Microneedling experiences from my practice
Microneedling for men
Microneedling is my favorite anti-aging therapy. I do everything as a professional – Botox, Hyaluron, etc. But nothing I do as often and as gladly as Microneedling. Every 6-8 weeks. The older I get, the more I swear by it.
Microneedling is also ideal for men. Because daily shaving and environmental influences put a lot of stress on men’s skin. In addition, men’s skin ages significantly faster than women’s skin after 35. Therefore, it is in particular need of repair and regeneration. And microneedling is perfect for that.
In my practice in Munich, I now treat quite a number of male patients with it. And the experience I have with microneedling with them is consistently positive. The skin appearance has improved significantly for all of them. Acne scars are visibly faded. I would like to describe a few of my experiences with microneedling for men in this report.
These are the topics:
Beautiful, smooth skin for men. Thanks to microneedling.
What is Microneedling?
Microneedling is a procedure in which the skin is punctured with numerous needles. The needle pricks create microfine injuries under the skin. And these in turn initiate a healing process in the course of which collagen, elastin and hyaluron are newly formed. The medical term for microneedling, “percutaneous collagen induction therapy,” emphasizes what it’s all about: old, unflattering skin structures (scars, blemishes, stripes) are replaced with new, young skin fibers.
Puncturing the skin can be done in different ways. On the one hand, small rollers are used for this purpose, which are studded with dozens of needles. Or electrical devices that “stamp” the needles into the skin. But by whatever means: In principle, it’s all about achieving such punctures in high numbers. And in sufficient depth.
Microneedling must go deep
The depth of the punctures is crucial for the success of microneedling. In my experience, 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm is required for a proper microneedling, which is what we are talking about here. Only then does collagen synthesis get going. And only then the skin is repaired and regenerated. I myself regularly get needled between 1.5 mm and 2 mm. Because microneedling at this depth can only be done by a doctor, it is also called “medical needling”. And it is also endurable only with prior anesthesia (in the form of lidocaine cream).
for scars and poor skin condition
Microneedling achieves good results with scars. Classically, it is used to treat acne scars. Recently, I also achieved beautiful results with a patient for the consequences of a dog bite (by the way, the costs were completely covered by the accident insurance in her case). In addition, I also have good experience with microneedling in the treatment of large pores and oily skin. For this purpose, needling is combined with a diluted Botox solution (this is called “Micro Botox” or “Baby Botox”). Such a treatment is shown in the video of this post, where I treat my husband Thomas with it.
Microneedling can also be combined with other therapies such as peeling, hyaluron (skin booster) or PRP to achieve a specific effect. As you can read in other posts on my blog, I also have good experiences with my patients with the combination of microneedling + PRP, better known as “vampire lifting”.
Microneedling rejuvenates the skin without damaging the epidermis
Why microneedling?
Microneedling is able to repair structural damage of the skin. It thus brings much more than creams and lotions. And although it doesn’t smooth wrinkles the way Botox does, microneedling is definitely enough for reducing wrinkles and lines in my experience. However, the great advantage of microneedling over Botox or hyaluron is that the skin is actually renewed. The treated area therefore does not merely appear younger. But it is also younger.
Microneedling stimulates skin regeneration, I already said that above. In medical terms, this is referred to as “collagen induction”. Microneedling in a way provokes the formation of new collagen and elastin fibers. Collagen is an important component of the subcutaneous tissue and connective tissue. It makes the skin firm and elastic. By renewing collagen fibers, skin damage such as scars can be repaired.
Microneedling has been popular among women for a long time. For example, microneedling is used to treat stretch marks. These are clearly visible tears in the tissue, e.g. after pregnancy. Microneedling also has a rejuvenating effect on the face. Because here, new collagen ensures a beautiful complexion and a fresh complexion.
Although you might not think it, Microneedling does not cause any injury to the epidermis. The cells of the epidermis are rather “pushed apart” by the needles. This creates fine microchannels that close again after about 30 minutes. While they are open, active ingredients such as PRP, Hyaluron or Micro Botox can be transported through them to deeper layers of the skin during needling.
The fact that microneedling does not damage the epidermis has several advantages. Thus, there is no risk of wound healing or pigmentation disorders. This is what distinguishes microneedling from other skin rejuvenation procedures, such as peeling or ablative laser resurfacing.
