Everyone encounters both acne and wrinkles at some point in their life. While both are completely natural, they can still be bothersome and cause self-esteem trouble in some people.
If you’re dealing with mild to moderate wrinkles or acne scarring, microneedling is an excellent treatment option that can help.
What Is Microneedling?
Microneedling is a type of procedure that helps encourage your body to produce new collagen.
The microneedling procedure involves running a special tool across the surface of the skin. This tool is made up of several sterilized microneedles that make small wounds in your skin. These wounds help your body generate collagen and new tissue.
By stimulating collagen production, microneedling is an excellent treatment option for patients who are seeking both wrinkle treatment and acne treatment.
Microneedling and Collagen Induction Therapy
Collagen is a protein everyone has. It accounts for around 30% of your body’s total proteins and is a key player in a lot of health and wellness functions, including:
- Serving as one of the main elements in your bones, skin, muscles, hair, tendons, and ligaments
- Helping with the wound healing process
- Keeping your skin stretchy and elastic
- Keeping your joints healthy
Everyone has collagen, and you never run out of it. However, you don’t always maintain the same levels throughout your life.
Once you hit your early 30s, your collagen levels gradually start to decline. This is why many see 30 as the age notorious for noticing wrinkles and other signs of aging.
That is where microneedling comes in. By creating little pricks and wounds in your skin, microneedling directly activates fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are cells in your skin that produce collagen. They produce collagen in response to damage in order to help your body heal.
Fibroblasts recognize the wounds from microneedling as damage and generate new collagen, which helps produce new tissue.
How Microneedling Works as a Wrinkle Treatment
The production of new collagen and tissue is what makes microneedling a wrinkle treatment. New collagen helps fill in and plump up your skin, which diminishes the signs of wrinkles.
Microneedling can help treat wrinkles across your face, including your forehead, frown lines, and wrinkles around your jaw.
Can Microneedling Tighten Skin?
The answer is a resounding yes. Microneedling can indeed help tighten your skin. The explanation goes back to the discussion about collagen production and collagen induction therapy.
A lack of collagen weakens your skin’s structure and causes it to become saggy. Your skin can get visibly tighter by increasing your body’s collagen output.
How Microneedling Works as an Acne Treatment
When you get acne, pores in your skin become inflamed and infected. In severe cases, acne damages the surrounding tissues, which results in tissue loss and scarring. The same collagen production and tissue regeneration concepts apply to microneedling as an acne treatment.
As your body tries to heal itself, it often produces new skin over the tough scars. Severe acne can result in uneven skin texture from tissue loss and rough healing.
Microneedling helps by breaking up the tough tissues to generate new tissue. By creating controlled, intentional punctures, microneedling can help resurface the skin to regenerate smoother than before.
The production of new collagen and tissue can also help fill in the areas where you’ve experienced tissue loss due to acne.
Microneedling Results
Microneedling doesn’t produce immediate results because your body cannot instantly regenerate or produce new collagen. It takes time.
Most patients are satisfied with their results after about four to eight sessions. Usually, you’ll begin noticing results and skin improvements within a week. You can expect to see dramatic results with their full potential over the next month.
How Long Do Microneedling Results Last?
Microneedling results vary depending on a few factors:
- Your body
- The state of your skin before treatment
- Your lifestyle
Everyone’s genetics and skin are different, which means your body’s collagen and tissue production are going to vary. In general, you can expect your results to last anywhere from three to five months.
Usually, patients will schedule follow-up treatments on a biannual basis to maintain their results.
You’ll want to maintain a lifestyle that benefits your skin in between sessions. Practicing a healthy diet and exercise routine as well as an at-home skin routine can help your skin stay healthy and strong.
What to Expect at a Microneedling Session
At your microneedling session, your provider will cleanse your face to help maintain your skin health. Next, they’ll apply a topical numbing cream to help enhance your comfort.
The treatment itself lasts anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your treatment area. Your skin may feel slightly sensitive after your microneedling session, which is why your provider will offer a soothing serum and a hydrating facial product.
Microneedling Recovery
There’s no downtime after microneedling. You can immediately resume your routine, although there are some things you’ll want to avoid.
Avoid harsh cleansers or facial products immediately following your microneedling session. You’ll also want to avoid hard exercise for a few days after and avoid products that contain retinol.
Keep away from direct sun exposure to prevent skin irritation for the days following your appointment. Your BevelUp provider will give you an after-care treatment plan, and it’s best to follow it as closely as possible for the best results.
Microneedling in Tampa, Florida
If you are interested in microneedling, the cosmetic experts at BevelUp in Tampa, Florida, can help answer all of your questions and get you started on your microneedling journey! Reach out today for a consultation.