Microneedling for Skin & Hair
Microneedling, also known as Collagen Induction Therapy, is a revolutionary natural treatment that has numerous benefits for the appearance of skin and hair.
Microneedling: Before & After Cases
Many have been raving about the benefits to hair and skin, and many evidential cases have been recorded clearly showing the positive effects of this treatment. The video below shows a few of these cases:
Recommended Frequency for Microneedling
The premise of microneedling is collagen induction through controlled micro injury to the skin. Creating micropores in the skin stimulates the skin to repair itself and create new collagen in the process. The creation of new collagen is a relatively slow process and takes approximately 4-6 weeks post treatment. If microneedling is performed more frequently, this decreases the efficacy of the treatment as more damage is incurred without giving the skin adequate time to heal and develop new collagen fibers. This can create the opposite of the desired anti-aging effect with increased skin damage and inflammation.
Microneedling Maintenance Appointments
Unfortunately, with time, our skin continues to age and collagen continues to breakdown. For those looking to maintain youthful skin in the long-term, maintenance micro needling sessions will continue to provide collagen stimulation at regular intervals and slow down or reverse some of the natural biologically driven collagen breakdown.
It is difficult to say exactly how long the effects of a session will last as the rate of collagen breakdown varies highly with a number of factors including genetics, lifestyle factors, smoking, sun exposure and skin care routine. One study examined the skin of 20 patients after micro needling and showed a considerable increase in collagen and elastin deposition at 6 months post treatment. The study also noted that the patient's epidermis demonstrated 40 percent thickening at 1 year postoperatively. Therefore, we can extrapolate that some benefits of micro needling can remain for as long as 1 year post treatment.
Professional Microneedling vs. At-Home Treatments
Although some people prefer to DIY and microneedle at home, this will not produce the same effect as a deeper in-office treatment regardless of increased frequency. Using deeper needles produces micro-channels and stimulates collagenesis in the deeper dermis layers. This leads to improvements in skin concerns such as acne scarring, wrinkles, pigmentation and skin laxity. Microneedling at shallower levels, typically only targets the epidermis. This may produce superficial improvements in skin texture, however this will not address deeper issues regardless of needling frequency.
Microneedling in Downtown Toronto
At our clinic, microneedling is performed by a certified Naturopathic Doctor, with a professional grade micro needling device and sterile micro needling serums. Microneedling is a time intensive treatment requiring that the patient receive numbing cream for approximately 30 minutes prior to the procedure to minimize discomfort and allow the doctor to achieve desired treatment depth for maximum collagen stimulation. We also conclude each treatment with an LED red light phototherapy session to minimize redness, downtime and maximize collagen production after micro needling.