If you have ever wondered what microneedling is, Rebecca Treston has the answer.
What is microneedling and how does it help to keep skin looking young?
Between the ages of 20 and 40 the skin’s collagen diminishes by almost half – and as a result, what we lose in fullness we gain in wrinkles.But the visual effects of ageing can be mitigated by microneedling, a procedure that uses handheld device to create controlled skin injury. It works by using needles that are long enough to cause microscopic injuries to the fine blood vessels that are at the level of the hair follicles. This causes the stimulation of fibroblasts and other collagen producing cells to start increasing their production, resulting in more elastic and rejuvenated skin. To enhance the effects, you can also have it done with a mild or moderate deep skin peel.
When it comes to aftercare, I would always recommend using antioxidants simply because UV or free radical damage will always reduce the amount of collagen the skin produces. Following an antioxidant serum, apply sunscreen, of course, and maybe a light moisturiser. Though you can get microneedling kits for at-home use, I would always recommend a clinic-based treatment. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, the at-home microneedling kits, which have 0.25-0.5mm needles are really only designed to break the skin barrier and allow better absorption of the active ingredients. To use needles that are longer than this require great skill and precision and so I would not recommend these for home treatments as you may do more damage than good with them, resulting in contraindications such as fibrosis, scar tissue and melasma.
It is much better to leave more advanced microneedling treatments to skincare professionals who know how to use the longer needles (those more than 0.5mm in length) safely for triggering collagen synthesis, without any adverse effects.
For more information, visit Rebecca for a consultation
