Fight the Signs of Ageing with Medical Needling / Micro Needling
Microneedling – Just a Beauty Trend?
Overview of a Treatment by Needling
| Indications for Surgery | skin aging / wrinkles, stretch marks, scars |
| Treatment Period | 30 – 60 minutes |
| Anaesthetic | General anesthesia |
| Patient Stay | Out-patient |
| Inactive Period | 1 week |
| Costs | 1500 – 2800 € plus material (approx. 350 €) and anesthesia (approx. 350 €) |
| Post-Treatment | Independent daily application of cream for 3 months, follow-up checks after 1 and 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months |
| Sport | After 2 weeks |
What does Needling do?
In the course of life, the skin changes, and unfortunately for the beauty conscience, not for the better. It becomes more coarse-pored, wrinkles and fine lines form, the collagen content decreases and after pregnancy or massive weight loss unsightly stretch marks can remain. Often deep scars after accidents remain years after the accident or persistent acne makes the face look like it did in the early days of puberty even in adulthood.
Fine stitches with a needle roller counteract this unsightly and ugly looking skin. At present there are three different techniques that are used depending on the patient. The surgical treatment with 3 mm long needles has a very long-lasting effect and can significantly improve the skin appearance even in the case of severe burn scars.
Advantages of Micro Needling
The aim of the treatment is to promote the formation of new, elastic collagen (type IV). And it does. This makes the skin firmer (a real tightening), stretch marks become less visible and scars become softer and smoother.
The treatment can be applied to any skin type and age group and can be performed on any part of the body. Frequently, deep wrinkles in the face and neck, the hardest to treat areas, are successfully treated with it.
No chemical substances have to be introduced into the body, the skin regenerates itself through the targeted needle sticks.
The procedure can be performed in our clinic on an outpatient basis and you can return home the same day.
Procedure of a Surgical Needling
As this is a proper procedure, it consists of pre-treatment, surgery and post-treatment.
The Preparation
As with other procedures, you should stop taking blood-thinning medication a few days before, after consulting your doctor, and limit the consumption of alcohol and nicotine. The pre-treatment consists of applying a daily lotion of vitamin A and E to the affected skin for four weeks.
The Treatment
Pressure is applied from all directions to the area of skin to be treated with a roller, three centimetres wide, two centimetres in diameter and equipped with many small sharp needles.
This is done until punctiform bleeding occurs everywhere, the needles provide a stimulus to form new, healthy collagen. Immediately after using the Dermaroller, the surgeon applies the vitamin lotion, which can then penetrate perfectly into the skin through the small punctiform skin openings. The area is then covered with moist compresses.
After the anaesthetic has worn off, the patients go home with all the materials, information and contact numbers needed to aid recovery.
The Aftercare
After the procedure, the treated areas must be covered with a damp cloth for three days, which causes the swelling and redness to subside.
For the next three months you must continue to be creamed daily with the vitamin lotion.
You will also have to keep the skin healthy and in shape with a gentle roller, which penetrates less deeply and can be used without anesthesia, if you want results to remain.
What are the Risks or Complications?
The risks and potential complications are negligible, there is a small chance that the skin can become infected but with correct treatment after the operation, this is virtually impossible.
When is Surgery not Advisable?
The effectiveness of the treatment of the skin with needles has its limits. If the skin is severely overstretched / aged, only surgical tightening can help. If, for example, an apron has formed on the abdomen and hangs over, the method is overstrained, then plastic surgery is necessary, we will be happy to advise you in detail of your options.
However, for moderate wrinkles, stretch marks and extensive scars, visible changes can be achieved with the Dermaroller equipped with needles, which makes the procedure worthwhile.
Are the Needling Costs Covered by Health Insurance?
Unfortunately, health insurance companies regard such treatment as a cosmetic procedure and therefore patients usually have to pay the costs themselves. An exception could be deep scars on the face, in such a case, a request to the health insurance company to cover the costs will clarify the situation.
FAQ
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
Can Needles Stimulate Collagen Production?
The skin changes, from both external and internal factors.
There’s a whole industry working against it: They make creams, ointments, lotions, etc. to positively influence these factors. There is no doubt that these substances work, but they have clear limits.