My microneedling experience for men
Microneedling and men skin
However, microneedling is especially interesting for men’s skin. This is because men’s skin contains significantly more collagen than women’s skin. In addition, unlike in women, the collagen fibers do not run parallel, but form a network. This makes men’s skin firmer and more robust at a young age. It also ages more slowly than women’s skin until the age of 30.
After that, however, things go rapidly downhill. This is because the formation of new collagen fibers slows down after the age of 35. And with that, the firming effect of collagen wears off. The skin loses elasticity. The supporting corset of collagen that has long kept the skin firm and smooth is now becoming the rigid modeling clay of the aging process. Deep wrinkles dig into him. Circles under the eyes and bags under the eyes become more and more obvious.
However, men’s skin is also oilier and has larger pores, as it produces more sebum than female skin. Since the skin is extensively supplied with fat by the sebaceous glands, men suffer less from skin dryness on the one hand and require less care. On the other hand, they suffer more often from oily skin and large pores.
Microneedling, in my experience, is an effective therapy for all of these problems. By stimulating collagen synthesis, it provides revitalization of the skin. Supporting collagen fibers are renewed, the skin becomes firm and elastic again. Skin imperfections and minor wrinkles are eliminated. Microneedling achieves what the male body is only capable of to a limited extent, even after the age of 35. And in combination with Micro-Botox, Microneedling is also an effective therapy against large pores and oily skin. The following video is about that.
When men’s skin has large pores and is oily
Video: Microneedling + Micro-Botox
My Microneedling experience summarized
My conclusion
How can I summarize my experience with microneedling so far, especially concerning men?
Improve skin texture
Microneedling is in my experience, also from treatments of men, an excellent therapy to improve the appearance of the skin. Large pores, pigmentation spots, smaller scars and wrinkles become much less noticeable after just 2-3 treatments. The combination with PRP is good against eye shadows.
Absolutely anesthetize
After all, I often get needled myself. And in my experience, microneedling is unbearable without anesthesia. So I applied the lidocaine cream extra thick on my husband Thomas’s face in the video and left it on for a full 40 minutes. After that, he hardly felt anything from the needling. Of course, that’s how I do it with other patients.
Especially the nose must be properly anesthetized. This is where the large pores are located in many men. But the nose, of all places, is very sensitive. To increase the effect of the anesthesia, I usually cover this area with foil. This is referred to as “occlusion“. As you can see in the video, Thomas does not feel any pain on his nose, only an unpleasant tickling sensation.
Needling with additives
In the video you can see how the Botox is applied while geneedling. The distribution on the skin follows a kind of checkerboard pattern. The needles stamp 150 microfine channels 0.75 mm deep into every square centimeter of the skin at Thomas. Through these channels, the Botox can penetrate into the deep layers of the skin. The same principle can be used to deliver other active ingredients under the skin, e.g. PRP (platelet-rich plasma) or hyaluron boosters.
bleeding
Bleeding after microneedling always looks quite spectacular. But they are not. It is only blood from the upper capillary vessels, which are injured by the needle pricks and lead to so-called “petechial hemorrhages”. According to all my experiences with microneedling, they are absolutely harmless and over within seconds.
Redness
As can be seen from the photos in this post and the treatment video, med microneedling results in severe redness of the face. It lasts 1-3 days according to my experience. In the case of my husband Thomas, it was barely visible the day after treatment. Other patients still looked like they had sunburn 2 days later. Although you are not subject to any “downtime” in the true sense of the word, I would not call this unrestrictedly socially acceptable.
Therefore, I recommend that all of my patients schedule a microneedling to allow 2-3 days until important appointments. During this period, the skin is also very sensitive, they should avoid heat and fumes (cooking pot, opening oven or dishwasher). In addition, a good sunscreen should be applied when outdoors.
HOW OFTEN REPEAT?
The combined treatment of microneedling and Botox is repeated by my husband Thomas every 4 months. Then the effect of the botulinum toxin on the skin wears off so significantly that it needs to be refreshed. Thomas repeated the microneedling without Botox a total of three times at intervals of 4 weeks. And since then he repeats the treatment every 6 months. Because of Thomas’ positive experience with microneedling, it has become a part of his skin care routine.
This also corresponds to my general recommendation: Microneedling should be repeated 2x in the following 8-12 weeks to achieve the optimal effect. After that, a refresher every 6 months is sufficient.
