Microneedling Atlanta
Fractional Collagen Induction Therapy
Getting Microneedling in Atlanta
Microneedling is a popular skin rejuvenation procedure that helps correct numerous skin concerns like loose skin, fine lines and wrinkles, and acne scars. An alternative to chemical peels, microneedling achieves similar results without causing skin to flake and peel. Microneedling works to improve overall skin health by stimulating collagen, which plumps up the skin, and is ideal for treating:
- Large pores
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Crepey, loose and lax skin
- Skin texture
- Acne scars
- Stretch marks
Microneedling is safe and effective for all skin types and ethnicities. It’s also great for virtually all areas of the body: face, neck, chest, knees, etc. It can also greatly diminish the appearance of stretch marks and it pairs well with IPL.
How Does Microneedling Work?
At WIFH, we use the SkinPen microneedling device. It is a handheld powered device and looks similar to a large writing pen. It has a tip that contains microscopic needles that painlessly pass over the skin creating thousands of micro channels in the skin at rate of 1600 per second. These tiny punctures or wounds are not visible, but they are enough for your bodies’ natural healing process to be initiated. Through your body’s production of collagen and elastin, which are the building blocks to skin tissue, it plumps the skin improving texture, tone and reduces pore size; it helps thicken, tighten and firm the skin leaving it smooth and soft.
During your treatment, we will apply a serum containing a high concentration of natural growth factors that will penetrate the tiny punctures in the skin. These growth factors help to speed up and increase collagen and elastin production. Within two weeks, the majority of patients notice firmer, healthier, and glowing skin. Two to three months after the procedure, patients usually start seeing how the new collagen fibers fill depressed scars and wrinkles and thicken and strengthen thin, delicate skin.
What Are The Risks/Side Effects?
Microneedling carries minimal risk, but you should visit an experienced medical provider who will address your individual skin concerns.
Following your treatment, you may have some mild redness in the skin.
It is important to keep the skin clean and moisturized following your treatment until the little holes can heal to minimize any chance of infection. Allowing the skin to dry out can result in flaking or peeling and extend the healing process.
You should not have microneedling if you have any active acne or pustules. Having microneedling during a breakout would simply spread the bacteria on the skin which could result in additional inflammation and irritation.
Pregnant women should not have microneedling.
Preparing For Microneedling
3-5 days before your microneedling treatment it is advised to stop using exfoliating products, acids and bleaching creams/products. Discontinue retinols and tretinoin (Retin-A) at least 12 hours in advance. Refrain from using self tanners 2 weeks prior to treatment and all redness or sunburns must completely heal before microneedling.
Do not wax or have a skin treatment like a chemical peel or IPL 2 weeks prior to your treatment. Microneedling cannot be done if you have active acne, cold sore or open lesions.
Limit alcohol use 2 days in advance of your treatment. Discontinue all supplements including fish oils, aspirin and ibuprofen 3-5 days in advance. If you are on a prescribed anticoagulant, you will need to consult with your prescribing physician.
On the day of your treatment it is preferred that you come in with a clean face, however if you are coming from work we will have you cleanse your face once you arrive.
What To Expect During The Procedure
First a numbing cream is applied and allowed for an hour to make your microneedling treatment completely painless.
Different settings and techniques will be used for the different areas that are being treated. Growth factor serum is used during your treatment. It provides a “slip” so that the SkinPen microneedling device can easily glide over the skin without dragging. The growth factor is also being pushed down into the skin layers by the needles to ignite new skin cells to form and produce collagen and elastin fibers.
Once your treatment is complete your skin will be cleansed, and more growth factor serum will be applied. Your skin care specialist should provide you with aftercare instructions and products to be used for the first 3 days post treatment to aid in the healing process.
Microneedling Recovery & Aftercare
Immediately following treatment your skin will look pink or red, similar to that of a mild sunburn. The skin may also feel warm and tight. This will typically subside in a few hours but can last as long as 24-48 hours. This is normal.
We recommend no strenuous exercise for the first 24 hours after your microneedling treatment. Sweat can further irritate the skin.
The micro-channels close within 24 hours. It is super important to keep the skin extremely hydrated to speed the healing process. Aftercare is imperative to achieving the best results.
We advise not wearing make-up for 24-hours following your treatment. Use only gentle cleanser and tepid water to cleanse the skin for 72-hours or 3 days post treatment. Do not use a Clarisonic or powered cleansing brush for at least one week after treatment.
Serum antioxidants will help to soothe and lessen redness and aid in the healing process. These will be provided in your post care kit. Keep the skin well hydrated and wear sunscreen. You can resume wearing make-up 24 hours after treatment. After 3 days you can resume your normal skincare regimen.
Microneedling Consultations
We believe consultations are very important when considering any skin treatment. Our consultations give us the opportunity to get to know you and understand exactly what you are looking to achieve with your skin.
At your consultation you will meet with one medical aestheticians who will put together a treatment plan along with product recommendations for you to consider.
They will also let you know the number of microneedling treatments they believe you will need to see the best results.
Microneedling FAQs
SkinPen is indicated to treat Fine lines & moderate wrinkles, Acne scarring, Stretch marks, Traumatic scars, Epidermal pigment, Burn wounds, Mild rosacea (vascular only), Hyperpigmentation.
We do not perform microneedling within 2 weeks of a Botox treatment to avoid affecting the distribution beyond the injection site. In order to avoid an inflammatory reaction we will not perform microneedling until 2 weeks after having fillers injected.
No, microneedling does not hurt! To make your treatment as easy and stress free as possible, we schedule you to arrive 1 hour before your actual treatment time. We will apply a prescription strength topical numbing cream to the treatment area/areas which will remain on your face for the next hour. Some of our patients use this time to work, read, watch videos, or even take a nap!
The number of treatments you will need will depend on what your goal is and what area we’re treating (face or body). For wrinkles and facial rejuvenation 4-6 treatments are needed. Acne scars require 6-8 treatments, depending on depth and severity. Décolleté will need 4-8.
The short answer is: you can schedule a microneedling treatment every 4 to 6 weeks.
After the microneedling procedure creates micro wounds to initiate the healing process, your skin needs time to do the healing that will give it that youthful glow.
A couple things are at play here:
- Facial cellular turnover takes about 4 to 6 weeks, depending on your age. With that said, it’s best to allow your cells to go through a cycle before you get another treatment. Otherwise, you would be re-wounding skin that is about to be replaced by the cellular turnover anyway.
- The healing response the microneedling procedure ignites within your body–the production of collagen and elastin fibers–takes approximately 3 months to complete. Thus, having treatments done closer together will do more harm than good.
Your body can only produce so much collagen at one time, so getting microneedling treatments closer together will not speed up the results. In fact, you may not even notice results from your microneedling treatments until you have completed 3 of them, which mirror the 3-month mark.
The main idea when considering time between treatments is that microneedling does not offer instant results. Instead, it is a transformative treatment that works from the inside out.
It takes time to see the results from microneedling treatments, but those results are absolutely worth it in the end.