In addition, new “revolutionary” procedures are developed approximately every six months, which should solve the problem “once and for all”. The only good thing about these procedures is the PR, nothing else, they rarely work as billed.
With Medical Needling (Micro Needling), also called microneedling, it is different. It intervenes in the process of change in the skin by forming new, healthy collagen. This has been scientifically proven at a German university, the method actually works, unlike many others! Plastic surgery is also an effective procedure.
The Differences in Procedures in Detail
- The Cosmetic Treatment – the needle rollers here are equipped with relatively short needles of 0.1 to 0.3 mm in length, the minimal punctures are intended for a gentle anti-aging treatment, so that the skin looks fresher again and the care products can be absorbed more easily. However, these short needles are not able to start the production of collagen.
- For medical treatment (microneedling), however, the needles of the roller are between 1 and 2 mm long. The procedure is often used by dermatologists to combat acne or in beauty clinics to treat various aesthetic problems such as small scars and facial wrinkles.
- The surgical procedure (Surgical Needling) with 3 mm long needles under general anaesthesia always requires a medical procedure. As these needles penetrate deeper into the skin, a much greater effect is achieved.
This procedure is not effective for deep wrinkles, but also for severe scars and stretch marks.
Who does Needling?
Medical Needling, also called Microneedling, is used in an outpatient procedure, i.e. with short needles without anaesthesia. The treatment is only carried out with the use of an anaesthetic cream and should be carried out in a practice experienced in this sort of procedure.
Perculant collagen induction therapy using surgical needling is best performed by the hands of an experienced surgeon. In our clinic in Berlin we have specialized in this treatment method.
When can I go out in the Sun again?
When the skin shows no more redness, the healing phase is usually complete. After that, you can carefully expose the skin to the sun again using a sun cream with a high protection factor. If a surgical procedure was performed, you should protect the treated areas from strong sunlight for at least three months.
Are Several Treatments Needed for Success?
The Needling with the 3 mm long needles will last for years. The additional, subsequent treatment at home with the short needles is useful for maintenance.
Microneedling or laser?
The treatment with the fine needles has the advantage that, unlike laser therapy, no skin layer is removed.
When Will I See Visible Results?
The visible success of a treatment essentially depends on the nature of the affected skin areas and the intensity of the respective needling. While the collagen build-up in deep skin layers requires a longer period of time, the positive effects of superficial treatment can show after a few weeks.
Which Parts of the Body can be Treated?
Microneedling can be used anywhere on the body. In our clinic in Berlin, this procedure is most frequently used on the face, neck and décolleté.
What is the Difference Between Dermaroller, Dermapen or Dermastamp?
All three of these instruments are equipped with fine needles to treat defective skin. While the dermapen or dermastamp comes in a wide variety of shapes and designs for use in the beauty salon or for use at home to achieve an improved complexion, the rollers are at home in aesthetic medicine. Depending on the needle lengths with which the rollers are equipped, scars, stretch marks and other skin changes can be effectively treated by means of collagen induction therapy.
Needling Roller for use at Home?
Since it is difficult to maintain a high standard of hygiene within one’s own four walls, there is a certain risk of infection with the do-it-yourself method. Since small fine needles penetrate the skin during treatment, bacteria can spread. The spots at home are therefore associated with a small risk, especially if acute skin diseases such as acne, herpes or others are present and are not taken seriously by the user.
Causes of Damaged Skin
There are external and internal causes for skin changes:
The External Factors: The skin is overstretched and its structural elements (collagen) tear as a result: For example, during pregnancy or heavy weight gain, stretch marks can develop. Or: The skin is injured and heals. A scar is formed with a different type of collagen, which has completely different properties: This tissue is bulbous, hard, broad and irregular.
The Internal Factors: The skin ages, it gets wrinkles. In this context, the collagen, among other things, changes: it loses its structure and recedes, becomes thinner.
The Reasons for Skin Changes
If the skin has been overstretched, stretch marks form, they are the result of overstretched, torn fibres. It is like an overstretched rubber band: it cannot return to its original tension.
With scars, the problem is different: the collagen present before the injury is destroyed and replaced by replacement tissue: the scar is filled in.
The following mechanisms are involved in skin aging: reduction of elastic tissue, moisture content, thickness and the skin’s supporting structures.