Scars are part of your skin’s healing process and form following an injury to the deeper layer of your skin — the dermis. Because they form quickly, scars are thick and inflexible and look different than the surrounding skin.
Though some scars fade over time, others leave a lasting mark that affects your appearance.
At Montclair Rejuvenation Center in Verona and West Caldwell, New Jersey, our team, led by Dr. Kelly Distefano, focuses on providing treatments that make you look and feel your best. We offer many skin and scar resurfacing treatments to improve the look of your skin and lessen the appearance of scars like microneedling.
Here, we want to explain how microneedling gets rid of scars.
Microneedling is a cosmetic treatment that uses a special tool to create microwounds in the surface of your skin. These microwounds activate your skin’s natural repair process, stimulating the production of collagen.
Found in the dermal layer of your skin, collagen is the strong, resilient protein responsible for keeping your youthful looking skin tight and smooth.
Your skin also uses collagen to heal wounds. However, the healing process triggered by microneedling is different from the healing process used to repair wounds.
Your skin serves as your body’s first line of defense against foreign invaders. When you have an injury, your skin wants to heal it as quickly as possible, creating new collagen fibers to fill in, cover, and close the wound. These new collagen fibers are thicker and stronger than the surrounding skin, leaving behind the more noticeable scar tissue.
According to a 2020 review study published in Clinical, Cosmetic, and Investigational Dermatology, microneedling is an effective treatment for all types of scars, including acne scars, surgical scars, and traumatic injury scars.
Microneedling works by breaking up the tough scar tissue on the surface of your skin, while at the same time activating your skin’s natural repair process underneath. However, unlike the quick healing needed to repair an open wound, microneedling triggers a repair process called dermal remodeling. This healing occurs slowly.
With dermal remodeling, your skin gradually rebuilds collagen from the inside out, creating a smoother, stronger, and more resilient surface. Your visible scar slowly fades.
Because the healing process is slow, we recommend a series of microneedling sessions to get the best results. Microneedling treatments take less than an hour and require little to no downtime.
Before we make any treatment recommendations, we conduct a thorough consultation so we understand your concerns and goals. We also evaluate your skin and scars to determine what treatment can give you the desired results.
We have two microneedling tools: Dermapen® and Vivace™.
The Dermapen is an automated microneedling device that uses advanced technology to create invisible microinjuries in the surface of your skin. We use the Dermapen to treat acne scars and keloid scars (enlarged, raised scars).
Vivace is a minimally invasive cosmetic treatment that combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy to stimulate collagen production in the deeper layers of your skin. We use Vivace to improve the appearance of acne scars, surgical scars, and stretch marks.
For our patients who want more immediate results, we may recommend carbon dioxide (CO2) laser treatment. For light scarring, we use microdermabrasion.
When it comes to your skin, we have the same goals as you: helping you look and feel your best. To learn more about microneedling and how it can get rid of your scars, call our office or click the book online button to schedule your consultation today.
