While bags under eyes and dark circles may or may not present a serious issue for concern for all aging patients, wrinkles and fine lines are deemed inevitable. The effectiveness of anti-aging creams in most cases is pretty moderate and surgical intervention has more opponents than proponents. Micropigmentation offers an innovative and reliable solution in this case as well. Pigments, however, are not used in this treatment and therefore one of its names is dry tattooing. You can also find it under such names as collagen induction, microneedling and skin needling. If you are interested in the effects of skin needling on scars, you can read the article Need For Needle on our website. Here we will only touch upon the impact of skin needling on wrinkles. The best results with this method are achieved for wrinkles around the eyes and over the upper lip. The artist uses a set of fine needles to puncture the patient’s skin in the desired area. The procedure doesn’t lead to scarification due to puncturing the epidermis instead of removing it. The produced micro wounds give a signal to the body forinitiating normal post-inflammatory collagen production to fill them up. On the physical level this results in improved skin firmness and elasticity and wrinkles reduction. Depending on the problem and the expected result, the practitioner chooses the device with shorter or longer needles, their length varying usually from 0.5 to 3.0 mm. Consequently, shorter needles are safer and can be used at home while longer needles should only be used by the professional artist since its improper home use may lead to scarification and infection. Once again, depending on the skin condition, several appointments may be necessary, with a 4-6 weeks break in between. The process of a new collagen layer formation is completed in about 2 months, while the first fibroblast matrix containing collagen appears on day 5 and will remain for 5-7 years with gradual tightening. Skin rejuvenation will be more efficient if topical anti-aging treatments are used together with skin needling since micro perforations will enhance their absorption. Topical application of retinol and vitamin C is recommended pre-operatively for one month twice daily. This is deemed to promote and speed up skin recovery after the treatment and increase collagen boost. Postoperative care should include soothing and anti-inflammatory ointments and creams. While the undeniable advantages of this method are fast healing and stable long-term result, there are still some drawbacks. First of all, it is hard to control the depth of penetration and the pressure. This may cause unwanted fluids drawing, i.e., blood and lymph exposure. In addition, poor quality needles wear out over time and this may lead to their bending at tips. Hence, epidermal damages occur, which in turn may result in hypertrophic scarification and hyper-pigmentation. In other words, if the artist is not careful enough and does not take all the necessary precautions, the outcome of the treatment may be reversed.
If interested in this form of treatment please email me at: maryhallscott@gmail.com
Always check the credentials of the artist and never be shy about asking for a consultation.
Treatments times and techniques may vary by artist due to equipment, educations, skill level and products
used.