Not all of us are blessed with amazing skin and those who are, I'm extremely envious! There are so many products out in the market today, it's difficult to find what really works. I have a love-hate relationship with my skin. Some days, it behaves extremely well, and on other days, it just wants to pick a fight with me. My skin doesn't like it when I try new products or gadgets, so when I find something that works, I tend to stick to it. My main problems: occasional breakouts, acne scarring and uneven skin tone. I have slightly sensitive, combination/oily skin. I've gotten the pleasure to try out the PMD (which I'm sure most of you have heard of) for the past month and a half, so read on and see how well (or not) it worked for me.

WARNING: LONG POST

BRAND/PRODUCT: PMD / Personal Microderm
PRICE: 179USD
PURCHASE AT: PersonalMicroderm.Com
PROS: Easy To Use, More Even Tone, Smoother Texture, Less Spots, Brighter Skin
CONS: Tightness, Itchiness, Irritation, Uncomfortable Feeling to the Skin
CLAIMS: To minimize the look of pores, blemishes, fine lines and wrinkles.

What is Microdermabrasion? Microdermabrasion is the process of resurfacing the top layer of the skin (stratum corneum) to a precise depth by the combination exfoliation/vacuum process. By removing these dead skin cells and stimulating blood flow, the deeper dermal level is stimulated to produce collagen and fibroblasts, giving the skin a more supple elastic appearance. Those living cells deep within the skin tissue are stimulated to produce and compensate for the loss of part of the protective layer of the skin. The result is fresher, healthier, rejuvenated skin with enhanced surface quality. - PMD

What You Get:
A Personal Microderm
6 Exfoliating Discs (2 green [regular skin] 6 blue [sensitive skin])
1 Electric Cord (the white box)
2 Caps (1 body 1 facial)
1 Reusable Filter
Instructional CD

The PMD is light, easy to hold and use. The discs (available in red-coarse, green-regular/medium, blue-sensitive[recommend]) have these "crystals" which is grit aluminum oxide coating. Its supposed to help exfoliate off the dead skin to reveal smoother, brighter looking skin. You can use this anywhere you feel needs extra attention - like your face, elbows, hands, feet, pretty much anywhere you have age spots, fine lines and wrinkles. Its also said to work well with surface scars. It is advised that you watch the instructional video. Now, when I first received this, I was lazy and just skimmed through it. BAD MISTAKE. Don't underestimate this bad boy. This is what can happen if you don't follow the directions carefully. I wanted to save time and decided to use the bigger disc on my cheeks. The suction on this is very strong, and the grit on these babies are pretty coarse - even the ones made for sensitive skin.
Please, NEVER use the big discs on your face! Let me tell you, those suckers hurt. It stung really bad and luckily for me, didn't leave behind a horrible scar. After this incident, I didn't touch the PMD for a while. I was scared that even if I used the smaller disc, I would still cut my skin. After 2 1/2 weeks I decided to pick it up again. This time, used correctly, I got some pleasant results. I stuck with only using the PMD on one side of the face to show you the difference between each side. I use the PMD about once every 1-2 weeks depending. I've found the trick to using this is to glide the machine in a light and quick fluid motion. I don't recommend leaving this on one area for too long or going over the same area twice.

THE GOOD
You can see that the right side of my face is much brighter, smoother and more even. The scars around my mouth area were also fading nicely as well. I'm hoping with a few more uses, it will fade completely. I've also noticed that I wasn't breaking out or getting any spots on the side that I was using the PMD. With my untreated side, I still had the occasional breakout, and it took much longer for my scars to fade. As with pores, the only visible pores I have is just around my nose area (inner cheeks). I didn't see a difference so far, but I do think that I'd probably have to use it more to see results. I don't really have any fine lines or winkles on my face, so I can't actually say that it has improved anything in that area.

THE BAD
Upon first use, my skin had a reaction. It became extremely irritated. After using the PMD (blue disc), I applied my moisturizer as normal. Suddenly, my skin starting to feel like it was burning off. Every few seconds I would get this horrible, throbbing, stinging sensation. This went on for about five minutes. It was pretty bad. But after two-three uses, it seemed my skin was getting used to it and wasn't getting irritated anymore. So if like me, and you have even the slightest sensitive skin, I highly suggest to test a small area first to see how your skin will react. Just to be on the safe side.

EXTRA TESTIMONIAL - THE BOYFRIEND!
I was able to get the boyfriend (whose skin is tougher than mines) to use this. I wanted to see if he would get any type of reactions like I did. He was able to test this about three times. He has sensitive, combination/dry skin. His skin suffers from redness and flakiness on the cheeks. He didn't experience any type of irritation what-so-ever. No tightness, itchiness or any uncomfortable feeling. He even said that it tickled a little (WEIRD MUCH?). Since using the PMD, his skin no longer flakes and has a much smoother texture now. He still gets the occasional redness on his cheeks, but not as bad as before. This is actually surprising as I've been getting him to test tons of skin care products and so far this is the only one he's been constantly positive about. I've never seen him so interested with anything with regards to skin care before, so this was a shocker. The PMD definitely has his approval.

Price wise, I don't think the price-point is too high, considering all you would have to do after is to simply replace the discs. Replacement discs will run you around 15USD for a set of six, which is not bad at all. I've only used one disc so far and its still good for a few more uses. How often you change the discs depends on how often you use the PMD. You can purchase this on the PMD site but I've also seen this at SkinCareRX, Amazon and Dermstore for the same price.

Do I recommend the PMD? Yes, but for those with sensitive skin, PLEASE use it with caution. I really can't stress that enough.


DISCLAIMER: Items in this post was sent for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are based on my own personal experience using this product. In no way am I receiving any monetary rewards for reviewing this. For more information, please see my personal disclaimer.

P.S.
Please excuse the quality of these pictures. I've recently acquired a new camera and have been messing with the settings. So I apologize for the grainy look on some of the images.