Okay, let’s unpack this. Micro needling is the umbrella term for a procedure involving the creation of controlled micro-injuries in the skin with fine needles. This triggers the skin’s natural healing process, boosting collagen and elastin production (the two crucial proteins sustaining the skin’s healthy and youthful look).
While microneedling is a process, a dermapen is a microneedling tool. The same goes for a derma roller. How about RF needling? RF needling vs microneedling: which one is more effective？
RF needling or radiofrequency needling does include microneedling. And to enhance the skin rejuvenation process, RF needling involves radiofrequency energy. Question is: How does radiofrequency energy enhance the microneedling process?
Keep exploring to get the complete picture of the microneedling process and how you can make a difference for your clients: RF needling vs microneedling
Microneedling 101: A Step-by-Step Breakdown
1. Preparation
Understand that microneedling is not a one-size-fits-all solution. So, you must assess a client for suitability before they can proceed with the procedure.
During the consultation, assess the client's skin type, tone, sensitivities, and current cosmetic concerns to identify potential risk factors. For instance, a client with uncontrolled diabetes, blood clotting disorders, or active acne should seek alternative solutions.
Any client with factors that may complicate the healing process should not be allowed to proceed with the treatment.
Be truthful with the client while explaining the microneedling process and its downsides or risks. Some risks and side effects of microneedling include pigmentation changes, scarring, allergic reactions, and infections.
Addressing the client's concerns will help build trust. The client should be allowed to ask questions to ensure they feel comfortable trusting you with their care.
2. Creating a personalized treatment plan
After a thorough assessment and finding the right fit for microneedling, you should create a personalized treatment plan for them.
Every client is unique regarding cosmetic concerns, skin texture and sensitivity, and healing ability. A personalized plan considers these factors to determine the number of sessions, microneedling approach, needle depth, and any other potential risks to monitor.
Clients with severe cosmetic concerns, such as deep wrinkles, crevices, and keloid scars, may need several microneedling sessions to achieve the desired results. On the other hand, those with minor cosmetic concerns require fewer sessions and are likely to see results within a week or less.
As stated, there are three microneedling approaches from which to select. That's microneedling using a derma roller, dermapen, or RF microneedling. RF needling vs microneedling: what is the difference？
Microneedling Approaches
A derma roller addresses mild cosmetic concerns like fine lines, enlarged pores, and mild acne scars. This is because it is mechanical and has a fixed skin penetration depth.
Conversely, a derma pen can resolve more advanced cosmetic issues than a derma roller. These include deep acne scars, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles.
Overall, a derma pen allows for needle depth adjustment and is more precise than a derma roller, making it more effective for more profound concerns.
Finally, we have RF microneedling. This approach combines the mechanism of a derma pen with radiofrequency energy. It is suitable for addressing advanced skin concerns like loss of skin elasticity and deeper scars and wrinkles.
Considering that derma rollers are typically considered more suitable for home use, you should instruct your clients on how to properly use them and how to find the most effective roller.
On the other hand, derma pens and RF microneedling machines are used in a professional setting. Stick around to find out how they work and how they can be game-changers for your business.
3. Preparing the Client for the Procedure
With a personalized treatment plan in place, you proceed to cleaning the treatment area to remove dirt, oils, makeup, and other impurities. This step is critical to prevent infections and ensure the needles penetrate the skin without obstructions. You must also use an antiseptic solution to disinfect the skin, further decreasing the risk of infection.
You should apply a topical anesthetic cream to minimize discomfort during the procedure. Popular anesthetic creams contain lidocaine or other numbing agents to ensure the client remains comfortable throughout the treatment, especially if you're microneedling much deeper.
Before you can microneedle the selected skin part, you must wait for the numbing effect to take full effect. That’s a wait time of about 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Microneedling (Creating micro-injuries)
Using the chosen tool (either a derma pen, derma roller, or RF microneedling machine), microneedle the treatment area evenly. The microneedles create tiny puncture wounds on the select part of the skin. You'd notice some swelling or reddish color, which is evidence of the process's effectiveness.
5. Healing and skin rejuvenation
During and after the microneedling procedure, the micro-injuries trigger a skin regeneration process. Naturally, injuring the skin makes it respond by initiating a healing cascade. There's more blood flow to the treated area, bringing with it essential growth factors, oxygen, and nutrients to aid the skin repair itself. In a nutshell, the healing process goes like this:
- Inflammation: Right after the tiny needles puncture the skin, it enters the inflammation phase. The client feels warm around the treated area, mostly swollen and reddish. This signifies that inflammatory cells(like platelets and white blood cells) are at work. They are actively releasing growth factors to kickstart collagen production and tissue repair.
- Proliferation: The skin's fibroblasts continue to release collagen to facilitate the formation of youthful skin. The skin also releases new cells and elastin to support the whole process. This phase lasts seven days to a few weeks.
- Remodeling: This phase can take months. The new collagen and elastin fibers within the treated area strengthen, improving the skin's elasticity and texture. If the client has fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars, or pigmentation issues, they clear up, leaving the skin smoother, firmer, and more youthful.
When done right, microneedling leaves your clients with long-lasting effects, especially with a series of well-planned treatment sessions. Most clients see a significant improvement in their skin's appearance after undergoing multiple sessions. To ensure they see all the procedures through to the end, you should commit to improving the microneedling experience and using tools with advanced capabilities.
