FAST FACTS
The service: Microneedling
What it is: Also known as collagen induction therapy, sterile needles are used to cause micro injuries in the skin and stimulate the production of collagen.
Treatment duration: About 20 minutes, though you need to use a numbing cream about 45 minutes prior to treatment.
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to treat fine lines and wrinkles, large pores, acne scars or stretch marks.
Pain: Negligible for most areas, slightly uncomfortable where the needle penetrates more deeply or where skin is more sensitive. Minor irritation after the service that resolves within a few hours.
Downtime: You’ll need to avoid makeup, swimming and exercise for 24 hours, and skip skin care actives like retinol or vitamin C creams for 48 hours.
My rating: 5 stars
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I’ve been reading about the benefits of microneedling for years — a treatment that offers impressive results for skin care concerns ranging from wrinkles to scars and stretch marks. It’s become so popular that you can buy microneedling rollers and pens online or at stores like Sephora (I’ve even spotted them at Winners) for home use.
Before you rush out to buy your own microneedling device, you should know that no dermatologist that I follow recommends that you do this service at home. That’s because while this is a minimally-invasive treatment, you can risk skin damage and infection if your technique isn’t correct and your tools aren’t hospital-sterile and, well, needle-sharp.
Bella Sante offers two different services that use microneedling. I’ve already talked about Morpheus8 in a previous blog post — it uses microneedles with radio frequency to penetrate deep into tissue and cause immediate firming and lifting, along with long-term collagen production. This time, I went in for a basic microneedling service that I hope will help deal with my enlarged pores and stimulate some collagen to fill in some of the pesky wrinkles on my upper lip and at the corners of my mouth.
I was encouraged to learn that every Bella Sante staff member I saw that day said microneedling is her personal favourite service to book because the results are so fantastic.
I applied a lidocaine numbing cream at home before I headed to the clinic — this is standard procedure for a service like this, it saves everyone the time waiting the 45 minutes for the cream to take full effect.
AT HOME TIP: Be thorough when applying numbing cream. If you happen to get distracted because, say, you saw your dog heading down the hall with a sock from the laundry hamper, and you miss covering a spot with numbing cream, you’ll soon realize how well this product works when the needles start to do their thing. Once the service was underway, we discovered I missed applying lidocaine to my lower eyelids. Rookie mistake.
My talented technician for today was Chelsea, and after she explained how the procedure works, she let me take a peek at the applicator. It’s a stout pen, fitted with 16 ultra-fine surgical steel needles in its tip. The pen can be adjusted to different depths — shallow for areas like my boney forehead and for use in sensitive areas like nostrils, eyelids and upper lips; and deeper for fleshier areas like my cheeks.
Chelsea applied a thin layer of anti-aging serum with hyaluronic acid and peptides to a small area of my face, then made three passes with the microneedling device to create a careful grid over the entire area, then moved on to the next one. She worked quickly in each section, starting at my forehead and working down to my jaw, neck and chest.
The procedure was over in about 20 minutes and for the most part, it just felt like she was rubbing a boar bristle brush lightly over the surface of my skin — scratchy, but not painful. The areas around my nostrils and upper lip were a little more uncomfortable, and since my lower eyelids had no numbing treatment, it was moderately uncomfortable but happily over in just a few seconds.
I took a photo of my face immediately after the service — I was relieved to learn that the redness was from tiny blood droplets and improved with a simple gauze wipe. Once my skin was clean, Chelsea applied a lovely, cool sheet mask to my face, neck and chest, then left me to relax for 15 minutes while the serums soaked into my skin. She removed the sheet masks and I was done and ready to head home.
I departed with instructions to avoid wearing makeup for the day, to skip going to the gym the next morning and avoid potential sources of contaminants such as sweat, pool or ocean water for 48 hours while my skin healed. I also had to skip active skin care products like retinol and vitamin C serum for 48 hours.
My service was in the morning and by mid-afternoon, my skin felt like it was mildly sunburned, particularly on my neck and chest where I have actual sun damage (we’re treating this with IPL, be sure to check out my blog post about this must-have service.) By evening, the sunburn feeling was gone and replaced mild itchiness — I washed with Hexam cleanser and applied a light moisturizer from my Vivier skincare set and I was soon comfortably asleep.
By morning, my skin was back to its normal colour and I noticed it felt really soft and fresh. I’m writing this on day three and it still feels soft and radiant. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens over the next few weeks as my skin works to build new collagen.
The verdict: I understand why the staff love this treatment so much. My skin looked fresh, clear and soft the next day, and it will improve as time goes on. There’s little downtime, and (if your dog leaves your laundry alone,) it’s almost painless. If you’ve got concerns about your skin texture or want to diminish old acne scars or fine lines, this is a good treatment to test out.
See you all soon,
~Michelle
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