I, Laura Lewis, have been needling scars for over 10 years in order to camouflage and
smooth the "pulled" and unnatural apperance of scars. A client came to me who had a face lift scar on the
outside of her midface and along the outside of her ear. As I worked to "remove" any appearance of the scar,
I noticed that the surrounding skin became much more noticeably smooth. The problem now was that skin around the needled
area didn't match the rest of her face because it had become "baby butt" smooth with no pores visible!!! The rest
of her skin had winkles, minimum acne scarring and uneven texture. I needed to get the rest of her face smooth,
which I did through the same process of skin needling. After extensive research and experimenting on myself and others,
I can now offer without reservation an effective and inexpensive treatment for wrinkles, acne scars and uneven skin. Needling
requires virtually no downtime.
In my experience,
I have found that after skin is needled, a thin application of Retin-A increases the effectiveness of the treatment.
This is a vitamin A derivitave which is prescribed by your physican. if you desire this additional
topical, bring the Retin A with you.
The needle length and needle diameter are most important to determine the best combination for treating
scars and rejuvenating the skin. Needling causes numerous dermal injuries. Needle diameter is very important as we are
seeking to maximise the dermal injury without creating a new scar. In my experience, 0.25mm needle diameter is the maximum
that can be used without causing a new scar in the skin. Smaller diameter needles can be used but do not maximise the
dermal injury and therefore will be slower to produce results. Needle length
is also a critical issue. The target when we needle the dermis is a layer in the upper dermis called the intermediate reticular
dermis. This dermal layer contains the highest number of stem cells which are able to produce new collagen. The epidermis
( the outer layer of the skin ) varies in depth from .05mm on the eyelids to 1.5mm on the soles of the feet. The epidermis
of the face ( other than the eyelids ) varies from 0.3mm to 1mm in depth and therefore a 0.75mm to 2mm needle length is more
than adequate to reach the intermediate reticular dermis. In my experience, needles more than 2mm in length have a tendency
to catch and tear the skin. I usually go no deeper than the thickness of a nickel.
Skin needling is now well established as a treatment option
for depressed acne scarring. It is a far more cost effective option than fractional laser therapy and delivers very similar
results with repeated treatments.
Wrinkle Diminishing Skin Needling Treatment The latest alternative to laser resurfacing!! This technique
preserves the integrity of the skin as it stimulates collagen deposition in the dermis and thickens it, creating a smooth
complexion. It also improves dilated blood vessels and can greatly improve acne scarring and other forms of scars. No “down
time” is essentially required since the healing time is rapid. There is no sun sensitivity to the treatment, but a 30
SPF daily application is always recommended.
The skin is first locally anesthetized
with a topical anesthetic. Once the skin is numbed, a needling instrument abrades the wrinkled area. This technique is effective
because the needle breaks up old collagen strands that are tethering the indented wrinkle. The needle thrusts create collagen
immediately under the epidermis. The needle only penetrates through the epidermis and does not remove it, allowing it to heal
rapidly. As the skin swells, the needle pricks fuse and the edges of the epidermis begin to adhere. The procedure stimulates
the upper area of the skin. This promotes the remarkable healing response of the body. It instantly reacts and induces collagen
producing cells (fibroblasts) and the release of growth factors to form at the puncture site, where the wrinkle was treated.
Growth factors augment collagen deposition and maturation. Ultimately, collagen is laid down and “fills" the wrinkle
within 6 months. The process may mimic the results obtained with a laser, but without destroying the outer skin (epidermis).
The skin reddens and swells immediately after the treatment. By day 4 to 5, the skin returns to a moderate pink flush which
is usually easily covered with make-up and the swelling decreases.
Collagen and elastin will
continuously build and the skin will gradually tighten up. The process should be done 3 times, every 2 months during the 6
month treatment period. The treatment should not be repeated until the epidermis has completely healed. A complete cycle of
healing usually occurs within 1 month. This treatment is not for darker pigmented skin, as it could cause discoloration or
hyperpigmentation. Other contraindications include: diabetics, those with the herpes simplex virus or cold sore breakouts,
STDs, and those that experience keloidal scarring.
