When you look in the mirror, you should be happy with what you see no matter what stage of life you’re in. If you see signs of aging, dull and tired skin or other imperfections that make you feel discouraged or disheartened, you don’t have to resign to them. Contact Luxe Aesthetics in Greensboro, NC and ask about how microneedling benefits can address your concerns.
What Is Microneedling?
Also called collagen induction therapy, microneedling is a skin rejuvenation treatment that uses a handheld device packed with hair-thin needles. This device is gently passed over the skin, making microscopic perforations as it goes. These micro-channels trigger your skin’s natural healing process. This healing process is what provides all the benefits of this treatment.
Microneedling Benefits
What makes microneedling so popular is the wide array of concerns it can address. If you’re tired of dealing with imperfections when you look in the mirror, talk to your doctor about this rejuvenating treatment.
Anti-Aging
One of the more popular microneendling benefits is how it can help turn back the hands of time. The reason it works so well in address aging concerns is that it triggers the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.
Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies and makes up our skin and other connective tissues. Think of collagen as the scaffold on which our skin cells are built. When our skin is young and strong, we have plenty of healthy collagen keeping everything smooth and in place. When the scaffold under the surface of the skin is strong, the surface is wrinkle-free and taut.
As we age, we lose production of collagen, so all those tightly packed skin cells spread out. This creates pockets where the surface skin falls, creating lines, wrinkles and folds. When we lose enough collagen, we can lose large areas of volume in places like our cheekbones and temples.
Elastin
The name alone tells us what this protein does. Elastin keeps our skin and other organs flexible or elastic. When we’re young, our skin can move while making expressions and bounce right back into place. Elastin works with collagen to keep our skin firmly attached to muscle and bone structure.
Over time, our elastin production also declines. This contributes to our skin not bouncing back to its original position, so expressions result in wrinkles. Gravity can pull our skin away from our bone structure and muscles, causing sagging and loose skin.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally produced sugar that attracts water to the skin. Its molecules can hold up to 1000 times their weight in water so young skin looks dewy and supple. That glow which young skin seems to always have is due in part to hyaluronic acid.
This powerhouse works with collagen and elastin, so as they decline so does hyaluronic acid. This can add to an aged appearance, making skin look dull and tired.
How Microneedling Helps
When the hair-thin needles are passed over the skin and create micro-channels, your skin sends its first responder, collagen, to heal those spots. Collagen goes to the perceived injury and builds a stronger foundation, which leads to a smoother and more youthful appearance from the inside out. You’ll see fine lines and wrinkles smooth and a soft tightening of loose areas of skin.
Sun Damage
The feel of the sun on your face is one of life’s great pleasures. But if you’ve spent a lot of time in the sun unprotected, your complexion will pay the price. We all have pigment cells that produce melanin. Melanin gives our skin, hair and eyes their color. When exposed to UV rays, these cells speed up their production. Eventually, melanin will become clumped as it’s produced in high concentrations.
The result is small dark spots on the skin. These can be single spots or they can group together to form larger discolored spots. People who have very light skin or a history of intense or frequent sun exposure are at a higher risk for developing visible sun damage.
How Microneedling Helps
The reversal of sun damage circles back to collagen production. The more collagen we have, the better our skin cells regenerate. As collagen levels increase and that solid platform under the surface of our skin rebuilds, our cells have a healthy scaffold on which to more quickly regenerate. The result is brighter and more evenly toned skin. Over a few sessions, you’ll see brown spots fade and, with continued treatment, eventually disappear.
Acne and Acne Scarring
If you’ve ever suffered from cystic acne, you might be left with crater-like scars that can mar a beautiful complexion. This happens because cysts form in the dermis, or middle layer of our skin. When they resolve, they leave a gap between the top and middle layers of our skin. The surface falls to fill in the gap, leaving a crater-like scar. These scars are especially frustrating because trying to cover them with makeup can actually make them more noticeable.
Acne is caused by sebum and debris clogging our pores. As this naturally produced lubricant mixes with the bacteria on our skin, it can become inflamed and infected, turning into acne. Another form of acne is blackheads. When our pores are enlarged, they are more susceptible to having extra sebum and dirt collect in them, leading to visible blackheads.
