Microdermabrasion—or, microderm, for short—removes dead outermost surface skin most commonly. It is considered effective for reducing stretch marks—but not eliminating them entirely.
Stretch marks occur for multiple reasons from pregnancy to dramatic weight gain and loss, and even in menopause, when hormonal changes cause the skin to stretch somewhat without underlying eslatin or collagen activity. Microderm is sometimes thought to be a strictly facial procedure but there are microderm techniques for the rest of the body, usually available at dermatology clinics or spas.
Be advised, however, that microderm will only will make stretch marks less obvious. As the process is applied to the stretch marks—whether using the earlier crystals method or the increasingly more widespread diamond or other coarse, fixed microderm surface head—the stretch mark in effect is smoothened considerably, giving an appearance that the mark is reduced. Concurrent treatments include cocoa butter blended to stretch mark removal creams, chemical peels, and laser resurfacing, though some patients may opt for riskier full-tilt surgical removal of stretch marks.
Because microderm applies to the outermost surface skin, the technique should not be considered a stretch mark remover. Stretch marks are split in the deeper layers of the skin and therefore cannot be affected to any great extent by skin surface treatments. New Orleans plastic surgeon Dr. Kamran Khoobehi has written that his practise has tried numerous non-surgical stretch mark treatments and none, including microderm, has ever removed the stretch marks entirely. Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Raffy Karmanoukian has written further that microderm’s best chance is to improve the appearance of the skin overlying stretch marks.
The most encouraging application of microderm regarding stretch marks is believed to be older, whiter stretch marks, though most reviewers of microderm treatments tend to emphasis that it cannot be a stand-alone treatment for the condition and should be considered only in conjunction with specialised washes, body moisture renewal techniques, or even the relatively recent N-Lite laser technique, a non-skin burning laser treatment that stimulates fibrblasts to produce collagen fibers. This technique, however, often requires up to three individual treatments before its effectiveness can be determined.