MY INVENTION LAST NIGHT was already taken

Last night I apparently invented something that was already (just in the past couple years) invented! Have you ever had that experience?

I happened to be vacuuming the house using one of those vacuums with a hose and an attachment piece. I had a sudden epiphany, what if I could use my own, home vacuum as a microdermabrasion machine? As someone who has worked in the aesthetics industry for several years—at both spas and at a dermatology clinic—I know how important suction is in the field of skincare. I also know how expensive these machines cost! These machines cost a minimum of $5,000- $10,000 a piece! In addition to working at the hospital, I have been tinkering with the idea of starting my own Home Spa business sometime after the baby is born. Equipment would be my big business expense and so this was currently on my mind.

I have worked with several pricey skincare machines that utilize different degrees of skin suctioning. These machines are effective in pore cleansing, improving skin texture, reducing acne scars and they also have anti-aging benefits like stimulating fibroblastic activity in the dermis which helps with collagen regeneration. A few of these machines include: the hydrafacial machine, the microdermabrasion machine and the Isolaz Laser machine. Another field where suctioning is used is in nursing; nurses use wound vacs to help expedite the healing of wounds. 

As I thought about all the possibilities I decided that I wanted to use my vacuum as microdermabrasion machine. I thought about designing a prototype attachment to apply to the tip of the hose that could then be used on the skin. All I would need would be a plastic attachment and then the diamond-head microdermabrasion tip that could be applied to the attachment. I found a funnel in my kitchen that would temporarily serve as my first rough “prototype attachment” to the vacuum cleaner hose. I applied it to the vacuum hose—it fit perfectly! Next, I turned the vacuum on medium-low and then tested it out on my skin. The degree of suctioning was perfect! In fact, it worked EXACTLY, if not BETTER than the expensive microdermabrasion machines that I had been using at the spa all along!

I was ecstatic! I told my husband about my idea and he looked at me kind of funny. I didn’t care, for some reason I knew I had a good idea. But then, my exuberance faded dramatically as I searched the internet and saw that SOMEONE ELSE HAD ALREADY INVENTED EXACTLY WHAT I HAD JUST INVENTED IN MY HEAD!!!!  GRRR

Here it is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/UltraRadiance-SkinVacMD-Premium-Microdermabrasion-Conversion/dp/B0083K4WTE

Here is a youtube video that basically shows exactly the model that I had envisioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZyoEPhkB98

 Yeah, I know. This kind of thing has happened to us all before. We're just a bit too late. This is just a reminder that your idea might not be as dumb as you (or others) think it is—especially when you see that someone else has a pending patent on it and is starting to sell it on Amazon.