Here are typical
prices for such treatments at other salons
Eye area $550
Series of 3…$1,320
Acne Scarring $500
Series of 3…$1,200
Upper Lip area and “Smile Lines” $450
Series
of 3…$1,080
Forehead $400
Series of 3…$960
Laura Lewis Permanent Cosmetics
now offers full face treatment for
only $180
Collagen Induction Therapy (Skin Resurfacing/Skin Needling)
■ Laura Leiws Permanent Cosmetics offers this exciting new cosmetic treatment. It is
an alternative to Ablative Laser Skin Resurfacing, which literally involves burning the superficial layer of the skin, resulting
in redness, swelling, discomfort and down time (recovery or healing time) of 6 weeks or more. Many clients find the recovery
time unsatisfactory and a gross infringement to their lifestyle, despite the treatment giving outstanding results.
■ Skin Resurfacing by Skin needling (collagen induction therapy) is our alternative to ABLATIVE
LASER Skin Resurfacing. It is more akin to Fraxel laser resurfacing it is just as effective at a fraction of the cost.
■ It must be emphasised that the Skin Needling I am offering are NON ABLATIVE (leaves the surface
of the skin unchanged) and have minimal down time.
What is collagen
induction therapy ? (skin resurfacing/skin needling)
It is a procedure
that involves an advanced needling of the skin technique. This procedure has created great interest in the community
because of its:
● Outstanding Results
●
Minimal downtime compared to other procedures, such as deep chemical peels
● Lower costs
compared to treatments with Fraxel laser or Pixel laser systems
● Client high satisfaction
|
| Client had bad acne sccars and 3 treatments |
Skin Needling by Dr. Phillipa McCafferey
Edgecliff, NSW 2027, Australia
Skin Needling
has been performed for many years, using a variety of instruments, to soften depressed scars and deep lines.
Dr Philippe Simonin, a Swissfrench Dermatologist, published his results in Baran’s
Cosmetic Dermatology 1994, but his ground breaking technique, which he named Electroridopuncture
(ERP), remained largely unknown to the wider medical community. In his study of 600
patients, he examined results for 2 patient groups – one with Skin Ageing and the other with old Scars. He performed
10 treatments on all patients.
In the patient group with Skin
Ageing, 40% showed significant improvement, 22% moderate improvement and 13% some improvement – as measured by comparative
skin imprints. In the patient group with old scars, 60% improved with 5-6 treatments. Best results were obtained for old fibrous
and depressed scars.
Another pioneer of Skin Needling was Dr Andre
Camirand, a Canadian Plastic Surgeon who made a chance observation of improvement in the texture and depression of the scars
of some of his facelift patients, who had undergone tattooing for scar camouflage. He experimented with tattooing facelift
scars without pigment, and noted improvement in texture and colour. He published an article on his results in JACPS in 1992.
Dr Camirand postulated that hypochromic (depigmented) skin repigmented
through the transplantation of melanocytes (pigment producing cells) from normal skin into the hypochromic (depigmented) skin
during the needling procedure. He also reported flattening of hypertrophic (overgrown) scars. He performed his needling procedures
using a high speed tattoo gun, under local anaesthesia and treated each scar to pinpoint bleeding. He repeated the procedure
every 2 to 8 weeks and no side effects or complications were reported.
Skin Needling can be safely performed on all skin colours and types. There is no risk of
postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (pigmentation of the skin as a result of skin trauma) as the melanocytes remain, like the
dermis, intact during Skin Needling. This is the major distinguishing safety feature when comparing Skin Needling and other
invasive procedures that are used to treat deep lines and depressed scars, ie laser resurfacing, deep chemical peels and dermabrasion.
Other distinguishing safety features of skin needling include:
• Reduced
risk of infection
• Significantly reduced downtime period for healing
• Significantly reduced comparative cost
Skin needling produces hundreds of tiny dermal injuries. Each dermal
injury triggers the body’s natural wound healing response within the skin, producing and depositing new collagen in
the treatment area. Each successive treatment triggers the production and deposition of new collagen that progressively fills
in depressed scars and deep lines. This infilling process can continue for up to 12 months after a treatment has been
performed.
Results vary between patients, with some achieving
90%+ improvement in scarring and others less than 50%. However, all patients achieve some improvements.
