As paradoxical as it may sound, temporarily damaging the skin can actually heal it. Chemical peels are one such treatment relying upon this principle. But unlike chemical peels, which typically involve wholesale skin damage and a significant recovery period, microneedling can improve the condition of your skin, while requiring virtually no downtime.
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What is Microneedling?
Since ancient times, it has been known that some types of skin damage promote more attractive skin after the body has healed this damage. What was missing, until recently, was a safe and reliable method of lightly damaging the skin to trigger this healing process. Microneedling has provided just such a technique by incorporating the use of hundreds of fine needles to pierce the skin to a shallow depth and trigger skin remodeling.
In addition to being an extremely safe, minimally invasive method for rejuvenating the skin, microneedling does not involve any pain. Depending upon needle depth, your practitioner can apply a numbing agent to your skin before your treatment. In this case, all that you would feel is some pressure upon your skin as the device is moved over it.
What it Treats
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Decreased skin elasticity
- Loss of facial volume
- Scars caused by acne, trauma or surgery
How it Works
Microneedling works by stimulating the formation of brand new collagen and elastin – two protein building blocks of healthy and youthful skin. Over the weeks and months after your microneedling treatment, your skin will gradually replace old, damaged skin cells at its surface with new, more youthful skin.
Aquagold Microneedling
The microneedles used in Aquagold microneedling are made from 24-karat gold. Each tiny, sterile needle is finer than a single human hair. One way that Aquagold microneedling differs from regular microneedling is that it is used in combination with a rejuvenating topical.
Did you know that the outer layer of your skin is not composed of living skin cells? Instead, it is actually made up of dead skin cells and assorted debris. This material acts as a barrier to prevent many topical products from penetrating very far into the skin. Aquagold microneedling penetrates this barrier to allow for more complete topical absorption, dramatically boosting the effects of topical skin care products.
The Procedure
Treatment with Aquagold microneedling does not normally require an anesthetic. Your practitioner would first cleanse your face and place their chosen topical ingredients into the device’s tube. Then they would press the device into your skin in an overlapping pattern for full coverage.
The Aquagold device contains 20 tiny needles that deliver a nourishing serum into your skin at a depth of 600 microns. After the device is removed, the serum remains behind to stimulate new skin production.
Aquagold Microneedling: Topicals
After thousands of microscopic punctures have been formed in your skin, your practitioner will apply a custom serum to your skin to take advantage of all of the newly created, tiny skin channels that allow for deeper skin penetration. Although each practitioner has a somewhat different skin “cocktail,” there are a couple of popular types that are available, including:
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a substance commonly used in facial fillers to enhance skin volume and hydration. In addition to its use in fillers, hyaluronic acid makes a great serum that can be used in conjunction with Aquagold microneedling to hydrate and volumize the skin.
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Topical
PRP is a blood-based product manufactured from the patient’s own blood. Your practitioner will draw a small amount of blood from you. They would then purify it by spinning it in a centrifuge, separating out the platelets from the rest of the blood.
Blood platelets contain a large amount of rich growth factors that dramatically speed up and improve the healing process. This results in smoother, more youthful skin that displays fewer signs of problems like sun damage and lines and wrinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aquagold microneedling painful?
Not at all, although a topical anesthetic is available for those who request it.
How long does Aquagold microneedling treatment take?
It normally takes around half an hour to complete an Aquagold microneedling treatment session.
Does Aquagold microneedling involve any downtime?
There is virtually no downtime associated with Aquagold microneedling treatments. Your skin may appear somewhat red and flushed for up to one day after your treatment. This appears similar to a very mild sunburn. For most patients, this effect fades within a few hours at most.
It is not uncommon to experience some minor, pinpoint bleeding. This bleeding will normally stop almost immediately and should not result in any visible scabs or anything but minor, temporary skin discoloration.
When will I see results?
Most people notice some immediate results after their treatment. Your skin may appear tighter and have a youthful radiance. You may also notice that your skin pores are smaller.
Your Aquagold microneedling results will continue to build gradually, becoming increasingly apparent over the following weeks and months, after which you may want to undergo another treatment for cumulative skin improvement.
