How does microneedle technology work?

Microneedle treatments can tighten up skin and remove fine lines and blemishes; it works by the principal of trauma. Plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, MD, explains how microneedle technology works and what to expect during treatment.

Transcript

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[MUSIC PLAYING] The way micro-needling works is it utilizes several tiny little needles, and the needles will penetrate the skin anywhere from a half of a millimeter up to two millimeters,

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sometimes more, to cause a little trauma to the skin to cause the collagen to tighten.

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Microneedling is a relatively newer treatment that's getting quite popular to decrease the years, to basically tighten up skin, to remove fine lines,

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and even to remove blemishes. And basically, this works by the principle of trauma. Our skin is composed of collagen, collagen

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and tightly packed fibers. And as we get older, that collagen starts to denature, it starts to fall apart. And all the laser treatments, radiofrequency treatments,

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treatments used to tighten up the skin are used to tighten that collagen back up, using trauma. Well, lasers are very expensive.

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And that is an issue for some patients. You can do chemical peels, but chemical peels have a long downtime if you're doing an aggressive one.

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Microneedling is a great way to create trauma to that skin, to cause that collagen to tighten back up again with less

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downtime and a lot less cost. The way microneedling works is it utilizes several tiny little needles.

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And the needles will penetrate the skin anywhere from a half of a millimeter up to two millimeters, sometimes more, to cause a little trauma to the skin to cause the collagen

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to tighten. Some doctors afterwards will place growth factors on the skin to get good penetration of those growth factors.

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Others will actually put blood, your actual growth factors from your blood onto the skin, to cause that skin to actually tighten and to look more youthful afterwards.