Microneedling

What it is

Microneedling creates a field of very fine channels in the surface of the skin, and the skin responds by rebuilding. It is the most direct route we have to collagen production, and it is the treatment we reach for when the concern is texture, tone, and the quality of the skin itself rather than the way the face is holding tension.

The principle is one we already work with. Fine needling in facial acupuncture produces a controlled healing response in the dermis; microneedling produces the same response across a whole area at once, more evenly and more intensively. The two are complementary rather than competing, and a good many people have both.

What it treats

• Fine lines and early wrinkling, particularly around the eyes and mouth
• Skin texture — roughness, enlarged pores, and dullness
• Acne scarring and post-inflammatory marks
• Uneven tone and pigmentation
• Loss of firmness
• Surgical and traumatic scars on the face — see also our page on scar tissue

What a session involves

We begin with a full assessment of your skin and your goals. The face is cleansed and a topical numbing preparation is applied, which takes twenty to thirty minutes to take effect — most people find the treatment itself comfortable once it has.

The needling is done in passes across each area of the face, with the depth adjusted to the region and to what we are treating — shallower around the eyes, where the skin is thinnest, deeper across the cheeks and jawline, where it can tolerate more and where scarring often reaches further into the tissue. It takes around twenty minutes. A serum suited to your skin is applied afterward, and we will send you home knowing exactly what to use and what to avoid over the following days.

Expect redness for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, similar to mild sunburn, and occasionally some flaking as the skin turns over. You'll most likely be presentable the next day, and fully settled within three.

The course

Microneedling is cumulative and it is not a single-session treatment. A course of three to six sessions, spaced four to six weeks apart, is what produces the change you are looking for — collagen remodeling continues for months after each treatment, which is why the spacing matters.

Many go on to maintain with a session every few months, combining it with facial rejuvenation acupuncture in between.

Microneedling can be done two weeks after a laser facial or chemical peel, but not sooner.

Aftercare

• No makeup for twenty-four hours
• No sun exposure without protection, and no sunbeds at all — treated skin is photosensitive
• No retinoids, acids, or vitamin C for five days
• No exercise, saunas, steam, or swimming for forty-eight hours
• Keep the skin hydrated and leave it alone

Who it is not for

Microneedling is not suitable during an active acne breakout in the area being treated, during a rosacea or eczema flare, over an active cold sore, or on skin with any active infection. We do not treat anyone who has taken isotretinoin in the past six months, or during pregnancy.

Tell us if you have a history of keloid or hypertrophic scarring, if you have a bleeding disorder or take anticoagulants, if you are prone to cold sores, or if you have had recent injectables — the intervals matter and we will build the schedule around them.