MICRONEEDLING

WHAT IS MICRONEEDLING?

Microneedling is a cosmetic procedure. It involves pricking the skin with tiny sterilized needles. The small wounds cause your body to make more collagen and elastin, which heal your skin and help you look younger. You might also hear it called collagen induction therapy.

MICRONEEDLING BENEFITS

Microneedling may help with issues like:

Acne

Hair loss (also called alopecia)

Dark spots or patches on your skin (hyperpigmentation)

Large pores

Reduced skin elasticity

Scars

Stretch marks

Sun damage

Fine lines and wrinkles

Microneedling is less expensive than laser treatments, which can cost about four times as much. Microneedling may work better for people with darker skin tones because it doesn’t involve heat the way laser treatments do, which can affect your skin’s pigmentation, or color. Ask your dermatologist what’s best for your skin -- and your budget.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET MICRONEEDLING?

The procedure usually takes 10-20 minutes, depending on how big the area is. Most people need 4-6 treatments to see a difference.

First, you’ll get a numbing cream smoothed onto your face so you can’t feel the needle pricks. Then the person doing the microneedling will move a pen-shaped or rolling tool with tiny needles around your face. The needles make small cuts in your skin, which causes a bit of bleeding. Your doctor may spread a cream or serum on your face after that.

The goal of the procedure is to start your body’s healing process by sending collagen and elastin to patch up the tiny injuries. Collagen helps fill in and smooth out wrinkles.

MICRONEEDLING HEALING & RISKS

Some things to think about before deciding to try it:

It’s not a quick fix. It takes time to notice a difference. That’s because your body is healing itself. Most people need a few treatments before they see any change.

Healing time. It may take days or weeks to heal, depending on how deep the needles pierce your skin.

Pain and redness. You may have some minor pain after the procedure, and your skin may be red for a few days.

Peeling. Your skin may feel tight and flake a bit while it heals.

Bruising and bleeding. There’s usually no bleeding during microneedling. But deep microneedling treatments may cause the skin to bleed or bruise.

POSSIBLE SCARRING

Microneedling isn’t a good idea for people who’ve had keloids, scars that look like large bubbles on the skin. It could make the condition worse.

Infection. Microneedling creates tiny holes in the skin, which could let germs enter, especially if the equipment isn’t cleaned well. But the risk of infection is very low. If you’re healthy, an infection from microneedling is unlikely.