Often referred to as collagen induction therapy, microneedling is a popular cosmetic procedure that’s capable of producing a vast range of aesthetic improvements. People use these treatments to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, rejuvenate the skin, and replenish their natural collagen stores. However, it’s also an effective procedure for minimizing the appearance of deep and pitted acne scars, enlarged pores, dark spots, and countless other blemishes. The versatility of microneedling is only matched by its effectiveness. Best of all, it’s only minimally invasive.
If you’re on deck for a microneedling treatment, you’re likely wondering what to expect, how to get ready, and how long your results will last. These procedures can be streamlined to suit the needs of the individual by altering the number of micro-punctures that are created in a single visit, choosing the right topical applications, and establishing the necessary number of in-office treatments. However, the duration of results varies from person to person according to the issues being corrected. People who use microneedling as an anti-aging treatment can expect their new and revitalized collagen stores to last approximately three to five months. Comparatively, microneedling procedures that are undergone for acne scars and skin discoloration are capable of producing permanent results.
How Microneedling Results Stack Up to Other Cosmetic Procedures
With results that last approximately three to five months, microneedling is comparable to other non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures in its ability to minimize the appearance fine line and wrinkles. This is especially true in the case of cosmetic injectables. However, the return to your former, pre-treatment condition with microneedling is infinitely more subtle than it is with either injectable neurotoxins or dermal fillers. This is due to the dramatic differences between how microneedling and cosmetic injectables work.
Microneedling remodels your existing collagen stores. It also incites your body to add new collagen to them. If you have peri-oral wrinkles or creases that radiate outward from your lips, crow’s feet, or frown lines, these are known as dynamic wrinkles. They’re entirely movement-related. This is why when your facial muscles are relaxed, these creases cannot be seen. The development of dynamic wrinkles is an indication that your skin’s supporting collagen layer has cracked. When you smile, frown, or purse your lips, the muscles that control these movements cause the cracks in your collagen to manifest at the surface of your skin. Microneedling heals these cracks through collagen remodeling. It also adds noticeable volume to skin that has become loose and sagging due to age-related volume loss. All of these things are naturally accomplished by inciting the body’s own healing abilities.
Injectable neurotoxins only temporarily relax the expressive facial muscles that reveal dynamic wrinkles. They do not treat them at their source. As soon as injectable neurotoxins wear off, visible wrinkling immediately returns full-force. Dermal fillers fill fine lines and creases in but neglects the cracked collagen that lies beneath them. Moreover, the best of these products is made from hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is an acid that’s naturally occurring in humans. As such, it doesn’t take long for the body to recognize HA-based fillers and break them down. As with injectable neurotoxins, when dermal fillers are removed from the body or stop working, dynamic creases immediately reappear.
With microneedling, your remodeled collagen will remain remodeled. Your new collagen stores will continue to endure. However, once three to five months have passed, the normal, age-related breakdown of collagen will resume, and you’ll have to schedule a new microneedling treatment. In short, microneedling turns back the hands of time, but it doesn’t stop time in its tracks.
For issues that microneedling is capable of permanently improving, it’s only necessary to take good care of your skin. If you use microneedling to get rid of sun spots and other visible signs of sun damage, make sure to wear sunscreen when you go out so that no new sun spots appear. With pitted acne scars, the improvements that you gain from microneedling will last a lifetime. However, if new breakouts occur, scheduling additional microneedling treatments could be necessary for preventing the formation of new scars.
During microneedling procedures, a small, hand-held wand is passed over the treatment area. This wand is affixed with several rows of tiny needles that make micro-wounds in the skin. Topical applications of vitamin C and other skin-supporting nutrients enter these wounds to penetrate the skin down to its deepest layer. Together, the controlled skin damage that these treatments cause and the nutrients they supply, allows the body to rebuild, remodel, and revitalize its protective covering. If you want to know more about microneedling procedures, call us today at 205-352-9141 to schedule a consultation appointment.
