The Power of Microneedling with PRP

Microneedling is a powerful cosmetic treatment that can refresh the skin and reduce the signs of aging and sun damage. PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is an equally powerful treatment being used in every area of medicine from cosmetic treatments to orthopedics. What happens when you combine microneedling with PRP? At North Dallas Dermatology Associates in Dallas, TX, we think once you experience the effects for yourself, you’ll understand why we offer this treatment as part of our commitment to bring patients the most advanced dermatology treatments available.

The Basics: What Is Microneedling?

Microneedling is a long-standing and effective cosmetic treatment. It’s accomplished using a dermal roller with extremely fine needles. These needles are so fine they’re almost hard to see with the naked eye, and it’s possible to adjust the depth so you get the perfect effect for every skin type, condition, and area. As these needles puncture the skin, they create what’s known as a “micro-injury.” This term refers to an injury so small that it doesn’t cause you pain or put you in danger but is just enough to signal to your body to ramp up production of collagen and work harder at turning over new cells. In essence, microneedling forces your body to regenerate and renew the skin on your face at a rate more like what you remember from your early 20s.

The Basics: What Is PRP?

Platelet-rich plasma comes from your blood, and it’s a therapy being used to amazing effect anywhere we want to stimulate healing and growth. Athletes like Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal have used it to dramatically speed up healing from sports injuries. Doctors use it frequently after surgery for difficult-to-heal injuries in ligaments and tendons, such as after torn rotator cuff procedures. It’s also being used to complement and enhance the effectiveness of cosmetic treatments. Plasma is the clear part of your blood, and platelets contain the many types of proteins and growth factors your body needs to regenerate tissue and repair damage. Under ordinary circumstances, an injury will trigger your body to send platelets to the injured area. With PRP therapy, we simply isolate and then concentrate those platelets and send them right where we want them to go.

The Power of Microneedling With PRP

How We Do It

Both these treatments use the power of your own body to heal itself, and when you combine them, you get even greater (and faster) results.

Obtaining the PRP

When you arrive for your treatment, we’ll start by drawing some blood. We don’t need much because we’re concentrating the platelets that are already there. The blood will be spun by a centrifuge, which separates the various components by their mass. This allows us to remove the platelets from the rest of the blood and concentrate them into a serum. When you see the serum, you’ll notice it looks like a clear gel: that’s because the part of your blood that makes it appear red when it leaves your body–the red blood cells–aren’t used in this therapy.

Applying Treatment

For your microneedling treatment, you’ll first receive a numbing cream on the area to be treated, which just ensures you’ll find the whole experience perfectly comfortable. Then we apply the PRP to your face and use the dermal roller over the PRP. The microneedling treatment creates thousands of microscopic channels that allow the PRP to reach the deeper layers of your skin for maximum collagen production and cell rejuvenation.

The Many Benefits of Treatment

Anything that you could treat with microneedling you can treat with microneedling with PRP. In fact, we recommend microneedling with PRP to make the treatment more effective when you have particularly severe issues with marks and blemishes on the skin. This treatment is perfect for addressing:

• Acne scars
• Sun damage
• Large pores
• Uneven skin texture
• Surgical scars
• Wrinkles and fine lines
• Areas of hyperpigmentation
• Age spots

Using PRP speeds up the whole process and stimulates your body as it goes about the work of skin renewal. As such, it produces better results.

What to Expect After Treatment

There’s no downtime required after treatment and no need to set aside time for any sort of lengthy recovery. You’re able to go about your daily routine immediately after you have treatment. The only thing you need to do is give your skin a little extra TLC for a few days. Doing so will speed up your results, allow you to enjoy them for longer, and support your body while it goes about refreshing and rejuvenating your face. Here are a few skincare tips to bear in mind:

Stay Out of the Sun

You should be avoiding too much sun exposure at all times, but it’s especially important after this treatment. For three to 10 days, avoid going out in the sun, and especially between 10 am and 3 pm when the UV rays are at their strongest. Don’t forget that sitting next to a window at work all day still exposes your skin to UV rays, so now is a good time to find a place to work a bit further within the building. When you come to see us for a consultation, we can tell you how long you should avoid the sun based on your unique skin type and typical sun response.

Remember Your Skin Is Extra-Absorbant

PRP works so well after microneedling because of the microchannels created by the dermal roller. When it comes to using PRP therapy, natural moisturizers, and natural skincare products, apply away! You’ll see even more benefit than normal from these products. At the same time, remember that your skin will be extra ready to absorb anything; and not just the good stuff. If you use anything with toxic ingredients, your body will absorb these even more readily after microneedling than before. Over-the-counter products are full of these ingredients. If you’re going to take good care of your skin by getting a microdneedling treatment, isn’t now the time to invest in quality skincare? We offer medical-grade therapeutic products that are good for you and perfect for your post-microneedled skin. Talk to us at your appointment and we can help you choose the right products for your skin and goals.

Take It Easy With Cleansers

We’ll help you cleanse your face thoroughly before we begin treatment, and it’s best to wait about four hours afterward before cleansing again. Give your cell regeneration process some time to get started before you wash and use a mild cleanser and tepid water the first few times.

