What Exactly Is Skin Resurfacing?

When you’re used to covering skin and aesthetics trends, there are certain buzzwords that tend to come up again and again.

Microbiome. Ectoin. BBL. Dermaplaning. Dermabrasion. IPL. The Skin Barrier. Retinol. Retinoid. Retinal. 

The list goes on. It seems like every week there’s a new trend that absolutely everyone in the skincare game is going to be talking about for… well, the next month or two until the next new, shiny treatment comes along.

Then there are those phrases that you’ve heard your aesthetician talk about, the ones that pop up on your TikTok fyp. They’ve been around for years – and you may even use them yourself – but you’re not exactly sure what they mean.

Introducing ‘skin resurfacing’: the skincare term you’ve probably run into a fair few times on your skin journey. I know I have, and until now, I didn’t actually know what it meant.

To resurface one’s skin

Skin resurfacing isn’t actually just one thing, it’s a lot of treatments under one umbrella.

Also called ‘skin rejuvenation,’ the process involves a number of treatments aiming to improve the texture and appearance of skin, and tackle issues like sun damage, fine lines, acne scars, and more.

A resurfacing treatment can range from chemical peels to laser abrasion to photo-rejuvenation – or a combination of all of the above. Even some injectables are classed as skin resurfacing treatments.

The likes of the South William Clinic offer a variety of laser rejuvenation packages for a range of skin concerns. Their HALO skin resurfacing treatment uses a laser to deliver energy to the deeper layers of the skin, while leaving the upper layer intact.

Other skin resurfacing methods, however, rely on less invasive treatments like LED therapies, peels and masks.

What does skin resurfacing do?

There are plenty of reasons why someone might try some skin resurfacing or rejuvenation.

For me, I’m generally really happy with my skin – it looks fresh, it glows, I don’t have a lot of fine lines yet (thank you, extensive skincare routine), and yet, it is red. Constantly.

It’s not that noticeable in the morning, but give me 30 minutes in the gym, a spicy curry, or even a short, brisk walk, and I’ll be crimson.

It could be rosacea, it could be burst blood vessels, it could be a lengthy combination of things that I may never discover on my skincare journey, but there’s one thing I know for sure – it’s annoying .

Other people try skin resurfacing to tackle issues ranging from hyperpigmentation, fine lines, loss of skin tone, vascular conditions, and scarring.

Getting treated

I got my skin resurfacing treatment in Dublin’s The Glow Clinic using pHformula products. The Spanish skincare brand have a new complex resurfacing facial, curated to each patient’s needs and concerns. Mine, of course, was redness.

First, my therapist cleansed my skin with pHformula’s E.X.F.O Cleanse, before degreasing with the S.K.I.N Primer. Next, she carried out a skin sensitivity test to see what level of resurfacing my skin was able for.

I reported a tingling of 3 out of 10, which meant my skin was resilient – hooray for me! We went ahead with the C.R Resurfacing Complex treatment to help reinforce the skin barrier and restore my red-prone complexion.

(My treatment was the most in-depth as my sensitivity levels were low, but your therapist can administer lower levels depending on your permeability results.)

A Peptide Powder Mask then smoothed and firmed my skin (and was really satisfying to take off), and then I was covered in a post-recovery cream and of course, an SPF.

The entire experience took around an hour and then I was free to go, with a slight bit of redness, but minimal downtime. I could even put makeup on that evening!

Results

It’s been two weeks since my treatment, and my skin has been in some seriously good shape.

It’s bright, it’s bouncy, and most importantly, the redness doesn’t appear as severe as before… except when I’m in the gym, but hey listen, you can’t win ’em all.

Naturally, there was only so much of a difference I was going to see after one treatment (it’s recommended that you get 3 or 4 to actually see some serious results), but still, I’m impressed.

You may even be looking at a skin resurfacing convert.