How Microneedling Makes Your Skin Look Young
Microneedling is a simple procedure that gives you younger, healthier looking skin. It goes beyond the surface level of your skin to provide deep, lasting results that improve with time. It is proven to turn back the clock. Microneedling is an inexpensive, effective way to improve the overall look, feel, and health of your skin.
So what exactly is micro needling? It’s different from the other, more intensive facials. They are all effective, and each has its own list of great benefits.
Fractional Laser – A Similar Option
A fractional laser helps smooth surface wrinkles, making skin look healthy and refreshed. Dermabrasion helps polish off dead skin cells. This is great to do a week after a fractional, to pull smooth peeling skin. Or any time you need fresh boost to your complexion. Microdermabrasion helps generate skin cell turnover, giving skin a nice glow.
Microneedling Benefits
Microneedling itself offers a number of benefits, and like other facials, it is uncomfortable, but not painful. The benefits far outweigh the scary thought of having needles in your face.
Basically, microneedling smooths minor imperfections giving your outer skin of skin an overall smoother texture. It also reduces pore size, disintegrates blackheads and helps acne scars disappear. But what is even more exciting is that at a deeper level, microneedling helps generate collagen, which we all lose progressively as we age. This new collagen can help thicken and plump up your skin, and literally turn back the clock.
Microneedling Gives You Younger, Healthier Skin
Here is the science behind wrinkles, and why microneedling is so effective in giving you younger, healthier skin.
As you age, the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin decrease. This starts happening as early as your 20s. Less collagen and elastin fibers means your skin can no longer just spring back. Wrinkles form because your skin has less supporting structure in the dermis layer, and cannot stretch and contract back to its normal shape like it used to.
A lack of collagen is also largely responsible for scars. Microneedling helps regenerate collagen, which is proven to reduce wrinkles and dramatically help improve the appearance of scars.
Essentially, microneedling reduces wrinkles and scars by inflicting controlled damage to the dermis. This causes your skin to rush to heal itself with a release of growth factor fibroblasts, which leads to deposition of collagen, elastins, proteoglycans, and GAGs (Glycosaminoglycans). This essentially remodels and tightens your skin. The whole process can take a few weeks, so your results continue to improve over time.
How Deep Are Microneedling Needles Inserted?
The process of microneedling involves inserting tiny needles into your skin to create micro-injuries. In response, platelet cells release growth factors to help repair your skin. This healing response triggers your body to produce collagen.
Different lengths of needles are used to achieve different results. Shorter needles provide faster, but briefer results, and longer needles provide collagen-stimulating results that can last for months or even years. A combination of needle lengths is often a great strategy for improving the deeper and surface appearance of your skin for both the short and long term.
How Is The Microneedling Process Performed?
Most microneedling “derma rollers” have approximately 540 needles that are made of titanium or steel. They are rolled over your face in three different directions, to help ensure as full coverage as possible. The directions are typically up and down, side to side, and diagonal. Pushing or pressing hard is not needed or recommended. This is all done in a completely sterile environment, and sometimes with numbing agents.
Some extremely effective hand-held electric or battery operated microneedling devices are also available, like the dermapen called Dr. Pen.
These handheld devices have a smaller surface area than the derma rollers, yet allow you to apply a consistent depth of vertical needle placement across your face, neck and décolletage. They are often used by professional skin care practitioners, but you can also use them at home, and the results rival having the procedure done professionally.
How Long Are Microneedling Needles?
Different lengths are used to reach the various depths of your skin , and produce different desired results.
The needles are tiny in circumference, and the length typically ranges from 0.25mm up to 2mm. The most common size is 0.25mm and 0.5mm. These lengths provide nice results with minimal discomfort or downtime. And unlike a deep peel or full C02 laser treatment, microneedling only damages a small amount of your skin, and does not remove the entire outer layer. This reduces the risk of infection and shortens your recovery time.
