Some skin conditions such as acne scarring and deep facial wrinkles are best improved when treated more aggressively. Dermabrasion helps to rejuvenate and smooth the skin’s top layers through a method of controlled surgical sanding, improving the look of the skin by smoothing out fine lines, scars, discoloration, and imperfections.

Light skin complexions are better suited for dermabrasion because of excellent healing. Darker complexions may have a tendency for uneven coloration following dermabrasion.

Dermabrasion is usually performed under local anesthesia, combined with a sedative.

The procedure usually takes from a few minutes to an hour, depending on how large an area of skin is involved. Your surgeon dermabraders (sands) away from the outermost layer of skin with a rough wire brush, or a burr containing diamond particles, which is attached to a motorized handle. Your surgeon will perform the dermabrasion until he reaches the safest level of resurfacing that will make the scar or wrinkle less visible.

You can expect to be back at work in about two weeks with restrictions on resuming active sports for 3 to 4 weeks after your procedure. It is critical to protect your skin from the sun for as long as six to twelve months.

The pinkness of your skin will take about three months to fade. When your new skin is fully re-pigmented, the color should closely match the surrounding skin, making the procedure virtually undetectable.

Refinishing treatments can offer dramatic improvements in the surface of your skin, but it will take some time before you see the final results. In addition to dermabrasion of the skin surrounding the lips, consider the proportion of your lips. Consider Upper Lip Shortening (as our patient pictured here).