Acne, the most common skin condition, affects up to 80% of people in their teens and mid-20s and later in adult life. While most acne heals without permanent effects, some do not, leaving various degrees of acne scarring from mild to severe.
Acne scars can generally be classified into 3 types, they are:
- ice pick scars – narrow, sharp pits or cracks in the skin, usually less than 2 mm and which may extend into the dermis and deep into the subcutaneous layer. Traditionally very difficult to treat, combined treatments are usually required in the clinic to obtain satisfactory results.
- boxcar scars – They are jagged, round or oval scars with very inclined sides. They can be superficial and deep scars. Superficial boxcar scars can be treated with skin needling at home, deeper scars may require in-clinic treatments.
- Superficial soft scars – Jagged, round or oval scars with more gradual angled sides than boxcar or ice pick scars. They can vary in depth from shallow to deep. Mild shallow to medium depth acne scars can be treated with skin needling at home, deeper scars may require in-clinic treatments.
History of skin puncture
In 1994, Dr. Philippe Simonin, a Swiss-French dermatologist, published his results in Baran’s Cosmetic Dermatology. In his study of 600 patients, he examined the results of 2 groups of patients, one with aging skin and the other with old scars. In the group of patients with old scars, 60% improved with 5-6 treatments. The best results were obtained for old fibrous and depressed scars.
His groundbreaking technique, which he named Electrorhodopuncture (ERP), remained largely unknown to the medical community at large.
Another pioneer of skin needling, Dr. Andre Camirand, a Canadian plastic surgeon, made a casual observation of an improvement in the texture and color of the scars of his facelift patients, who had undergone tattoos to camouflage scars. These patients exhibited both jagged and hypochromic (lightened) scars.
He experimented with tattooing facelift scars without pigment. She performed her needling procedures with a high-velocity tattoo gun, under local anesthesia, and treated each scar to identify bleeding.
In 1997, Dr. Camirand reported that one to two years after treatment, the appearance of scars was markedly improved in both texture and color.
He postulated that inserting the fine needles of tattoo guns into scars succeeded in breaking down scar collagen and stimulating the synthesis of healthy collagen and repigmented hypochromic skin by transplanting melanocytes from normal skin to hypochromic skin during the procedure. puncture. He also reported flattening of hypertrophic (overgrown, raised) scars.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a number of clinicians experimented with skin needling, developing skin rollers in which numerous microneedles, the same gauge as acupuncture needles, were mounted on rollers to deliver efficiently the skin needling procedure on larger areas of the skin. These clinicians also noted that the shorter needles dramatically increased transdermal penetration and thus the absorption of creams and serums into the skin.
Skin needling is an exciting new treatment for acne and all types of deep scarring. Skin needling can be performed safely on all skin colors and types. There is no risk of post-inflammatory hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation (lightening or darkening of the skin as a result of skin trauma) as the melanocytes (pigment skin cells) remain intact, like the dermis, during skin puncture. This is the main distinguishing safety feature when skin needling is compared to other invasive procedures used to treat deep lines and depressed scars, ie. laser resurfacing, deep chemical peels and dermabrasion.
Skin needling gives similar results to in-clinic treatments such as laser skin resurfacing, chemical skin peels, and microdermabrasion, but it is much less invasive, which translates to a much lower risk of complications ( such as infection and/or pigmentation) and significantly reduces downtime at a fraction of the cost.
skin puncture it has been shown that –
- improve the appearance of acne, surgical scars, and all scars, including stretch marks
- Improves the appearance of light acne wagons and superficial scars, not suitable for ice pick acne scars.
- smooth lines and wrinkles
- improve skin texture
- improve hypo- and hyperpigmentation
- relax scars
Skin rollers are designed to perform the technique known as skin needling or collagen induction therapy (CIT), where needles pierce the skin to create microchannels, stimulating the upper dermis and the body’s wound-healing response. to produce collagen and elastin and therefore fill acne and all marked scars, lines and wrinkles. These microchannels also radically increase the absorption and effectiveness of serums and creams used to support the skin’s natural wound-healing response. Creams and serums are applied after rolling.
Skin Needling provides the critical ingredients that will help naturally fill in mild to moderate boxcar and acne scars in the privacy and comfort of your home.
Generally, deep ice pick acne scars and deep facial lines will need to be treated by a medical professional using a medical facial roller in combination with home care rollers or other clinical treatments. However, not-so-deep and wide acne scars and other depressed scars, aged, sun-damaged and pigmented skin can be treated with home care rollers.
Skin needling can be performed for full face resurfacing and, when combined with tretinoin (vitamin A cream) or copper peptides, can provide results equivalent to laser resurfacing without a risk profile.
Skin needling can also be repeated regularly as the patient ages to replenish collagen and elastin, there is no limit to the number of procedures/treatments performed.
Skin puncture has been shown to:
- improve the appearance of acne, surgical scars, and all scars, including stretch marks
- smooth lines and wrinkles
- improve skin texture
- relax scars
To view our Clearskincare acne scar solution