PMD Review (Initial Thoughts)

I am sure everyone who is into skincare, beauty and YouTube/Blogs would have come across the Personal Microdermabrasion Device (PMD)*. I think I may have come across the PMD a few years ago on a US YouTuber's channel although I can't remember who exactly it was. I really wanted to try it out because I was suffering from some serious hyper pigmentation on my cheeks and forehead. The only snag was it was not readily available in the UK and I didn't want to buy it from the US and end up having to pay customs and other charges. I watched quite a few videos and read blog posts and I was impressed. Of course, I did read and watch some negative reviews that made my quite scared and after a while, I just left it on my wish list. I still wanted to try it because I have learnt how effective microdermabrasion is especially when it comes to getting rid of hyper pigmentation. My main concern was ascertaining how effective it was on darker skin as I know some products/treatment are not optimised for darker skin.



Thankfully, I watched many reviews of chocolate girls and it truly works well for all skin types including darker skin. Anyway, I digress. I was very, very delighted when I got a lovely email asking me if I wanted to try out the PMD. I was like "Of course"!! I thought it would be nice to document my experience while using it starting by post an initial review and a final review. My next review will be on my entire experience and finding out if it matches up to its claims. It is recommended to use it for at least 4 weeks so I will be posting again sometime in December. I do have to mention that I received the PMD back in September but I just kept having an annoying (relentless) breakout on one side of my cheek. I decided to wait till it was completely cleared up before using the PMD so I know nothing is going to interfere with it. Right let me get into it...



Brief overview Microdermabrasion and PMD
Microdermabrasion in itself has been around for a pretty long time as far back as 1500 BC where it has been linked to been used among the Egyptians (they used sand paper instead to exfoliate the skin- pretty fancy!! nah?). Microdermabrasion is a procedure that uses suction and exfoliation to remove the outermost layer of the dead skin. The first ever microdermabrasion tool was actually invented by two doctors in 1985. In 1990, the microdermabrasion machines were introduced in America and in 2003, a group of doctors, engineers and microdermabrasion engineers came together to develop the first hand held microdermabrasion device. By 2004, it was fully launched and as they say, the rest is history.



What is the PMD Personal Microderm?
The PMD is essentially a beauty device/tool that is designed  deliver the same results as microdermabrasion and the best part is it can be used at home to. The PMD achieves microdermabrasion by exfoliation and suction via its patented spinning disc technology (contains aluminium oxide crystals which is the same as used in professional microdermabrasion). In addition to exfoliation, the vacuum suction also stimulates, activates and rejuvenates the skin triggering it to produce collagen which plumps the skin and keeps it youthful. The suction takes away dead skin enabling the skin absorbs more products, promotes even skin tone and texture, clears pores and reduces blemishes.










Contents of the PMD Kit
Inside the PMD kit, you get a complete set of tools and instructions on how to use the device to achieve maximum benefits. In my kit, I got the following: 1 PMD personal microderm device, 1 electrical power cord, 1 body plastic cap, 1 facial plastic cap, 2 grey discs (face and body), 2 blue discs (face and body), 2 green discs (face and body), 1 white training disc, 1 reusable filter and the instructional DVD & manual. I have to say that assembling the device was pretty straightforward and you just have to follow the instructions. I love that the kit comes with various socket heads which is designed to work for different countries. There’s a three pin, 2-pin, charging head, etc  and I think it’s amazing that the developers of the PMD have put that into consideration.


What I want to achieve with the PMD
The PMD has a lot of claims on skin benefits including promoting even skin tone and texture, clearing spores, reducing blemishes, etc. My main skin concern is clearing the post inflammatory (acne) hyper pigmentation on my cheeks. Most of my skincare products are usually targeted to combat this in one way or the other so naturally that's what I am looking to achieve with the PMD. Another skin concern, although not a major one, is reduction of my enlarged pores around my cheeks and near my nose. My skin has made tremendous progress over the past year but I recently had some setback so I am hoping that the PMD will help reset my skin n addition to other skincare products.


What to do before use
I am sure everyone must be tired of hearing bloggers and other reviewers mention how important it is to read the instruction manual and watch the training DVD before use. I am sorry I have to repeat that again but it is just really important.  I watched the DVD and read the instruction manual a few times before I even attempted using it. I also further suggest reading their FAQ page which can be found on the PMD website as this was really helpful to me especially about after care.  I also watched other YouTube reviews just to see how everyone else was using the PMD and I learnt a lot from watching them. Once you are pretty sure you have learned all you need to know, you can assemble or proceed to use the PMD.




When you receive the PMD, it will already come with the white training disc so no need to assemble that section. I just popped on the facial plastic cap and ensured that the disc was sitting slightly below the cap. This is very essential to minimise any irritation that may occur when it is in use. Next, I connected the electrical cord and my chosen charging head. I went ahead to cleanse my face and patted it dry. It is important to use the PMD on completely dry face so I waited until it was completely dry. While it was drying, I did a patch test which basically involves testing out the PMD on either your hand or the back of your neck (I did both because I like to be extra and they already cleansed and dried). I waited for 5-10 minutes to see if there was any reaction and there was none so I proceeded to use it on my face.




How I use (first impressions)
I started off by gently holding the skin on my face taut and moving the PMD across in an upward motion i.e. away from my face. I ensured that I did not hover around any spot and I did not go over any area more than ONCE. (I think the maximum is TWICE but I did not want to risk anything on first attempt). The whole routine took a couple of minutes which I am pleased about because it means it is a routine I can stick to. I went back to cleanse my face to get rid of any dead skin, then I toned with Glycerin and Rose water toner (from Boots) and moisturised with the La Roche Posay Toleriane Soothing Care.

What I noticed (first impressions)
First off, I was delighted that my initial/training experience went well and I feel like I have mastered the technique (*touch wood*). I honestly did not expect much from the training disc (white disc) but I was pleasantly surprised at how soft my skin felt. I did not experience any pain, redness, swelling and I was pleased about this because I did it on a Sunday and didn’t want to look crazy at work on Monday.  The thing with using the PMD is you have to pay attention to the skincare products you use afterwards(especially for a skincare addict like me who uses AHAs and BHAs). One thing to keep in mind is that you should avoid any skincare products containing AHAs, BHAs, Retinol, etc (any chemical exfoliant) 48 hours before and 48 hours after using the PMD. You also should leave a minimum of 6-7 days between use when treating your skin with the PMD. I am considering using the PMD on Sunday, skip AHAs/BHAs on Monday and Tuesday, restart AHAs/BHAs for Wednesday and Thursday and skip them for Friday and Saturday in preparation of treatment for Sunday. Yes, that looks like too much of a hassle and if it is, I will just skip using AHA/BHAs altogether. My plan B is to use the PMD every Sunday evening and use my La Roche Posay 3-Step System* throughout my PMD trial time.


Overall Thoughts //Link //£135
I am quite excited about this skincare journey and I have very high hopes about the PMD. I will stick to my routine as I always do and document my journey as much as I can. Thankfully, the PMD is now available to purchase in the UK  from the UK PMD website (they currently have a 25% code FRENSNFAM).  If you live outside the UK, you can purchase from the regular PMD website.  I do hope you enjoyed this review and apologies for the long length. I just love to write on this little space of mine (which I sadly don't have as much time to tend as I used to in the past). That's it from me today. Have you tried the PMD?
*PR Sample + Affiliate link used, read my full disclaimer here.