At one time, apart from plastic surgery and major dermatology treatments in hospitals and clinics, skin care was largely a matter of rubbing in oils and lotions, vigorous scrubbing (sometimes with bits of fruit stones mixed in with the soap) or application of mud or other face packs. The person needing such skin toning would either do it for themselves at home or would visit a beauty parlor. In either case, the treatment could hardly be labeled “professional”.
Major Skin Treatment
Professional (as in qualified medical practitioners) skin care experts – dermatologists – did perform virtually surgical operations to cut away or rub off unwanted features from a patient’s skin. One method used was called dermabrasion; whereby things like scar tissue, moles, birthmarks and other skin blemishes would be removed by a process not unlike removing a layer of wood using sandpaper. Not only was this treatment painful and slow to heal but the results were often less than 100% successful – removing a large scar but leaving a smaller one in its place. Needless to say, the skin problem had to be pretty desperate for someone to voluntarily undergo the treatment. Such “operations” today are more likely to be carried out using medical lasers but are still considered a fairly major option.
Cosmetic Treatment Through Mechanization
Using the same basic idea behind facial scrubs and the drastic dermabrasion procedures, machines became available that could gently apply abrasive particles onto a specific area of skin in order to remove layers of skin cells. This process became called microdermabrasion. The person who used to simply rub creams into a customer’s skin grew into a more professional operative who had to be trained in the use of these machines. The machine operators now have to be licensed to perform cosmetic treatments on members of the public and they are known as estheticians rather than just plain beauticians.
Although the microdermabrasion techniques can be used for fairly deep skin penetration, the majority of treatments carried out by estheticians are simple rejuvenations where old, dead, skin cells are exfoliated away to expose the new skin growth below. For more major work like the removal of wrinkles or old acne scars a more “heavy duty”, Professional Microdermabrasion Machine can be used.
