What Can Microneedling Do for Me?
If you are looking for a minimally-invasive skin rejuvenation treatment for problems like signs of aging or sun damage, look no further. Microneedling is a simple treatment that helps to improve the appearance of scars, wrinkles, sunspots, and much more. The procedure offers a pleasant and natural result with no need for extensive downtime.
What the Treatment Involves
Microneedling is a skin treatment involving the controlled delivery of microscopic channels to surface layers of skin. This boosts your collagen levels to help minimize skin imperfections.
Collagen and Skin Aging
What’s the big deal about collagen anyway? There are 27 different types of collagen, classified by their function, size, and amino acid profile. The type that is most important for skin tissue is Type I collagen. Collagen is one of the main building blocks of your skin and an extremely abundant protein. It is also an important ingredient of connective tissue found in your tendons, ligaments, and joints. When it comes to skin, collagen is the main protein that keeps your skin firm and smooth and helps seal in moisture.
You lose about one percent of your collagen annually after you reach your thirties. The visible part of aging happens when your skin’s connective tissue and moisture content become degraded. The weakening of your collagen matrix leads to the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and a decline in the health of your skin.
There are quite a few factors that can prematurely age your skin and affect your collagen levels. Besides caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, and trans-fatty acids, sugar is an under-recognized destroyer of collagen. Depending on your situation, your diet may be loaded with refined sugars and carbohydrates that spike your blood sugar levels and form Advanced Glycation End (AGE) products. You begin to form skin blemishes and sunspots when sugars react with proteins to alter the natural chemical structure of your skin, leading to oxidative stress and inflammation that breaks down collagen even further, leading to the premature development of wrinkles.
What Microneedling Treats
A treatment session can help to improve a wide range of skin conditions, including fine lines and wrinkles, acne scars, uneven skin tone, sun spots, and more.
Scars are one of the main reasons that many people seek out the care of a skin care professional. These are abnormal tissues that develop as the result of rapid healing due to some form of injury. In addition to traumatic injury, scars can be caused by acne or surgery.
If you are suffering from disfiguring scars, you should consider a microneedling treatment. A recent study examined the effects of multiple treatment sessions on 37 patients who had severe facial scars. At the conclusion of the study, the patients’ scars were examined and evaluated according to a clinical scale. Of the 37 patients, 34 obtained a one or two grade decrease in the severity of their scars. Over 80% of the study participants rated their treatment as “excellent” and did not suffer from any adverse effects.
How It Works
This treatment involves the delivery of safe, controlled microscopic injuries to the surface layers of your skin to stimulate the formation of new collagen. In the weeks and months after your treatment, your skin will be remodeled gradually and naturally. The soft and natural results offered by microneedling are one of the many aspects that make the treatment so popular with many of our patients.
Another way that microneedling treatments work is through their effect on what is known as the stratum corneum skin layer. As your skin cells mature and rise to the surface layers of your skin, they eventually die and are supposed to slough off, but it doesn’t always work out that way. In some cases, dead skin cells can accumulate on the surface of your skin, along with oils and cellular debris. This presents a barrier effect for your skin that is not altogether bad. For example, it can keep harmful chemicals from penetrating your skin. Where it becomes a problem is when this barrier prevents helpful topical skin care products from being absorbed by your skin. Microneedling helps topical absorption by allowing these products to bypass the outer layer of your skin, rendering them many times more effective than they would be on their own.
What to Expect
Your treatment begins with a cleansing of the treatment area. After that, we can numb your skin with a topical anesthetic. When your skin is completely numb, we begin moving a device over your skin repeatedly. This device is covered in fine needles to puncture the skin to a superficial degree. Although these tiny punctures are virtually invisible to the naked eye, they are able to stimulate your body into producing new collagen in the treatment area.
This treatment has developed a well-earned reputation for delivering results that come about gradually and naturally. The treatment does not involve the injection of exotic substances or implantation of strange materials. Instead, we are triggering the natural restorative abilities of your body to “trick” it into producing new collagen and skin tissue.
An entire session typically takes under an hour to complete. Most patients tolerate the procedure extremely well following the application of a topical anesthetic. It is normal to experience some temporary redness after your treatment. This indicates that the process is working, and such redness should fade just hours after your treatment.
Good Candidates
Almost anyone is eligible for this skin treatment. However, if you are suffering from an active breakout or skin infection, this condition will need to be resolved prior to undergoing a treatment session. Ultimately, your candidacy for the treatment can be determined during a consultation at our office.
Combination Treatments
In addition to making an effective skin rejuvenation treatment on its own, microneedling works quite well with other treatments like topicals. Quite a few topical skin care products are unable to fully penetrate the skin due to a buildup of dead skin cells and cellular debris. This treatment creates thousands of microscopic punctures that serve as channels, allowing topicals to bypass this layer and penetrate more deeply.
A microneedling session can also be combined with an application of something called PRP. This technology was developed over the last few decades and popularized by celebrities and professional athletes who needed effective techniques for minimizing the effects of aging or speeding healing.
The procedure begins when we withdraw a certain amount of blood from the patient to create a special blood product called PRP. After withdrawing the blood, we place it in a centrifuge to be spun around until blood platelets are concentrated. These platelets are rich in certain growth factors that can dramatically speed up the healing process or regenerate skin affected by sun damage, the aging process, scars, or other conditions.
Microneedling and PRP can work together to boost the effects of skin rejuvenation treatments. We can apply the PRP product to the treatment area and conduct a microneedling procedure. This allows the PRP product to enjoy enhanced skin penetration by taking advantage of the thousands of microscopic channels created by the process.
Another way that a combination approach can help is by taking advantage of two treatments in one treatment session. You can enjoy the benefits of two approaches during one in-office treatment. This is ideal with men and women with busy schedules and lifestyles.
Microneedling with PRP has helped many people suffering from skin issues, no matter what the cause. It appears to work for both men and women, and the results look natural because the treatment takes advantage of a substance that comes from your own blood (PRP). Also, the results come about gradually, which helps them to look even more natural.
Multiple Treatments
Many patients benefit from undergoing multiple microneedling treatment sessions. Unless your skin problems are extremely minor and superficial, your skin should continue to gradually improve with multiple treatment sessions. Each successive session builds upon the results of previous ones. This creates a very subtle, gradual improvement that appears very natural and plausible to observers, in contrast to some other types of cosmetic procedures that some feel create results that are too drastic or unnatural.
How many treatments will you need? There is divided opinion on how many treatments work best, and every patient is different, but many professionals recommend a series of treatment sessions that are spaced a set amount of time apart. After this initial set of treatments, you may benefit from an additional maintenance treatment as needed for ongoing benefits. Treatments are designed to be quick and convenient, so follow-up treatments are usually very simple.
After Your Treatment
You should not expect any significant downtime after your treatment, but there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Your skin may be somewhat sensitive for a day or two after your treatment. You’ll want to keep it properly hydrated and use safe skin care products. This is not the time to begin experimenting with new topicals. Stick with what you know, follow our team’s instructions, and avoid harsh or abrasive skin care products until you have fully recovered.
It is also a good idea to avoid any activity that could excessively heat your skin. Avoid hot showers, saunas, or the gym for a couple of days. Do not expose your skin to prolonged sun exposure for a set amount of time after your treatment.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
If you are ready to take your skin to the next level with a microneedling treatment, or if you simply want to receive more information, book your consultation at aNu Aesthetics™ in Kansas City. Contact our office today to schedule an appointment and get started!
