First, what is at-home micro needling? Anything touting the use of needles at home, in my opinion, is an immediate red flag, but with so many people talking about it, I decided to educate myself on it before passing judgement.
At-Home Micro Needling tools (and there seems to be many available now) use lots of tiny (usually metal) needles to puncture the skin and cause temporary wounds. In case that didn’t freak you out, let me put it another way – rolling or stamping (?!) these tools with tons of tiny needles over your face – as directed – literally creates small holes in your skin. As a woman, I realize you pay a price for beauty, but this sounds like torture.
Still want to try it at-home?
If you’re still curious and considering it then consider this:
If your goal with micro needling is to improve acne, remove scars or to stimulate collagen production by wounding the skin, then professional micro needlingcould be a good option. When done by a medical professional it is considered safe and effective and I have seen many before and after photos that would make me a believer. However I recommend you do your research. There are many other procedures, such as peels and lasers, that aren’t as scary, won’t make you bleed or puss….and don’t have as high (or any) risk for infection.
If your goal is simply to get better absorption from your skin care products, then I would suggest you seriously reconsider using micro needling based on the scary but real risks. For starters, from the research I’ve done, there aren’t any reputable studies proving micro needling increases product penetration. I would recommend trying other tools out there that are gentle, safe and proven to be effective at increasing product absorption first. If you want to learn more about a device that does this, check out the JeNu Ultrasonic Infuser. Vogue and Forbes called it a “game-changer” for your skin care and there are multiple studies and photos that prove it works. Instead of tiny needles that puncture holes in your skin, JeNu uses ultrasonic energy to gently (but effectively) push more product into your skin without causing any harm or damage.But I get it….big risk can yield great results. So if you are still considering using micro needling at-home after reading this, be mindful of the dangers and risks associated with doing it yourself, or talk to a medical professional to learn the best way to do it at home. In my opinion, it’s not worth the potential danger of being scarred for life when there are so many other options that are safer and actually have additional benefits.
The DANGERS
Using poor instruments may lead to breakage of needles in the skin.
Not properly cleaning and sterilizing instruments can leave you scarred for life.
IMPORTANT: if you constantly wound skin on a regular basis, you will eventually experience negative results, including permanent scarring!
Image Credit: beautystories101.blogspot.com
The RISKS
Skin infection with bacteria or herpes simplex virus (cold sores).
Oozing and swelling during the recovery phase.
Dryness, scaling, redness and swelling may occur after treatment and last for weeks or longer, depending on how deep the needles penetrate and puncture the skin.
No comments:
Write comments