Although microdermabrasion is a thoroughly modern form of treatment, having been created in its present-day form in Italy just under a quarter of a century ago, the principles of using abrasion to treat the skin are by no means new. As time has gone on, we have refined the way that the treatment is performed in a way that means it is gentler to the person being treated, less drastic and more efficient. That said, it was around 3,500 years ago that the first form of microdermabrasion was performed by the ancient Egyptians.

What the Egyptians did was somewhat different from what we see done and have done to ourselves today. Back then, their idea of dermabrasion was to rub the facial skin with a kind of sandpaper that certainly removed the top layer of skin, but did more besides. What was the height of aesthetic science in those days would horrify many today, and would be more of an injury than a treatment.

One historical figure who used a form of microdermabrasion was Queen Elizabeth who ruled England from 1558 to 1603. In order to retain her youthful beauty she would coat her face with a cream treated with the chemical Borax. This same chemical is now used in industrial cleaning as a form of bleach, and its major effect on Elizabeth was to cause her skin to become excessively pale and brittle. As she aged, the effects on her skin were all the more apparent and no-one would so much as consider using Borax in such a way today. We did not know then all that we know now, however.

As we entered the 20th century, a closer relative to the form of microdermabrasion that we know today developed in Germany and this form used rotating wheels controlled by hand. However, due to the somewhat cumbersome nature of the treatment it was of limited use – as was the treatment carried out in Italy half a century later using wire brushes. This form of dermabrasion used wire brushes and necessitated anaesthetic because it was so painful. In 1985 Italian scientists developed the first microdermabrasion machines, but that is in itself only a part of the story – they have been, and continue to be refined since then.