Avoid Anti-Inflammatories

Medications like aspirin or ibuprofen, which you’ll find in Advil and Motrin, work to relieve pain by interfering with the body’s natural inflammation response. That’s why they’re popular choices for treating the aches of arthritis or the soreness you experience after a workout, which are both caused by inflammation. In those contexts and similar ones, these drugs are a godsend. But right after your microneedling treatment, you want your body’s natural responses to be working at their optimal rate. These responses are what trigger cellular regeneration on your face to give you younger, healthier, brighter skin. Don’t take medications that slow the process!

Stay Hydrated

Hydration is always important. Every single cell, tissue, and organ–from your brain to your facial skin cells–needs plenty of water to do its job properly. When you’re even a little dehydrated, you force your body to work harder. Your body will demand more energy to lubricate joints, fight infections, maintain optimal temperature, digest food, and remove waste. Not only is water important to keep your skin in good shape, but after a microneedling treatment, you have a special need for more water. There are two reasons for this. First, your skin always needs water, and as the skin on your face renews, it will demand fresh hydration. The second reason you need plenty of water is so you don’t distract your body from the rejuvenation process by making all other bodily processes more difficult!

Enjoying Your Results

You’ll likely start noticing results in the first week after your treatment, but the real results will start to show between two and three weeks later. Remember that each of us is unique. Our bodies will renew cells at different speeds, and while PRP therapy will speed up your personal cellular repair process, it won’t suddenly turn you into a “fast healer” like someone with a different physiology. And that’s ok. The point of all cosmetic treatments is to help you be the best you that you can be. As your full results begin to show, you’ll notice old scars fading, pore sizes shrinking, and fine lines starting to disappear. At that point, you might want another treatment, and we’ll discuss this when you come talk to us at your consultation. The number of treatments you need will depend on your unique situation, and in some cases it takes a few more treatments to address larger scars or burns. Most people will do well with three treatments their first time. After that, a yearly maintenance treatment will help you keep your excellent results.

The Importance of Professional Treatment

At North Dallas Dermatology Associates, our goal is the best possible skincare for you. There are dermal rollers available for purchase online, and there are certainly spas that offer microneedling treatments, but there are some good reasons to seek treatment from qualified skin experts like the dermatologists at our practice.

Dangerous and Ineffective At-Home Treatments

At best, the dermal rollers you buy for at-home treatment are ineffective. At worst, they can cause dangerous infections. These rollers aren’t the same quality and grade as what you can get from dermatology professionals, meaning you simply won’t get the same effect. And that’s not even taking into account that you won’t be able to get all the benefits of combining PRP with your treatment, either. But there’s another problem. Because these at-home dermal rollers puncture the skin, they offer an avenue for infection. You have to be 100% certain that both your skin and the roller are perfectly sterile, and that means carefully cleaning and storing your roller.

Less-Qualified Spas

Many spas can offer excellent sterility and good technique for microneedling. But what you’re average medspa cannot offer is qualified dermatologies to oversee all treatments and offer you truly comprehensive skincare. At North Dallas Dermatology Associates, our physicians have years of experience treating thousands of patients with every type of skincare issue imaginable, from skin cancer to autoimmune connective disease. We don’t just offer cosmetic treatments. We offer cosmetic treatments backed by extensive medical training and experience in caring for the skin.

FAQ About Microneedling With PRP

Is It Dangerous?

This treatment is perfectly safe. Microneedling has been cleared for use on any type, tone, or color of skin. As for the PRP, there’s nothing to worry about there, either. Since the platelets we use are taken from your own blood, you don’t have to worry about having an allergic reaction or experiencing any sort of rejection issue.

How Long Will This Treatment Take?

You should normally allow 45 minutes to an hour to complete the whole treatment. It takes about five minutes for the numbing cream to take effect, two or three minutes for us to take your blood sample, and around 20-30 minutes to prepare the PRP. The microneedling itself will take between five and 15 minutes, depending on what areas you’re having treated. Don’t forget to allow yourself some time to relax and enjoy a little self-care in our comfortable facilities!

Am I a Good Candidate for This Treatment?

Nearly any healthy adult interested in addressing the signs of aging or minimizing the look of scars or burns is a good candidate for this treatment. There are other more intensive treatments that can address more severe skin issues, but when you come talk to us, we can evaluate your skin needs and suggest the best treatments to help you get the results you need. If you’re taking blood thinners, you’ll need to be able to stop doing so for a while before and after treatment, and this is also not a recommended treatment for anyone with a blood-related disorder like anemia. As with any treatment, the best way to find out if you’re a good candidate is to come in for a discussion with one of our qualified medical professionals.

Will Treatment Hurt?

The needles on the dermal roller are so fine that this isn’t an intensive treatment. In addition, we use a numbing cream to ensure that you stay perfectly comfortable at all times. As for the PRP, it comes from your own blood and won’t cause any sting or discomfort.

How Long Do Results Last?

Your own unique physiology will determine how long your results last, but in general you can expect accelerated collagen production to continue for about three months after your treatment. At that point, the effects of the sun and the natural aging cycle will slowly return, but you won’t go back to where you were before. Instead, you’ll be aging from your new, fresher, post-treatment point. You can make your results last by committing to taking good care of your skin.

Learn Firsthand About the Power of Microneedling and PRP

If scars, burns, or just the signs of aging are starting to bother you, there’s no need to live with them. Visit North Dallas Dermatology Associates in Dallas, TX and set up an appointment to talk to us about the power of microneedling combined with PRP.