Last week I talked a bit about the PMD that I planned on testing out. The PMD Personal Microderm* is a handheld micro-dermabrasion tool that comes with 6 exfoliating discs for face and body (4 blue for sensitive skin) (2 green for tougher skin).
The PMD removes the thin layer of skin on the surface and uses vacuum action to bring blood flow and collagen to the surface of the skin. This should promote cell renewal and rejuvenation. An instructional video is included and IS A MUST to watch before doing anything like this at home.
There are small discs for the face and larger discs that can be used on the body (elbows, hands, feet or wherever you would like to smooth uneven skin texture).
The discs have aluminum oxide crystals embedded in the tip, the tip spins (reminding me of a sander!) and the vacuum and guard action draws your skin in to be polished. I didn’t feel a need to use this on my body so I’ll just be covering my first experience using the PMD on my face.
First, I watched the instructional video again before I got started. I had watched once when I first received the product but I always need a refresher right before I’m about to begin. I’m the same way with makeup tutorials, I always need to watch one right before I give it a try or all the techniques just leave my brain! It’s a nice little video and explains that when using the PMD you should keep your skin taut, wait for the vacuum action to engage and take even strokes over your skin. The video stresses never to go into the delicate eye area and not to hover in one spot to always keep the unit moving over your face.
After I washed and dried my face, I plugged the PMD into the outlet, attached the small blue disc for sensitive skin, and got started. When I used the PMD I have to admit I was a little timid and too careful. I was so focused on not hovering in one spot, I think I was moving a little too fast over my skin to really get the full effect. I had a hard time using the PMD on my nose because I just couldn’t get it to “pick up” my skin with the vacuum. I was able to get my nose in tiny little strokes but it was tough for me. This may have been because of my technique. My forehead area went ok, but it took a lot of strokes (I have a huge forehead J). I’m thinking I might use the larger sized disc for my forehead on the second go around. I have to say the cheek area was the easiest, the PMD picked up my skin and I was able to move the unit in smooth, even strokes and wasn’t worried about staying too long in one spot. All the rest of my face went fine and I did go down onto my neck a bit, just below the jawline area. There was no pain or irritation while I used the PMD, it just felt similar to the sensation of using an intense scrub.
Afterwards, my face had some redness and you could tell something had been done. I did not have any irritation whatsoever and my skin did not feel any more sensitive than normal. I splashed water on my face to remove any remaining dead skin and then used a toner and moisturizer to keep it hydrated. This is also an important step and micro-dermabrasion really should help those creams work even better. Another important detail: You must wear sunscreen for 3 to 4 days afterwards since your skin will be very sensitive and the sun could do some real damage. You must know that I didn’t look like I had brand new face afterwards but it did feel smoother. I took “before” and “after” photos and the only difference is my face looks pink in the “after”. I’d say within 2 days after this first use was when I really noticed my face looking and feeling better than before using the PMD. I would guess it may be that after removing that dead skin it took a couple days of healing and cell renewal. It felt great when I noticed that significant change!
So my face has been looking renewed for the past 5 days and overall I am very happy with my first use of the PMD. I am more aware of technique and won’t be so timid on the second use. I’m sure you all aren’t as much of a worry-wart as I would consider myself so most won’t have this issue. Better safe than sorry, I say!
The PMD is a great value at $179 since one micro-dermabrasion treatment at a salon in the Chicago area charges $175 just for one visit! You can use this at-home and buy the replacement disks as needed (recommended after approximately 3 uses) for $14.99.
I would love to hear your opinions or experience with micro-dermabrasion too!
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