What it’s like to get microneedling [Thai Becker, RN, Portland]

Eva Sheie (00:00):
You're listening to Where Before Meets After.

Thai (00:03):
Hi, my name's Thai. I work at MD Beauty Lab with Portland Plastic Surgery Group, and I am a aesthetic nurse here.

Eva Sheie (00:11):
What is a microneedling treatment like from beginning to end? Can you just describe it for us?

Thai (00:16):
Yeah. So with microneedling, the first thing, we have patients wash their face, make sure there's nothing on, and then I'll usually then put on numbing, a topical numbing ointment. SkinPen, I don't think is painful, but it can be ... It's like what, 14 needles going in basically like a tattoo, so it's not comfortable. So let's make the patient as comfortable as possible. So it's easy to just throw on topical numbing, get everything else set up, have it sit there for 10, 15 minutes. Wipe that off, make sure we're cleansing the skin really well. And the nice thing about SkinPen is it comes with what we call a slip. So it comes with ointment that we're applying and that's what we're using to use the microneedling pen. But microneedling is very interesting where you can, because it makes these micro channels, if you're using other serums, it really helps with absorption.

(01:15):
So one thing we can also do that I really like doing is using PRP or PRF, platelet-rich plasma. Then we're just using your own body components and really getting it infused into your skin. And I think that gives your body a big boost for the collagen and elastin production. But yeah, we do the neck and the face and I always start with the neck and then we move our way up going section by section. And it doesn't take too long. It's like a 25, 30 minute procedure. And then I like to cleanse afterwards and then apply some type of hydrating serum on top. The patient will look red and they could have some pinpoint bleeding. Typically, the pinpoint bleeding stops fairly right away. You're going to look like severely sunburned.

Eva Sheie (02:03):
For how long?

Thai (02:04):
Downtime is pretty minimal. For a treatment like this, I would say that day you're going to want to stay out of the sun, like a wide brim hat, and then you're going to look severely sunburnt. The next day you look slightly sunburn and then you can wear a sunscreen, put on makeup the next day. I think by the second day, you look totally ... Your skin looks normal, doesn't look red at all, but you just look very glowy.

Eva Sheie (02:29):
Does anything happen afterward? Does it slough off sort of like some laser treatments will do that and you'll get a dusty ...

Thai (02:38):
Yeah.

Eva Sheie (02:38):
Does it do something like that?

Thai (02:39):
You can get a little bit flaky. So typically I always send the patient home with some type of hydrating cream that they can reapply continuously.

Eva Sheie (02:50):
Is there anything you should not use on your face if you're in recovery like that?

Thai (02:54):
From microneedling? Yeah. Any actives, any acids, no retinol. You don't want to use that for like a week. Your skin barrier is technically broken down at that point. And so I think adding an active on top of that will irritate your skin.

Eva Sheie (03:11):
What can cause damage to your skin barrier? I know for myself, I was using too many products. I had to ... When I finally freaked out, because my face looked so bad, I went to the dermatologist instead of just asking a friend who works in a plastic surgery office said that I had to stop using everything and I went all the way down to almost nothing until it calmed down and recovered. And that actually did fix it.

Thai (03:40):
Yeah. Using too many products, anything that's really abrasive or aggressive that has a big reaction where you're getting redness or dryness can damage your skin barrier.

Eva Sheie (03:53):
Sometimes we damage the skin on purpose. Yeah. There are treatments that do that. You're doing that with microneedling.

Thai (04:00):
Yeah.

Eva Sheie (04:00):
Right?

Thai (04:01):
Yeah.

Eva Sheie (04:01):
What do you think the difference is between damaging it correctly and not correctly?

Thai (04:06):
If it's damaged in an uncontrolled environment, like with microneedling, it's very controlled and then what you do afterwards. We already know we damaged it, so we're already working to repair it by keeping and locking in that moisture and letting the skin recover. Whereas sometimes when you damage your skin barrier on your own and not knowing it, you're kind of just like, "Oh, I'm going to just do this and this and this. " And you're doing more damage to it.

Eva Sheie (04:35):
What kind of results could you expect to see then from a SkinPen microneedling treatment?

Thai (04:40):
Right after your treatment, a few days after, you do feel like you look a little bit more on the glowy side, but if you're wanting to see true plump supple skin with less fine lines, changes in your texture and enlarged pores, it is kind of a bit of a long road and you just have to keep the faith in it and know that you're not going to see those results because we're asking your body to produce more collagen and elastin. First off, I would tell somebody it's not just like a one and done. You're not just going to get one microneedling treatment. You're not going to see that big of a benefit from just one treatment. I would say you need to come in for at least three treatments, like six to eight weeks apart, and then like nine months from then, that's when you're really going to notice some changes.

Eva Sheie (05:29):
Thanks for listening. I'm your host, Eva Sheie. Follow the show and submit questions for our experts at wherebeforemeetsafter.com. Where Before Meets After is a production of The Axis.