Revitalize Your Skin with RF Microneedling

October 17, 2023

acne treatment, brown spots, Medical Aesthetics, medical grade skincare, microneedling, radiofrequency, skin tightening, skincare

Skin issues like brown spots, wrinkles, and loose skin are pretty common for all of us. They can be caused by different things – aging, sun exposure, genetics. If you want healthy, youthful looking skin, it’s important to address them.

Surgery can give dramatic results treating these problems, but there are other options too for tightening skin and dealing with blemishes. One is RF Microneedling (radiofrequency microneedling).

What exactly is RF Microneedling?

It’s a cosmetic procedure and relatively new treatment that can minimize the look of acne scars, wrinkles, and more. It works by stimulating your skin and promoting tissue tightening and collagen growth.

The process involves intentionally damaging the skin in a controlled way. Then as your skin heals, scars, wrinkles and other issues may improve because of the healthy new skin forming.

Radiofrequency microneedling is non-invasive compared to more extreme procedures like chemical peels or dermabrasion. It’s an alternative worth looking into if you want to improve common skin problems in a gentler way.

How does the process of RF microneedling work?

Microneedling is when tiny needles prick your skin. It sounds intense, but it’s not as scary as it seems! The small punctures tell your body to make more collagen and elastin. These proteins help heal and rejuvenate your skin, reducing lines, scars, and blemishes.

How does it work? The needles create micro-injuries that kickstart healing. Your body rushes in to repair the tiny wounds, sending collagen to fill them in. The new collagen plumps up your skin, smoothing out imperfections. Microneedling also makes the top layer of skin thicker over time. The whole process remodels your skin’s structure.

Microneedling has been around for 25+ years, but radiofrequency microneedling is new. It uses radiofrequency energy to heat the needles. The heat amplifies the micro-injuries, telling your body to send even more collagen. More collagen means better results.

Because it’s so effective, radiofrequency microneedling is gaining popularity. But like any procedure, results vary individually. It’s important to find a qualified professional with real before-and-after photos, not stock images. Do your research to pick someone experienced.

While dramatic, microneedling is less invasive than lasers or surgery. It has minimal downtime with temporary redness. Most people see smoother, firmer, more even skin after several monthly sessions. And radiofrequency microneedling takes the benefits up a notch without much added downtime.

Is RF microneedling safe? What are the risks?

RF microneedling does come with some risks since it uses heat and needles, like many cosmetic procedures. But it’s considered pretty safe overall when done properly by a trained professional.

The RF technology allows excellent control over depth and targets energy right where it’s needed. Since it doesn’t use light energy like lasers, there’s no risk of damaging melanin so it can be used safely on all skin tones.

The risks and recovery time are low compared to more invasive options. The procedure is non-invasive so downtime is minimal. The pain is also not too bad – more than tolerable with numbing cream.

After treatment, some common side effects like redness, irritation, and swelling may occur but these usually resolve within a day or two. More serious risks like infection or scarring are very rare with RF microneedling.

What can be treated with RF microneedling?

Radiofrequency (RF) microneedling can treat many of the skin issues that might have required surgery before. At our clinic, we use it for:

Forehead lines – crow’s feet, frown lines, fine lines
Signs of aging around the eyes – saggy eyelids, under eye skin, fine lines, crow’s feet
Loose, saggy neck skin
“Bat wing” saggy arm skin
Acne scars on the face
Sun damage skin spots
Uneven skin tone from sun or acne
Stretch marks
Excessive underarm sweating

Like other treatments, RF microneedling can be customized for you. We target the areas you want to improve by adjusting the needle depth used. To get the best possible results for your unique skin, we’ll personalize your treatment plan based on your goals and needs.

Benefits of RF Microneedling

Smaller Pores. One benefit of microneedling is it can help shrink the look of your pores over time. This is because the treatment boosts collagen and elastin production in the skin. Smaller-looking pores – who wouldn’t want that?
Fewer Facial Lines and Wrinkles. Lots of folks get microneedling to reduce the appearance of various wrinkles and fine lines on their face. Many find the treatment smooths out wrinkles and fine lines pretty well. If you want to tackle signs of aging, microneedling is worth considering.
Tighter Skin. This therapy can help tighten up skin by increasing your body’s natural elastin levels. While the face is a common target area, microneedling can also firm up skin on other parts of your body that may be getting saggy.
More Skin Density. Microneedling encourages your body to produce more collagen – your skin’s natural filler. Boosting collagen can help plump up skin in certain spots, so it looks fuller, more youthful and free of fine lines.
Increased Firmness and More Even Tone. Better skin tone and texture are other nice benefits of microneedling. It can even out skin tone by removing damaged or dead cells that cause uneven pigmentation. Your overall complexion looks more smooth and refined.
Healthy Skin. Radiofrequency microneedling rejuvenates skin and improves overall skin health. Even without major skin issues, the treatment can give you glowing, younger-looking skin.

Before and After of RF Microneedling Treatment

How to prepare

Before getting RF microneedling, you should be totally upfront with your dermatologist or esthetician about any other cosmetic procedures you’ve had in the past. Let them know about your skin’s history too. Giving the RF therapist all the info about your skin allows them to best prep you for treatment or recommend waiting if needed.

During the treatment

You’ll get the actual procedure done at the doctor’s office. Here’s generally what goes down:

They’ll disinfect your skin with alcohol.
About an hour before, they’ll apply a topical anesthetic to the area being treated. Sometimes they inject a local anesthetic instead. This prevents any discomfort.
The microneedling tool makes tiny punctures in your skin. At the same time, radiofrequency waves are released from the needle tip into the wounds.
The whole thing takes around 20 minutes, depending on what’s being treated.
A medical professional may apply a growth solution to encourage cell renewal. Finally, they provide a soothing medication to reduce any irritation.

Aftercare and Side Effects

After your appointment, you can go back to your regular routine at home. This is a safe procedure with quick recovery and low risk. But since some people may react more strongly, it’s good to be prepared as needed.

You might feel a bit sunburned. Your skin can look slightly flushed for a short time after.

Sun exposure is risky, so always protect yourself with high SPF sunscreen.

Common side effects are skin redness and inflammation. But this usually only lasts 2-24 hours after your treatment.

Expectations

You’ll see results in 3-6 months. How long it takes depends on the type and extent of your condition.

Typically, you need at least 4 sessions. That also depends on what’s being treated. For mild acne scarring, 3-4 sessions may significantly improve it. Larger scars may need 5 sessions.

These appointments are usually spaced out every few weeks to let your skin recover in between.

The effects of the first round of treatment can last a year. To maintain your hard-earned results, a touch-up once a year is suggested.

Complementary Treatments

RF microneedling goes great with some of our other treatments. Here are a few examples of therapies that complement it really nicely:

Botox: Getting Botox a few weeks before RF microneedling lets the treated muscles relax and provides an even, smooth surface for the microneedling to work on.

Fillers: After RF microneedling improves fine lines around the mouth and eyes, hyaluronic acid fillers can provide structural support to areas that need plumping up.

Laser treatments: Lasers boost RF microneedling’s effects on collagen remodeling. IPL photofacials are commonly done to address pigmentation issues. Combined with laser resurfacing, RF microneedling becomes an awesome combo for stimulating collagen and rejuvenating skin.

Conclusion

If you have acne scars or want to tackle signs of aging, RF microneedling may be a good solution. Just know it usually takes 3 months to a year after the first treatment to see the full results. In other words, the improvements happen gradually over time. But you can be sure they will happen!

If you’re interested in the treatment and want to see if it’s right for you, we’ve got all the info you need.

Feel free to contact us to book an appointment or ask any questions: text (647) 622-0850, or fill out our online form. We’re happy to help!