Of the three microneedling tools, a dermapen and RF microneedling machine have the most advanced technologies. Let’s take a deeper dive into how these two microneedling tools work.
Dermapen
A dermapen is a handheld microneedling tool that resembles an actual pen. It is motorized and comes with disposable cartridges of multiple sterilized fine needles. This hygienic design configuration reduces the risk of infections.
The dermapen's motorized system has springs to automate microneedling by moving the cartridge of needles vertically in and out of the skin at a controlled pace.
You can adjust the speed at which the needles penetrate the client's skin, enhancing the procedure's effectiveness and precision. Moreover, you can easily control the speed based on the client's comfort levels.
Besides controlling the speed of the needles, you can adjust the depth of the needs to suit the client's unique cosmetic issues. This is critical when working around delicate areas like the eyes and susceptible parts like the face, enhancing the client's experience.
Proper control over the speed, pressure, and depth of microneedling can deliver exceptional results with little to no risk of injury. This improves the overall effectiveness and safety of the treatment.
Due to the precision you get with a dermapen, you can best use it to address several cosmetic concerns. Here are some of the cosmetic concerns a derma pen eliminates much better than a derma roller, with reduced recovery time and rapid healing:
1. Anti-aging
Aging is inevitable. With it comes sagging skin, fine lines, and wrinkles. Why? The skin's natural elastin and collagen production drops as we age. To address this issue, derma pen microneedling creates controlled micro-injuries in the skin, stimulating the production of elastin and collagen.
Increased collagen and elastin production contributes to more elastic and firmer skin, counteracting the laxity that comes with aging. The more youthful the skin becomes, the more the fine lines and wrinkles disappear, giving the skin a smoother appearance.
2. Hyperpigmentation
Microneedling reverses these hyperpigmentation issues from sunspots to dark spots caused by excess melanin production on certain skin sections. The healing process triggered by microneedling increases skin cell turnover, helping fade dark spots or sunspots over time. This eventually evens out the skin's tone, leaving your client with a more uniform complexion.
3. Scar treatment
Derma pen microneedling can also clear scars from injuries, acne, and surgery. A good example is atrophic scars (pitted or sunken scars). This non-surgical solution can improve the skin's texture as the skin regenerates due to the production of growth factors, collagen, and elastin. The more microneedling sessions a client goes through, the higher the chances of the scar's appearance becoming less noticeable and more consistent with the surrounding skin.
4. Stretch marks
Stretch marks are mostly caused by the skin stretching beyond its capacity, tearing the skin's dermal layer. This may happen due to rapid weight changes, swift growth, or pregnancy.
Since a derma pen allows you control over the depth of the microneedling needles, you can precisely target the stretch marks within the skin's dermal layer.
Stimulating elastin and collagen production within this region helps repair the stretched skin. The skin regenerates and heals, blending seamlessly with the surrounding skin.
5. Skin rejuvenation
Other than anti-aging, hyperpigmentation, scars, and stretch marks, you can use a derma pen to address general skin rejuvenation needs. For instance, derma pen microneedling can improve topical product absorption and help reduce the appearance of large pores.
By triggering the body's healing process, enhancing blood circulation, and increasing cell turnover, derma pen microneedling can even address off-label skin rejuvenation desires. And when we get to this point, RF needling makes so much possible. Take a read.
RF Needling
Taking what derma pen microneedling can do a notch higher is RF needling or radiofrequency microneedling. This is a cutting-edge cosmetic procedure meant to bring in the aspect of skin tightening to the overall benefits of traditional derma pen microneedling. So, how does it do that? RF needling vs microneedling: which one is more effective？
RF needling machines have handpieces fitted with an array of microneedling needles and a mechanism for delivering radiofrequency energy into the micro-injuries created by the needles. RF needling vs microneedling: which one is better？
Just like a derma pen, you have the liberty of configuring the depth and speed of the needles. As an extra, you also have the chance to control the radiofrequency temperature.
As you move the machine's handpiece over the treatment area, the needles puncture the skin while simultaneously delivering radiofrequency energy through them. The radiofrequency energy travels down the needles into the target skin layer, mostly the deeper skin layers within the dermis.
Once the RF energy reaches the dermis, it generates heat ranging between 40 and 60 degrees Celsius. Since this is the optimal temperature for elastin and collagen production, it stimulates the production of these two critical skin maintenance proteins.
In addition to stimulating collagen production, the heat denatures collagen fibers, causing them to contract and tighten immediately. And that is how RF needling is capable of handling even the most advanced and off-label cosmetic issues.
The addition of RF energy to the whole microneedling process reduces the downtime and recovery time, making it a better choice for enhancing skin firmness, complexion, and youthfulness.
Conclusion
Speaking of microneedling and dermapen, it is clear that microneedling is the overall procedure of puncturing controlled micro-injuries on the skin to stimulate collagen production, while a dermapen is a microneedling tool. On the other hand, RF needling is an advanced cosmetic procedure combining microneedling and the effect of radiofrequency energy on the skin. RF needling vs microneedling: which to choose？
Use this piece as a guide to distinguish the three concepts. Remember, microneedling with either a derma roller, derma pen, or an RF needling machine has pros and cons. So, critically assess the client's cosmetic concerns before curating a personalized treatment plan for them. Also, always be sure to conduct all microneedling procedures hygienically to avoid infections and minimize the associated risks.
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