Micro-Needling

Micro-needling is a minimally invasive procedure with little down time.  Fine needles create a controlled injury to the top layer of the skin. This causes a natural reaction to produce more collagen which firms, thickens and rejuvenates the skin. Micro-needling has been clinically proven to tighten the skin, improve enlarged pores, and reduce sun damage, scarring, fine lines and wrinkles.

Micro-needling can also be performed with PRP (platelet-rich plasma) for even better results! PRP is developed from a concentration of platelets from your own blood via venipuncture. PRP is composed of many growth factors and other proteins that have regenerative effects as they are important in wound healing. This modality is thought to help improve acne scars and appearance, skin texture, and skin rejuvenation.

Call or stop by to schedule your consultation with Isha Lopez, MD. Dr. Lopez will help determine the best treatment plan for you during your consultaion, and the $90 consultation fee would be applied toward your first micro-needling treatment session.

microneedling

Micro-needling FAQs

Q. Can you receive a micropen treatment if pregnant?

Skin needling is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women due to a number of minor reasons. The needles produce micro-injuries which trigger the natural wound healing response. This wound healing and production of new collagen requires vitamins and nutrients which would otherwise be needed for the baby so is suggested to not be used during pregnancy.
Another minor reason is simply increasing the chances of infection which is never a good idea when pregnant.

Q. Can the micro-needling be done on Asian or African American skin?

Skin needling can be safely performed on all skin colours and types. There is no risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation as the melanocytes remain intact, like the epidermis, during skin needling.
Other invasive procedures such as laser resurfacing are not recommended for Asian or African American skin due to the potential risks of delayed wound healing, pigmentary changes and scarring. This is where skin needling has an advantage as these potential risks are very unlikely due to the epidermis remaining intact.

Q. How is the treatment administered?

Skin needling procedures are performed in a safe and precise manner with the use of the sterile skin pen needle head. The procedure is normally completed within 30-60 minutes depending on the required treatment and anatomical site. Before the procedure starts a topical anaesthetic will be applied to your skin to ensure a comfortable experience. After the skin is numbed, the technician gently moves the skin pen over your skin to puncture the epidermis layers of the skin and create miniscule sub-cutaneous injuries. These microscopic wounds stimulate new collagen deposition which may last for up to a year, yet they close within less than an hour.

Q. What is the skins appearance after the treatment?

After the procedure the client’s skin will be red and flushed in appearance in a similar way to moderate sunburn. The client will also experience skin tightness and mild sensitivity to touch on the area being treated. This will diminish greatly after a few hours following treatments and within the next 24 hours the skin will be completely healed. After 3 days there is barely any evidence that the procedure has taken place.

Q. How quickly are results visible?

Visible results of skin rejuvenation are generally seen after just 6-8 weeks following procedure and improve further over time. A course of micro-needling sessions is usually recommended to achieve optimum results; however skin improvement is noticeable after just one treatment.

Q. Is the skin pen safe?

Skin needling does not involve injections and therefore allergic reactions and side-effects are unlikely to occur. It is minimally invasive, involves minimal downtime (about 24 hours), rapid healing and requires simple after-care.

Q. What topical treatments can be used along with micro-needling?

The skin pen will induce collagen synthesis on its own, but skin improvements is significantly enhanced by combining skin needling treatments with the topical application of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).

Q. What are the indications for having a micro-needling treatment?

Skin needling is especially effective for aging concerns such as wrinkles, lines, folds and crows feet. Because collagen is produced, scars and stretch marks can also improve from treatments especially indented acne scars or chicken pox scars. Pigmentation issues can be helped including hyperpigmentation as well as hypo-pigmentation, although pre-treatment assessment and preparation here is essential. General lack of skin radiance, skin firmness and compactness are also an indication for skin needling treatments and visible improvements can be seen.

Q. What are the contraindications of skin needling treatments?

Contraindications and precautions include; keloid or raised scarring; history of eczema, psoriasis and other chronic conditions; history of actinic (solar) keratosis; history of Herpes Simplex infections; history of diabetes; presence of raised moles, warts or any raised lesions on targeted area. Absolute contraindications include; scleroderma, collagen vascular diseases or cardiac abnormalities; Rosacea and blood clotting problems; active bacterial or fungal infection; immuno-suppression; scars less than 6 months old; and facial fillers in the past 6 months.

Q. Are there any side effects or risks associated with skin needling?

Side effects experienced with micro-needling will usually subside within 24-48 hours. They include erythema, stinging, itching, tightness of the skin.

Q. Can micro-needling treatments remove breast augmentation scars?

Micro-needling has been used as an effective treatment for scarring from surgery, wounds, acne pitting and more.

Q. Can micro-needling help with skin wrinkles?

The micropen device excels when used as a treatment for fine lines and wrinkles. Best results are seen over a period of 4-6 treatments.

Q. Can micro-needling remove or repair surgery scars?

Micro-needling has proven to be effective on all manner of acne pitting and scarring, burn scars, injury scars, and yes, surgical scars, as well.

Q. Does a micro-needling treatment hurt or make you bleed?

Depending on the depth or aggressiveness of treatment, it is possible to experience pin-point bleeding during the treatment but not ongoing. You may find temporary redness of the skin for and hour or so, or possibly or a day, depending upon the age of the skin and treatment depth.

Q. How does micro-needling work?

As the micropen device stamps over your skin, it creates micro-point punctures in the skin, the majority of which are simply pushing your pores open temporarily. This is perceived by the body as damage, which stimulates the release of growth factors that trigger the production of collagen and elastin. Your skin reacts to any injury by initiating the healing process. You encourage your skin to continue healing through this micro-needling process.

Your skin normally assumes that scars, stretch marks and wrinkles are repaired, but with the skin pen auto-stamp micro-needling treatments, the skin is tricked into repairing itself. The process of micro-needling skin remodeling can go on for months after each skin pen treatment. Results can be seen within a week or even a few days. Your skin naturally heals itself every 45 days, so with a little micro-needling stimulation changes can be dramatic and fast.

Q. What is the downtime?

It may varies depending on the depth of treatment. We recommend the patient avoid the sun completely for 24-48 hours immediately after treatment. Most patients describe the immediate post treatment period as having sunburn. Patients will experience redness and swelling right after treatment that tends to resolve by the third day.

Q. What is the procedure like?

When you first arrive, we will remove all makeup and lotions and clean the face well.  Then we apply a topical numbing ointment to the area for about 20 minutes to improve the comfort of the procedure.  After a second cleansing, the procedure may take anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on the treatment size. We welcome your feedback to optimize the results while making your experience as painless as possible.

Q. How does micro-needling compare to other methods of skin rejuvenation such as ablative lasers?

Ablative lasers produce thousands of microscopic thermal zones (0.3 to 1.6 mm deep) in the skin also resulting in collagen formation. It can lead to good results; however, there are longer downtimes and higher costs of this procedure. We have found that our patients prefer a shorter downtime and less costly methods to achieve good results.

Please feel free to call 281-991-5944 x 110 if you have further questions or to schedule your consultation.

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Monday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 pm-4:30 pm

Tuesday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 pm-4:30 pm

Wednesday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 pm-4:30 pm

Thursday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 pm-4:30 pm

Friday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 pm-4:30 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

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Houston Location

Monday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Tuesday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Wednesday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Thursday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Friday:

8:00 am-11:30 am

1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed