Micro Needling

Microneedling is ideal for non-surgical and non-ablative treatment of various skin conditions such as aging (wrinkles, stretching), scarring (acne, surgical), and hyperpigmentation.

ABSOLUTE ABSORBENCY

Microneedling technology uses very fine, sterile needles to puncture the skin to cause micro-injury to the skin to stimulate collagen/elastin production. Resulting micro-channels also aid in infusing therapeutic serums for greater penetration and increasing overall efficacy. Clinical studies from Europe, U.S., and South Korea have shown that serum absorption is dramatically increased when applied with microneedling. Clinical studies have also shown that treatment with microneedling is more consistent in increasing the thickness of the skin than IPL and other resurfacing treatments.

FAST RECUPERATIVE POWER

The gentle stimulus provided by microneedling is far more “skin friendly” and thus far more effective than many other more invasive and more expensive skin treatments. It leaves the entire epidermal barrier fully intact; micro-channels created will seal within hours of application. New collagen-structures will form within the lower layers of the skin. The patient may resume their normal schedule, quickly. Microneedling helps to eliminate common negative side effects and risks associated with chemical peeling, dermabrasion, and laser-resurfacing. The skin is left thicker and more readily available for additional treatments.

SKIN FRIENDLY 

Ablative treatments like dermabrasion, chemical peels and laser resurfacing to do one thing: remove the protective epidermis to force the body to produce a new tissue layer. However, once the epidermis is removed, the lower levels of the skin are completely exposed and vulnerable to environmental contamination from dirt, dust, and bacteria. Certain risks must be accepted with these procedures: pain, long-term discomfort, long prevailing inflammation and redness, long healing period, extreme light-sensitivity for a month or more, possible irreversible pigment changes, and even additional scarring is a possiblilty.

Ablative treatments have their limits. Due to different skin structures, on the neck for instance, laser resurfacing may not be possible. Moreover, because these treatments leave the skin thinner, in some cases these procedures may actually age the skin. Microneedling is far more ‘skin friendly’ by doing much less damage and thereby encouraging faster, longer-lasting positive effects. Since the skin can recuperate faster after a microneedling treatment – often hours after treatment – the patient may see noticeable results, sooner!

LESS INVASIVE, LESS EXPENSIVE, MORE EFFECTIVE

With so many choices, how do you choose from one non-surgical skin treatment over the other? How do you know which is best for you? Here’s an easy comparison of three non-surgical, minimally invasive techniques taking into consideration known side effects, downtime, expected results, and cost.

WHAT HAPPENS?

All treatments have a common goal: injure the skin just enough to begin natural healing processes. Ablative treatments like chemical peels, dermabrasion, and laser skin resurfacing accomplish this task by removing the entire top layer of skin. Microdermabrasion is also ablative, but it is superficial and cannot treat for deeper imperfections. New technologies like radio frequency and IPL are non-ablative (they do not remove the top layer) and have demonstrated effectiveness, but the equipment is very expensive thus treatments can be costly to the patient. Microneedling is unique because it produces similar results without expensive equipment and without removing skin layers; treatments are comparatively inexpensive and pose minimal risks.

RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS

There are ample stories about inadequate care by professionals when performing dermabrasion, chemical peels and laser resurfacing. Not only do these procedures require a great deal of training to master, but they also require some amount of artistry in judging how much of the skin to remove: too little, and the patient walks away with less than what they paid for; too much, and there could be permanent damage like scarring or pigmentation changes. Moreover, these treatments may not be suitable for people with darker skin types.

Meanwhile, new machine-based treatments like radio frequency, IPL, and other non-ablatives do not exhibit many side effects, but the performance/artistry risks are the same. Microdermabrasion appears to have the advantage of exhibiting fewer side effects and less risk, because it is a less-invasive procedure. However, microdermabrasion has limited effectiveness on removing deeper acne scars, wrinkles, age spots, and/or stretch marks.

Microneedling has none of the common risks and offers all of the advantages of the most invasive and most expensive treatments. The needles can only go into the skin so far: that’s why CRL offers six different models of our MTS Roller. The key variable, is for the practitioner to determine which of the rollers to use. Even if the provider goes too deep, the damage is minimal and not permanent.

In terms of delivering smoother skin and a longer lasting effect, clinical studies have shown that the mesotherapeutic effect of microneedling at 0.5mm needle depth tends to outperform other ablative treatments (chemical peel, dermabrasion, laser resurfacing), as well as CO2 laser, Fraxel, and IPL.