Microneedling for Acne Scarring
The ongoing battle with acne is enough for many, without the legacy those pesky spots leave behind – let’s talk acne scarring.
Acne scarring refers to the long-lasting marks left on your skin in the aftermath of a breakout. They form as part of the healing process and are often unavoidable. To repair the damage caused to your skin by a spot, your body goes into overdrive producing collagen (a protein responsible for the skin’s structure) to create new tissue. However, this happens hastily and can be a little ‘slapdash’. As a result, scar tissue has a different structure, quality and appearance to the surrounding skin. Acne scarring ranges in appearance from raised areas and indents to pigmentation.
Types of Scarring
When the skin has been affected by acne scarring, it’s all about trying to even out skin texture by building up and filling out the scars. And microneedling treatment is perfect for this. Curious to find out more? Let’s take a closer look.
What is microneedling?
A hugely popular skin rejuvenation treatment, Microneedling, also called medical needling, collagen induction therapy (CIT) or percutaneous collagen induction (PCI), uses multiple fine, sterile needles to puncture the skin with microscopic channels. This intentional, controlled injury initiates a skin healing response, resulting in the increased production of collagen and elastin. The end result is thicker, plumper, firmer and smoother skin. Additionally, skincare products are able to penetrate more deeply into the skin, making them more effective.
So, how does this banish acne scars?
As the tiny needles on the microneedling device travel down to the dermal layers of skin, they create tiny punctures - this kick starts the skin’s natural healing process, which involves the formation of new skin tissue and the production of elastin and collagen - the same structural protein that’s weakened when an acne scar forms. Collagen is the scaffolding of the skin, a must-have component for thicker, plumper, firmer skin, and when it’s stimulated after a microneedling treatment, it helps to fill out the pitted acne scars, leading to smoother skin.
Benefits of microneedling for acne scars
This treatment has minimal downtime, and for comfort, a topical anaesthetic cream is applied all over the areas that are going to be treatment. It’s not only great for acne scars on the face, it can be used to treat the neck, décolletage and back.
To get the most out of this treatment, a course of three to six treatments is recommended. The exact amount depends on the severity of acne scars. Ideally treatments are done one month apart to allow your skin to heal between treatments.
There’s plenty of science to back-up the impressive results of this acne scar treatment. One study has shown that it can increase localised skin collagen production by up to 400%. Another reports a minimum 50% improvement (results actually reached as high as 75%) in acne scarring after just two to three microneedling sessions. Very Impressive!
Immediately after microneedling treatment
Microneedling Recovery
(Images taken 3 weeks apart, after first microneedling treatment)
Lucy Foster
Aesthetic Nurse Lucy