Ageing has never really phased me, I guess when you think you are 18 in your head you kinda tend to imagine that your reflection will appear that way too. But, lately, the person looking back at me is out of whack – mysterious outbreaks, wrinkles, eye bags and physical aches and pains remind me that age is creeping up. Most recently my family and I took a vacation and to my surprise I broke out all over my neck – WTH? I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why or how to get rid of them so I wore a scarf to cover up and researched endlessly to find a simple cure for the outbreak that was happening just below my chin.
Alas, I turned to hollywood’s latest and greatest and thought I’d give it a try since it seemed almost non-evasive and I could do it at home on my own time. Afterall, Gwyneth Paltrow swears by it and she hates anything ‘not natural’ touching her skin – how hard could it be, right?
What is Microneedling and Why Would I Ever Try It?
Microneedling, also known as dermarolling – a collagen induction therapy that has a lot of people talking and trying for themselves, both at home and at the doctors office. Dermatologists have used it for decades to treat facial scars, clear up skin and even cure puffy eyes. Most recently however, people are flocking to this trend simply because their favourite celebrities are raving about it! Not to mention the fact that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to afford a session anymore – you can actually do it in the comfort of your own home.
For me, the ability to invest a small amount of money and do the process at home was gold! Let’s face it – no one truly has celebrity worthy skin, and if you are anything like I am, you are trying to race against time to keep the ‘youthfulness’ of your early 30’s in check any chance you get – it’s worth a try right?
I was surprised to see that in just 1 session my neck cleared up too – I took a chance and did microneedling on my very affected neck and loved the sensation of it. Although, my neck was super red after my session, it felt soft and smooth and really refreshed. 2 days later, the skin dried up and was a little flaky; and exactly 1 week after I saw major improvement – just look at the pics for proof!
Downside of doing this at home:
It is recommended that you use a roller that is smaller than 1mm (I use the .5mm) so they don’t puncture the skin as deeply as the ones you’d get at the dermatologist’s office – so the results won’t be as effective as what you’ll get from a professional. Also, if the needles are bent, dull, or not properly maintained, you run the risk of infecting or damaging skin that can lead to scarring. So make sure you check frequently and disinfect after each use.
Does it hurt?
To be completely honest, it didn’t hurt at all the first time BUT each session has gotten me squirmy thereafter. I don’t know why but my pain tolerance decreased slightly instead of increasing with time. It is manageable pain and in my opinion well worth it.
Now, I am not usually the type to preach these sorts of things, but I have to say that doing the microrolling 1x a week for the past 4 weeks has made my skin feel great! My pores appear to have gotten smaller and I really love that glowy appearance it gives to my cheeks, almost as if my skin has gotten a little boost in the health department. By the way, did I mention I’ve had minimal outbreaks? Hello freshness! I will definitely continue on with this method because to be quite honest, it works for me and it only takes 10 minutes out of my week to keep up.
