Does microneedling for acne scars require as much routine maintenance as it does for for fine lines, wrinkles, etc?

Question

I'm interested in microneedling for acne scars around my tzone, cheeks, and mainly my nose. Planning to start off with 4 sessions. I'm not sure how much maintenance would be needed after my initial sessions--will the scars come back if i stop sessions because I thought I was initially happy with result?

James R. Gordon, MD, FACS, FAAO · Answer

Thank you for sharing your question. If you are satisfied with the results following Microneedling for your acne scars, additional procedures are not necessary. If you wish to maintain healthy skin elasticity and overall appearance, you might want to have the treatments performed on a yearly basis. Good luck,

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Fractional laser is an amazing and highly effective treatment in our office. We use the laser treatment to help with acne scars, large pores, fine wrinkles, tissue collagen loss, scars, sebaceous hyperplasia, active acne, and for brightening dark pigmentation. Although there are very strong fractional lasers such as CO2 laser, we use lighter treatments for corrective skincare and maintenance of results. Our Thulium fractional laser, clear and brilliant laser, and Ultra Thulium laser are excellent options in our clinic. We also perform CO2 fractional and erbium depending on skin tone and tolerance for downtime. Patients do have to use a Melarase cream before and after treatment to help further reduce pigmentation after laser.  Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads can seriously improve surface sun damage and UV related pigmentation. Dark spots can improve with these treatments. I recommend fractional laser for incisional scars as well, especially after plastic surgery.  
Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Realself100 Surgeon

Jonathan Kulbersh, MD · Answer

Micro-needling is a wonderful treatment for patients with acne scarring. Over a series of treatments, patients can see an improvement in the texture of the skin secondary to acne scarring. This result should be long-lasting and would not require continued maintenance. Like many procedures of this nature, continue treatments could improve the overall result. I have found that patients with acne scarring do best with six sessions of micro-needling treatments.I hope this helps

Shahin Fazilat, MD, FACS · Answer

Microneedling works great for acne scars.  4 sessions spaced 4-6 weeks apart is what we recommend to our patients for scaring.   The scars do not come back after they are gone. Every patient is different, some of our patients commit to regular sessions once every few months and others just once or twice a year after their initial treatments.   Your practitioner should be able to come up with a maitence plan that best fits your personal needs and budget.  Best of luck to you!

Neil Sadick, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. Microneedling is an excellent treatment for acne scars. What I would recommend is 3-4 sessions every 4-6 weeks. If you decide at any point to stop treatments, the scars will not come back. As far as maintenance goes, there is no regimen you have to follow. Some patients will do treatments once or twice a year or every few months after the initial series of treatments. Your practitioner will be able to help you plan a good maintenance regimen.

Patricia Faraz, MD · Answer

Microneedling is great to help smooth acne scars. A series of 4-6 treatments (depending on the scars) spaced 4 weeks apart is what we recommend. Once the scars are gone they will not reappear. After you are finished with your initial treatments and happy with your results then you can schedule future microneedling treatments every 3 months to keep the skin rejuvenated and looking its best!

Lisa Vuich, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. Medical Microneedling is a form of collagen induction. It stimulates new collagen growth and can lead to improvement in acne scarring especially if combined with an excellent medical grade skin care regimen. Not all acne scarring responds to this method. Ice pick scars are the toughest. Scars that do not look better when you gently stretch the skin between two fingers are deeper and will be more resistant to remodelling. If you combine Medical Microneedling with a high quality PRP - the so called Vampire Facial- you will get more collagen response per proceedure. You are wise to plan on 4 to start. Acne scarring that resolves will not suddenly reappear if the acne condition is under control. You could certainly continue with microneedling maintenance treatment about one every 3 to 4 months after your initial series, as an anti-ageing measure. If you have scars that have failed to improve with 4 sessions, it is likely time to seek out another method such as Fractinated Radiofrequency (example: Infini) or Fractionated Laser (example: Halo) to break down / remodel scar collagen .

Best,

Lisa Vuich, MD

Best,

Lisa Vuich, MD

Does microneedling for acne scars require as much routine maintenance as it does for for fine lines, wrinkles, etc?

Answers (7)

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