Home microdermabrasion product breakdown

The home microdermabrasion device market seems to be heating up, with companies claiming to produce amazing and noticeable results in a short amount of time from their device. We wanted to do a brief overview and breakdown of the home microderm device market, to help those who are in the process of deciding which device will best suit their needs.

Here are the main categories of devices:

1. Exfoliating brushes and scrubs
2. Crystal based devices
3. Diamond tipped devices
4. Professional grade devices

The most popular and common of the first group is the Clarisonic, which is an amazing invention created by the same person who made the original Sonicare toothbrush before it was purchased by Philips. The Clarisonic uses sonic vibrations applied through a soft brush head that is applied to the skin.

You can use the Clarisonic on the face or body, and they have different brush heads and serums for different body areas. There are a number of competitors with similar products in this category, but the Clarisonic is definitely the category leader.

Priced anywhere from $100-$149, this is an inexpensive way to get good low grade exfoliation. However, it will only make the skin feel smoother, but will have a very hard time making a noticeable difference in the outward appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, and other skin texture issues.

The crystal based home microderm devices are similar to ones found in the salon, and they use titanium dioxide crystals to create the exfoliation against the skin. The crystals are blown through a hose and onto the skin, then sucked back through another hose.

Supposedly, all the crystals are to be recaptured and will never need to be replaced. In practice, however, the crystals actually get all over the user, all over the floor, and make a complete mess. While the actual exfoliation produced by these types of devices is quite good, the mess made and the time it takes to clean up is not worth the hassle.

We would suggest avoiding this type of device, especially since recently there has been some talk about the titanium dioxide crystals being poisonous or carcinogenic!

The diamond tipped category of home microdermabrasion devices is where the MicrodermMD resides. Our device uses real encrusted commercial grade diamonds at the tip of the exfoliating wand, which combines with a suction motor to create the friction against the skin.

The other main competitor in this category is the NuBrilliance (Nu Brilliance). We want to give a fair assessment of competing devices, and we have personally tried out the NuBrilliance device. It seems to be of good construction and seems to do a good job exfoliating the skin.

However, we found that the Nu Brilliance device seemed to lack enough suction power to create good skin friction, and we have had many customer reports saying that the motor died within the first few months to a year.

We do believe that our MicrodermMD device is superior for these reasons, in addition to have a more potent and coarse diamond tip wand.

Finally, the professional grade devices that you normally find used in a spa or doctor's office are now on the market and available for purchase by individual users. The price point for these devices is in the $500-$700 range, which does make them affordable for some people.

However, we strongly caution against purchasing these clinical devices, as they are meant to be used by a trained professional in a clinical environment. It is easy to damage the skin if treatments are not done correctly, so we recommend purchasing a device that is intended for home use only.