When I first heard of microneedling, I was a bit leery of the idea. I passed it off as just other beauty fad…much like the charcoal face mask (I’m still convinced it pulls out more hairs than it does blackheads).
A discussion on Facebook swayed my opinion. The topic was “Acne Scars”. Most of the commenters suggested microneedling as a treatment and gave glowing reviews of their own personal experience with the procedure.
As I mentioned in my last post, I am on a mission to obliterate my craters for good. It has always been my biggest insecurity and I’d love nothing more than to accomplish a glowing complexion.
I tried just about everything and went so far as to set up a consultation with a plastic surgeon. He quoted me $20k to, basically, sand my skin down to the raw. According to him, it was my only hope.
I walked away from his office feeling defeated and decided I was just going to have to live with my scars for the rest of my life.
With this in mind, you can imagine how hopeful I felt when I read positive reviews from real people!
Immediately, I began doing some research to answer my most pressing questions:
What Exactly Is Microneedling?
Microneedling is what it sounds like. Tiny needles puncture your skin to cause micro-injury. In turn, this stimulates your body’s natural healing process to produce collagen and elastin.
The results are plump, youthful looking skin and visible improvement in the appearance of acne scars.
Is it a great alternative to more recognized treatments (such as, lasers) because it requires very little downtime at a relatively low cost. Plus, it can be done on any skin tone!
I will tell you that I didn’t want to mess with any derma rollers because of some of the controversy surrounding them.
For the best experience possible, I searched for a reputable med-spa in my area. They used the SkinPen for their microneedling services, so I knew I would be in good hands.
Is It Painful?
When the experts use words like “trauma” and “injury” to describe the Microneedling process, you can’t help but wonder if it hurts.
Based on my personal experience, the answer is “No!”. The great thing about having a professional treat you is that they apply a topical anesthetic before going to work. The only thing I felt during the process was pressure and intense vibrations from the SkinPen.
The great thing about a device like the SkinPen is that the technician can customize the depth of the punctures based on where your problem areas are located.
Not going to lie, my face looked pretty gory afterwards…as you can see!
This picture was taken with my iPhone. The clarity is poor but at least you get an idea of what to expect directly after the procedure.
The anesthetic took several hours to wear off. Afterwards, my skin felt slightly raw for the rest of the day… much like a sunburn.
The morning after, my skin feels tight and the redness has subsided… other than a couple of light scabs in random areas.
Day 3 has gone by and my skin begins to peel quite a bit. It was itchy and looked hideous. Needless to say, I didn’t leave the house for a few days until the peeling process was over.
Does is work?
While researching Microneedling, I wondered if I was just looking at touched up photos of “before and afters”. After all, I didn’t want to spend the money and time for nothing more than a placebo effect.
Thankfully, I can testify that my results gave me visible improvement. To somebody else, it may not seem like much has changed. For me, it is one step closer to the face I’ve been longing for!
Pay attention to the area within the circle where my scars are prominent. Notice how my “pits” have shrunk? I certainly did! Especially after applying makeup for the first time. I was thrilled beyond words to not have my scars screaming at me.
#NoFilterNeeded
This was a biggie for me because you can hide discoloration with make-up but you cannot hide those craters no matter how hard you try
Is it a dramatic improvement? No, but it is improvement. Progress, not perfection, is what I was going for and it is what I got!
I am officially hooked and will be going back for more. I believe 3-4 more treatments will help me achieve what I am looking for!
So Basically…
That sums up my first Microneedling experience. I hope it gave you some insight, put you at ease, or sparked your interest. Either way, I was too excited not to share!
If you have any questions about my experience, feel free to comment! I’d love to help any way I can.