How Microneedling Helps
Once again, it’s collagen to the rescue. As collagen production is boosted, the scaffold in the middle layer of our skin builds and fills in those crater-like scars. This won’t happen immediately, but with repeated sessions you’ll notice the surface of your skin smooth out and acne scars become less visible.
Collagen also helps to shrink pores, making it less likely for sebum and dirt to collect. You’ll be left with more flawless looking skin, shrunken pores and a reduced change of acne flareups.
Products Work Better
You may find yourself currently scouring the internet and skincare aisles looking for a product that will actually work. It may not be the products that are failing you, but your skin. After microneedling, the micro-channels that are created allow for greater absorption of your products. This means all the nutrients and vitamins your products contain will actually make it into the deeper layers of your skin. The result is your products do what you hoped they would.
How Microneedling Helps
Your skin can become an impenetrable barrier to products. You’re accumulating dead and dull skin cells that prevent your skincare products from soaking in and doing their jobs. Not only do the micro-channels created by the treatment act as a direct path for products, but collagen helps to remove dead and dull skin cells. We recommend investing in top-of-the-line products to keep the results of treatment optimal.
Ask your skincare specialist to recommend a line that will address your skin type and overall concerns. The right cleanser, serum, toner and moisturizer can give you a continuously radiant glow you didn’t know was possible. This is one of our favorite microneedling benefits.
Dry and Rough Patches
If you’ve tried every moisturizer and mask known to man but you can’t seem to get rid of rough and scaly patches, you may need a boost that everyday moisturizer can’t give you. First, you’ll want to talk to your skincare provider to see if you have a skin condition like eczema or psoriasis. If you do, they can recommend and even prescribe special topical solutions to help clear up these kinds of conditions. If you’re just dealing with dry and scaly skin, this treatment can help even out your texture.
How Microneedling Helps
As the handheld device is passed along your skin, it breaks up scaly and dry patches, forcing your skin to heal them from the inside out. As collagen heals the area, uneven patches are smoothed. If your scaly areas result from dryness, the micro-channels will allow for greater absorption of nourishing and hydrating creams to combat areas where your natural sebum isn’t lubricating enough.
The treatment itself may stimulate your pores to produce enough sebum to heal and repair dry, rough patches.
Rosacea
While the exact cause of rosacea is not known, the symptoms are. This condition can affect anyone but most often occurs in middle-aged women with light skin. The symptoms are:
- Facial redness
- Swollen and bumpy skin
- Visible blood vessels
- Hot and tender skin
- Dry and irritated eyes
- Thickened skin that produces an enlarged nose
How Microneedling Helps
There is no cure for rosacea, but clients with this condition experience less severe symptoms after treatment. There are a couple of reasons for this improvement. One is collagen. New and healthy collagen helps with evening skin tone and reducing inflammation. Collagen helps with the healthy regeneration of skin cells, so bright and smooth cells will replace irritated and red ones.
The other way this treatment helps is in the improved performance of topical treatments. If you’ve been prescribed topical products to help with your condition, the condition itself may be preventing their maximum effectiveness. Micro-channels created by this treatment allow for targeted absorption of products formulated to reduce symptoms.
What to Expect
We will consult with you to talk about how the many microneedling benefits can address your specific areas of concern. Once you’ve decided this is the right treatment for you, there’s no preparation for you to do other than staying out of the sun for a week before your appointment.
During Treatment
When you arrive for your session, a numbing cream or gel will be applied to your skin to ensure you are comfortable throughout the process. The handheld device will be gently passed over your skin, creating hundreds of micro-channels. Afterward, a nourishing serum may be applied along with sunscreen to protect your newly treated skin from sun damage.
After your appointment, there is no downtime, so you’re free to go back to your normal routine. You’ll be asked to stay out of the sun for a few weeks.
Results
One of the microneedling benefits clients love is the immediacy of results. You’ll see an immediate brightening as blood flow to your skin is increased, boosting oxygen and creating a healthy glow. As collagen production is increased, the more transformative results will appear over the next month as collagen is produced.
Most people will opt for multiple sessions to maximize the microneedling benefits and get the level of results they’re hoping for. Work with your skincare specialist to determine the right number of sessions for you along with the right maintenance schedule.
Why Wait for Results?
With so many benefits, there’s no reason to put off having the skin of your dreams. Call Luxe Aesthetics in Greensboro, NC to schedule your appointment today. We’re committed to helping our clients restore balance, health and beauty to their complexions!