Question: What is skin needling? Does it really work?
Answer:
Great question. Skin needling is a skin repair and rejuvenation treatment that punctures the outer skin with tiny needles. This makes the skin create new collagen (the essential skin and healing protein). In turn, this can help to fill indented scars and rejuvenate the skin – making it thicker, smoother and more youthful.
When did it start? It is a 600-year-old time-tested Japanese esthetic technique that began as an off-shoot of acupuncture. Japanese microneedling uses a smaller needle and more superficial skin penetration than Chinese approaches. The development, in the USA, of machines to do skin needling has made it popular.
Is there any scientific evidence that it works? Yes – unlike many new and widely promoted office skin treatments, medical-grade skin needling has been studied for more than a decade. There have been studies comparing microneedling with spot TCA and they appear to work equally well. Studies have also been done with PRP (platelet rich plasma) and microneedling with or without PRP. So far, PRP doesn’t seem to improve the results.
What is involved? Dr. Morgan tries out new treatments whenever possible, before recommending them to patients. She selected the SkinPen – because it is a medical grade machine and comes with a sterile needle kit, so needles are never reused, unlike with other brands. It is battery operated so it is flexible and can treat any area of the face. This includes the eye lids. It has a skin-depth gauge that can be adjusted to different areas of facial skin. It also has 12 very small (32 g) needle points – other machines have 9 or fewer needles and larger needles. The smaller the needle, the less the risk of the tiny, superficial punctures leaving scars.
Dr. Morgan tried it with no topical numbing and a deeper than normal depth to see the treatment at its most aggressive. She chose her forehead, a sensitive area. She had the standard 2 skin passes plus a third pass over specific areas. Did it hurt? Yes, a little, but not enough for Dr. Morgan to want numbing cream. (We do recommend numbing cream for most people and it is included in the treatment kit, so there is no extra charge.). The treated area was red, particularly in the areas treated with 3 passes. The healing skin was covered with the healing serum. It made a difference, healing quickly and comfortably. After 3 days, she was completely healed with photos to prove it. Most people would be healed in a little less time.
How many treatments are needed? You need to plan on 3 treatments, usually 1 month apart. A yearly maintenance is probably a good idea. Some people have monthly skin needling because it makes a significant difference in maintaining their skin.
Do you have to buy special care products as well? No – the healing serum in included in the price. You do need to avoid certain skin care products, (those with sodium laurylate, parabens and others) but there are no additional ones you must purchase. There is an optional mild skin rejuvenation kit which you can purchase if you are looking for a very gentle skin care program. Again, it is gentle and designed for sensitive skins.
Who should and should not have skin needling? It works well for superficial acne scarring, and it may help with some “ice pick” acne scarring. It definitely stimulates collagen production in the aging skin. It appears to be safely used on all skin types – although a test treatment is reasonable for anyone with a dark skin (there is an additional cost because it involves an additional sterile needle).
Dr. Morgan has noticed that her microneedled skin is smoother and brighter than the untreated skin and of even more interest, her standard Obagi skin care products are more effective on the microneedled skin. It has been proposed that microneedling allow skin products to be better absorbed and thus more effective. At least for Dr. Morgan this seems to be the case.
Can PRP (platelet rich plasma) be used with microneedling for a patient who wants that done? Yes, but it adds considerably to the cost, because the PRP has to be prepared before the microneedling.
For very damaged skin, the microneedling might not be aggressive enough because improvement is subtle. But for a minimal recovery, scientifically proven skin treatment for superficial scars and aging, it truly does appear to be a significant advance. This is the reason that Dr. Morgan decided to introduce it into her practice and to provide her patients with the best designed and most advanced machine available. To learn more about microneedling and to see Dr. Morgan get a Skin Pen treatment, watch these videos:
https://vimeo.com/151687918