Friction dermatitis as a complication after corundum microdermabrasion

The case is described of 27-year-old woman with no previous skin problems, who decided on a series of corundum microdermabrasion treatments. The device was set at the average abrasion power (grade 12 on the arbitrary scale of the device). Approximately 10-12 hours after the first treatment, the woman noticed an intense redness and a burning sensation of the skin. The treating cosmetologist insisted that the reaction was normal and recommended that the woman should continue with the treatments, with the power reduced, however, to grade 9. After three treatments, the patient decided to discontinue the procedure because of intense erythema and increased tenderness of her skin. The skin returned to normal about four weeks later. Based on the clinical symptoms, friction dermatitis was deemed the most probable diagnosis. Corundum microdermabrasion is a beauty treatment intended to exfoliate the keratinized epidermis with the use of corundum grains. This treatment often causes discomfort to patients. According to a previous study, cosmetologists frequently encounter complications after applying this method, such as skin irritation, intense redness of skin or excessive exfoliation. However, to our knowledge, this is a first published report of friction dermatitis of the face due to corundum microdermabrasion. Users of microdermabrasion should be aware of the risk of adverse reactions such as the one describe here.

Keywords: corundum microdermabrasion, exfoliation of the skin, adverse effects, friction dermatitis.

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Dermatologist and allergist in Krakow (Cracow), Poland

Estetologia Medyczna i Kosmetologia