microdermabrasion can often greatly help both acne and acne scarring, acne tends to become worse just after the procedure because of the trauma to the skin and because the microdermabrasion helps to unclog the pores. When pores become unclogged from microdermabrasion, bacteria is normally released from the pores, and this bacteria may linger on the skin's surface, temporarily increasing the likelihood of acne spot formation. Most people report that this side effect of microdermabrasion disappears within a few weeks after the procedure is complete.
Skin discoloration could be the most problematic of all the side effects of microdermabrasion. People who have lighter skin usually don't experience this problem to a great degree, but people with darker skin often do. After microdermabrasion, a person with dark skin might notice that she has some light patches where there were none before. This discoloration is often not permanent, but it may persist for quite a long time before the skin tone goes back to normal. Many people are able to deal with this side effect by using foundation on their skin to give it a more even color all over.