The Benefits Shorter Microneedles Provide
The shallow needle depth of .25mm is used to open micro channels in your skin, allowing serums to absorb quickly into your skin and even directly into your blood stream. After running the microneedling device over your skin, the application of a nutrient-rich skin product follows. A serum with Vitamin C, or Hyaluronic Acid, or a combination of those and other nutrients is then applied. Your “open” skin will literally drink up the nutrients. A vitamin-rich lotion may then follow, to keep your skin protected and hydrated.
A 0.25mm needle depth will give your outer skin, or epidermis, a smoother complexion, smaller pores, and a nice glow. This short needle typically only causes minor discomfort, and makes you look slightly sunburned. The redness usually disappears within a few hours or by the next day.
A longer needle of 0.5mm or 0.75mm provides more intensive results. At this depth, your deeper skin, or dermis, is reached, triggering collagen stimulation and formation. For this reason, microneedling is also known and referred to as as a “collagen induction” procedure.
Side Effects of Shorter Microneedles
This longer needle length can cause slight discomfort, especially in the areas where skin is very thin, like your forehead. The discomfort can be reduced if you apply a numbing agent, such as licocaine, half an hour ahead of time. This numbs your skin, and typically keeps your face pain-free for 45 minutes or longer, which is plenty of time to complete the procedure.
After having micro needling done at a depth of 0.5mm or 0.75mm, your face will look a bit redder, and in some cases, there may be areas of minor bleeding. This is OK and it will resolve quickly. In fact, an injury response is triggered when blood vessels are pricked, and the serum is absorbed faster, so it may even give you better results. With this depth, you will still have minimal downtime. You can typically go to work the next day or two, and look slightly sunburned.
The Benefits of Longer Microneedles Provide
Depths of 1.0mm or higher are typically used to treat scars caused by injury, surgery or acne. This depth can be used on your face or other parts of your body, and it’s extremely effective for smoothing out problem skin areas.
Depths of 0.1mm and longer are typically best handled by a professional. You may not want to try this depth at home. A numbing agent is recommended, though the tougher areas like your arms or legs are typically not as sensitive as your face, so less numbing may be needed.
The downtime for deeper microneedling is typically longer than just overnight or a day. There may be subtle swelling and it may take a few days for the redness to go away. This can all be minimized with great skin care in the early stages, and then with a bit of mineral makeup.
Microneedling Is Proven To Stimulate Hair Growth
Microneedling is great for your skin. It can also be used to effectively reduce stretch marks and cellulite. And more recently, microneedling has been shown to successfully minimize hair loss, and encourage hair growth.
How Often Should You Microneedle?
Micro needling once will give you results. But a series of micro needling sessions will yield even better results. Since collagen takes a few weeks to rebuild, it is recommended to do a few sessions of microneedling spaced every six weeks or so, to strengthen and improve your skin. After a series of sessions, periodic maintenance is recommended.
Microneedling can be done by a medical practitioner, or you can do it in the privacy of your own home. A medical practitioner might make you feel much more at ease, and they will be able to administer medical grade numbing agents. They can also address your skin more thoroughly and at better angles. This may allow you to have a deeper and more uniform procedure than you may be able to do yourself.
Microneedling Can Be Done At Home Or By A Professional
But micro needling is something that DIY beauty aficionados can do successfully themselves, even if just at the lighter levels. Microneedling tools like the derma roller are available for purchase in retail stores and online. This includes manual rollers in titanium or steel, and at depths of 0.25mm, 0.5mm, and longer.
Numbing agents are also available for purchase online, which typically include up to 5% lidocaine. This amount can numb your skin well enough to do the procedure in complete comfort. Some great follow-up skin products are available as well, including vitamin packed serums that can be followed with soothing and nourishing vitamin lotions and creams.
A great (occasional) Friday evening stay-home beauty routine is doing micro needling, serum, lotion, and a good book. And then, staying close to home Saturday morning while your skin looks slightly sunburned. On Monday morning, you’ll have a new freshness that you’ll love, and many people will notice!
