Maybe you’ve seen the pictures of celebrities with blood smeared across their faces. Perhaps you have a friend who told you about this new treatment called microneedling. And because it has the word “needle” in it, you recoil. But let’s take a moment and discuss how safe, effective, and comfortable microneedling really is.
MICRONEEDLING, DEFINED
Microneedling is an in-office Aura Aesthetic treatment that uses a medical-grade, rapidly oscillating pen with super tiny needles at the tip that repeatedly puncture the skin. Prior to treatment, topical numbing is applied to ensure a pain-free treatment. After cleansing, the microneedling pen is used to induce controlled injury, resulting in boosted endogenous collagen production. Stimulating your own collagen will smooth skin tone and texture, fade fine lines and wrinkles, and allow topically applied products to penetrate deeper into the skin. Typically, a series of 3 treatments spaced 4–6 weeks apart is necessary for optimal results.
PROFESSIONAL MICRONEEDLING IN PORTLAND VERSUS AT-HOME MICRONEEDLING
The main difference is the quality of the treatment. Professionals with medical-grade devices precisely control the depth of treatment. Going to the appropriate treatment depth is critical to obtaining the desired results. Home devices cannot typically reach the desired depth to initiate the optimal dermal healing cascade.
Each professional treatment uses a new, sterile needle head. The fine gauge of the needles means they rapidly dull; after use, they are contaminated and disposed of. Devices at home are undoubtedly sitting in a non-sterile environment, and rather than causing healthy, controlled injury, they are ineffectively damaging the skin and introducing bacteria. Not good!
VIRTUALLY NO DOWNTIME
On the day of treatment, you will look sunburned or red-like after a heavy workout. By the following day, you may be “pinkish,” and your skin may feel slightly sore to the touch but should otherwise not be too noticeable. Sometime after 3–5 days, light flaking may occur as you slough of the top layer of skin, revealing a refreshed complexion. But it’s the weeks after, when your skin heals and regenerates, that the real magic happens.
Coupled with proper home care, all skin types can benefit from a microneedling series to maintain healthy, youthful skin. Ready to book your Microneedling treatment in Portland? Reach out to us at Aura Aesthetics to answer any questions you may have and to schedule a consultation.