Dermabrasion and Fat Injections

When it comes down to it, dermabrasion is a form of sandblasting for your face. The procedure uses a small rotating abrasive brush to sand away the top layers of skin. How many layers, exactly, is up to you and your dermatologist. The treatment has fallen out of favor since the advent of laser resurfacing, microbrasion, and PhotoFacials. However; dermabrasion is often more effective than any of these at evening scars out, and it is still used to improve the appearance of pockmarked skin.

The treatment itself is fairly quick, generally taking less than an hour. While the procedure is usually carried out under local anesthesia, you may be given a sedative that will relax you and make you drowsy. Immediately afterward, your skin will resemble raw steak; to keep it protected, your doctor will suggest thick coats of petroleum jelly an antibiotic ointment. Scabs form (don't pick!) and fall off within 10 days to 2 weeks. After this point, skin will be pink for up to 3 months, but it will have healed to the extent that you can return to your regular skin-care routine.

Fat injections

Fat injections are ideal for plumping up those deep lines that run from nose to mouth and mouth to chin. They're also great for filling in indented scars or the depressed areas that show up on some of our lower cheeks as we age. One of the nice things about these injections is that the process uses a material that may already be hanging around your tummy, bottom, or thighs: fat. It doesn't require a lot of fat, usually just a few ounces. After choosing a donor site, your dermatologist will clean and anesthetize the area before making a small incision, from which fat is withdrawn. Before the fat can be reinjected, however, it must be purified of any blood or other material.

Dermatologists can also plump up old-looking hands with fat transplantation. After all, when it comes to broadcasting your age, your hands speak louder than your face.

Once the fat is cleansed, you can return to your dermatologist, who will numb the area to be treated before injecting it with fat cells. No bandages or other wrapping are required afterward. The entire procedure usually takes an hour. Results last about 3 to 6 months. With repeated treatments, however, the outcome can last longer. This is because some of the fat begins to incorporate into the surrounding tissue.