Chemical peels: The real deal?

Good for: Smoothing away roughness and fine lines, improving leathery, sun-damaged skin and irregular, blotchy pigmentation and minimising broken capillaries and age spots. Microdermabrasion is also effective for cleaning out blackheads and whiteheads. Many doctors have found that with repeated microdermabrasion treatments, collagen production below the skin's surface is increased.

Drawbacks: Microdermabrasion exfoliates skin faster and more efficiently than any salon facial or products used at home, and it penetrates the skin more deeply than a glycolic acid peel. It.s still a superficial approach to skin resurfacing, though, and will need to be repeated periodically. This procedure won't, however, help prominent acne scars, other deep facial indentations, crow.s feet, severe wrinkles around the mouth or furrows in the forehead; even fine wrinkles and scars may not disappear completely.

Dermabrasion: This deep mechanical peel penetrates far more than microdermabrasion and involves using a high-speed rotating sanding wheel or wire brush to peel away the skin. In addition to sedation, a freezing spray is used. After treatment, the patient feels tenderness and the sensation of having severe sunburn. Skin will ooze and scab for up to a week until a new upper skin layer forms. Redness may be pronounced and can last several weeks or months, but some of this can be covered up with cosmetics. Large areas are treated under a general anaesthetic while small areas can be treated under a local one. The procedure generally requires an overnight stay in hospital if large areas are treated.

Good for: Severe acne and other scars, wrinkles, sun damage and skin discolouration.

Drawbacks: There's discomfort and downtime, which may last a few weeks, and residual redness which may remain even longer.