Blemishes are marks on the skin that do not fit in with the color, texture or smoothness of the rest of the surrounding skin tissue. There are many types of blemishes, including hyperpigmentation marks, acne, moles and scars. Regardless of the type of skin irregularity, several treatment options are available to either lessen the look of or completely remove unwanted blemishes.
Step 1
Use a retinoid cream. Retinoids are derived from vitamin A and come in both over-the-counter (retinol) and prescription strengths (tretinoin and isotretinoin). Retinoids work on blemishes by increasing the cell turnover rate on the affected skin tissue. This causes the blemished tissue to slough off over time, revealing new, smoother skin cells beneath. This reduces the look of blemishes on your skin.
Step 2
Have your dermatologist perform a chemical peel. Chemical peels are treatments that use chemical substances, such as phenol, glycolic acid or salicylic acid, to remove the outer layer of skin from the body. As the chemicals penetrate the outer layers of skin, they peel off the blemish skin cell tissue, leaving the skin to heal and reveal smoother skin cells beneath. Chemical peels vary in strength from gentle peels, which may be done at home or by a cosmetologist, to deep peels, which are only done by a dermatologist.
Step 3
Schedule a dermabrasion appointment. Dermabrasion and the relatively newer microdermabrasion are treatments used to scraping or sanding away the blemish-affected layer of skin to reveal the new, smoother skin beneath. Dermabrasion uses a motorized diamond burr or wire scrub brush to scrape the outer layer of skin cells. Microdermbrasion is less invasive and removes layers of skin by using a wand-like device to propel crystals of zinc or aluminum oxide at the skin to loosen the skin cells off the face.
Step 4
Have a laser resurfacing treatment. Lasers resurfacing is similar to a chemical peel in that it removes the outer layer of skin to reveal a new, smoother skin surface beneath. Laser resurfacing uses specialized laser tools to target and vaporize the outer layers of your skin using laser light energy. According to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, deeper laser resurfacing treatments use a carbon dioxide laser to treat deeper blemishes; superficial blemishes can be treated with the less invasive Er:YAG laser.
Member Comments