Microneedling: a procedure that involves pricking the skin with tiny sterilized needles to produce more collagen and elastin for younger looking skin. Also known as: collagen induction therapy.
Today, let’s take a deep dive into this procedure and why it’s absolutely so important for your skin. We know it’s become a buzzword in skincare but not everyone truly knows what it involves. Our owner, Shannon has had this service several times and says, “I absolutely love what it’s done for my skin,” and the best news is, you can too!
Have you ever suffered from large pores or simply want to prevent aging? We get it! We need you to know that large pores aren’t unhealthy and most people probably don’t even notice, but you do. With aging, we all want to help correct fine lines that start forming around our eyes or forehead. Microneedling helps tremendously with both of these, as well as a slew of other things like acne scarring.
Let’s talk about how this helps with acne scarring or stretch marks/surgical scars as we have a lot of patients who utilize this as a corrective treatment. So many of our patients have felt like there aren’t a ton of options to heal this, and we’re so happy to see them come back with fantastic results from Microneedling. Again, when we turn over those cells and reveal a brighter and lighter area, you’ll see a world of difference with your scarring. Trust us!
Microneedling is also a form of exfoliating; we’re essentially causing a controlled injury healing response to our skin cells and in doing so, we help our skin cells turn over naturally. This process shuts down old or dead skin cells and gets rid of the clogged congestion that perhaps didn’t shed like they should have. While it’s true we can’t actually shrink pores, we can definitely alter their appearance by unclogging them and forcing them to stand down.
Our clients really love the fact that it helps with dark under eye circles as well (buh-bye raccoon eyes); this process helps lighten and brighten that skin tissue and you’ll notice a huge difference. Not only does it help tremendously with your under eyes, but also helps with sun damage too; again, we’re turning over those dead skin cells and ridding it of old, damaged skin tissue which is where the pigment lies.
So how does it work? After coming into our office, we will cleanse your skin and prep it for the treatment. We will apply a numbing cream that numbs your skin and makes this much more comfortable. The procedure involves tiny mico-needles, so it’s nothing at all to be scared of; it’s not the same as getting a shot like many people assume. Once we get going, we’ll walk you through the process and explain how these tiny micro-tears are creating little channels in the skin’s tissue and stimulating collagen production in your body as well as elasticity. We’re helping your skin’s tissue rebuild, reform and remodel itself to rid it of damage.
It’s a remarkable treatment and we can’t’ speak about it highly enough; it’s very comfortable when you use the topical numbing creams as well, so please don’t be afraid of it. It’s also done quickly as you can have your entire face microneedled in about 10-15 minutes. We can also treat your neck, decolletage, the back of your hands, abdomen, breast tissue, inner and outer thighs, you name it!
How do you help your body recover post care? You’re going to leave our office a little red, depending on the depth of the treatment. If you’re somebody who tends to flare up and get red easily after a workout, you can expect that with Microneedling as well. Expect to stay red for 24-48 hours post-treatment. As the night progresses, your skin will feel a bit warm and you might feel or see a little edema (swelling) in your skin, especially underneath the eyes and in the upper cheek bone; those are usually the areas with fat pads that will hold a bit more water retention. We will always recommend sleeping with a second pillow at night so you can avoid swelling, we like to see your body propped up a bit. We’ll always recommend cooling packs or a fan to keep your skin cool and we’ll be sure to send you home with post-care goodies including a skin-pen which is super safe and FDA cleared. It’s also effective and we will provide two different kinds; one that you use during and after the treatment that day and within 24 hours, and then another that helps with the healing process of the skin tissue for the best results. They are both complimentary with your treatment for you to take home (you’ll use those for about 3 days up to a week).
After a couple of days, you’ll either be light pink or the color will have faded completely and after 24 hours you can go back to wearing makeup – we will always recommend that you avoid excessive heat the day of the treatment and typically that following morning as well (not hot yoga, laying in the sun, hot tubbing, adventuring through Egypt in the broad daylight, you get the gist). We will tell you until we’re blue in the face, please wear your sunscreen every single day to prevent any further damage as your skin will be a bit more sensitive since we’ve created those micro-channels. It’s a fairly simple treatment that goes quickly!
Want to take it a step further and get some nice flaking? Add in one of our booster options that can advance the treatment and make it a little more intense!
Let’s touch on our PRP or platelet rich plasma which is completed with a different method of spin down. When you come in, we’ll take a small sample of your blood, collect it in a tube and put it in our centrifuge; this is a super safe and sanitary machine that spins down your blood and separates the plasma. We’ll then extract the platelet rich plasma. Why? Rich plasma has the highest concentration/most benefit with growth factors to stimulate and reproduce skin. It helps amp up collage production, rebuilds and remodels skin tissue, helps with scarring and anti-aging, and stretch marks too! The results are incredible, you can honestly almost instantly see the results; you can see the skin taking it in and your skin will have a glow from the treatment afterwards. Of course, it will take several weeks to truly have your skin rebuild and remodel itself but the before/afters are incredible. We like to call this “Microneedling on Steroids” (you’re welcome for that very professional, doctor-esque term). Every single person that breaths can benefit from PRP.
We are accepting clients for this treatment always, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns as we love sitting down and explaining our treatment options for you.