Historically, abrading the skin to produce a partial-thickness wound for cosmetic purposes has been done for centuries. The skin's natural healing process resulted in new skin growth and better appearance. Ancient Egyptians typically used a pumice stone on the skin's surface the results of which are comparable to dermabrasion. It has also been shown that Ancient peoples used naturally occurring acids found in plants to achieve what would be known today as the effects of a chemical peel. Both dermabrasion and chemical peels result in deeper wounds and are thus, more susceptible to all the side-effects and problems that go with the healing process. In 1985, a new technique called “microdermabrasion” was first developed in Italy. The technique was found to be very hygienic since the crystals were used only once resulting in very little chance of cross contamination. With microdermabrasion, the skin's healing process could be initiated, encouraging new skin cell growth, but with a lot less damage to the skin.
