With a wealth of in-clinic skin-transforming treatments available these days, it can be difficult to understand the differences.
Microneedling, sometimes called ‘collagen induction therapy’, has been undertaken by professionals for years to encourage smoother, brighter and more youthful looking skin.
The idea is to use tiny needles to create micro-channels in skin to prompt the body’s own natural healing repair and renewal response.
Studies have shown this process can prompt our skin to create new collagen and elastin as part of this process. As such, it is commonly used to aim to improve the appearance of a number of skin challenges from the signs of aging, wrinkles and pigmentation, through to acne, scarring and stretch marks.
Given it takes time for the body to produce new collagen, microneedling options often require more than one treatment – sometimes several – over a number of months to deliver results and those results may vary.
As with all appearance medicine treatments, it is important to do your research and seek out an experienced treatment provider who will undertake a detailed consultation and clearly explain any risks and realistic expected results with you.
What is Dermapen?
Microneedling, known as a ‘wake-up call’ treatment for skin, was once commonly carried out with needled rollers guided over the skin. Though this approach can still be done with care and experience at home, more accurate and effective in-clinic methods have been developed. Now, mechanised handpieces that can deliver a precise and uniform treatment with ease are used by experience skin therapists to carry out the treatment.
One popular treatment device is called Dermapen. It uses an advanced handpiece guided over skin to deliver the treatment. The handpiece contains a cluster of tiny needles moving very fast vertically in a stamping motion, only a few millimetres deep, to create the aforementioned micro-channels. To help maximised the results of this process, an active solution containing vitamins, collagen and other beneficial ingredients are applied and penetrate the deeper layer of the skin through these tiny channels.
Like our phone technology is continually updated, Australian-developed Dermapen has also been revamped a number of times in order to deliver the best possible results. Dermapen4, now commonly used in clinics here, is the fourth generation of the original device first launched in 2010.
Image: Supplied
Kim Krekeler of Cameo Medispa in Hastings is the current High Performance Practitioner of the Year award for Dermapen New Zealand. She shares some tips and results about the treatment:
How does skin benefit from Dermapen?
The fabulous thing about skin needling, done correctly, is that it uses the body’s own repair mechanisms to reconstruct the damaged and ageing infra-structures of the skin and its deeper layers. Boosting collagen and keeping the skin elasticity for that younger, even, plump skin tone.
It is the treatment of choice for warding off all signs of aging as it is not a treatment that lasts just a couple of skin turnovers, or dissolves over time, but rather it facilitates a cascade of ongoing skin renewal and improvement in the structural components. It stops age being a depleting process.
All areas of the body including face, lip area, eye area, ears, neck, chest, hands and scalp can be treated with pinpoint precision.
Is there an age group that best suits Dermapen treatments?
Age is not a barrier to treatment. The eldest we have treated was 78 years, with thin skin density.
Seeking out a Dermapen treatment comes down to a client’s specific skin concerns, like acne or wrinkles, pigmentation, scarring, visible capillaries, thin skin density, or simply the goal to pre-emptively ward off the tell-tale signs of ageing or to reverse the visible effects of ageing. Dermapen microneedling can also help reduce the appearance of enlarged pores, rosacea, hair loss and more.
Multiple skin concerns can be treated in a single session with Dermapen4 thanks to the adjustable needle depth and oscillation speed and variety of actives within the professional range designed to work within the treatment.
What does someone considering the treatment need to know?
The Dermapen4 is a standout device compared to others on the market. But the true results come from the technique, the products that are infused during the process, the preparation of the skin prior to treatment and subsequent home care, to facilitate the continued cascades created with the treatment.
A thorough skin health assessment and a complete program is essential. A one off treatment without preparation will not give the desired results.
In addition, true needling is not this brutal, deep and high speed process, requiring numbing cream and days of discomfort. Dermapen has become a popular “lunchtime procedure” as you can go on with your daily activities as per you normal. There is no downtime, except a day or so of skin dryness, a few days after treatment.
[You do need to] avoid sweating, so it’s a night off the gym. Sun exposure should be avoided for three weeks, so a good zinc-based sunscreen must be applied daily.
Typically, you can expect improvements in the skin’s appearance and texture after just one session. More than one treatment session is just adding to the improvement of the skin. After 8-12 weeks, you’ll start to notice the lasting and more significant results. Your skin continues to improve for up to 12 months, particularly if you follow the recommended post-treatment care.
