Will microneedling help reduce redness from acne scars?

Question

In the coming months, i plan on undergoing MIcro-needling procedures to help reduce acne scars along my cheeks and jawline. The main problem i wanted to fix was the redness along the jawline, and i wanted to ask to see if micro-needling will help reduce this. Since it is also referred to collagen induction therapy, i was hoping it would help even out the redness and my overall skin tone. If it doesn't really fix this issue, are there any solutions?

Laura Riehm, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  Microneedling really does just scratch the surface.  If you are concerned with redness, you will have more after the procedure.  In our office, we offer our patients microneedling and several different laser options to treat acne scars.  After hearing all of their options, no patient has chosen microneedling in the last 2 years+.  You have much better options available if you can find a medical office with several laser platforms.After a complete consultation in a medical setting, you would probably be a candidate for a several treatment options depending on your skin type, severity of the scars and how much downtime you can take.  Keep in mind that more intense/deeper treatments require more downtime, but you will need less treatments.  If you choose a short downtime treatment plan, you will need more treatments in the series.  The most gentle would be something like the PicoSure FOCUS treatment with almost no downtime.  It is safe for all skin types, but you would probably need 3 to 6 treatments.  Another option would be a fractional 1540 nm laser treatment like ICON or Fraxel.  With these treatment you could have redness and swelling for 1 to 3 days, but need less treatments.  Based on your skin type, you may be a candidate for a fractional CO2 treatment with 7 days of redness and swelling.  Look for a medical setting with a doctor in house, where they have multiple laser options.  Best of luck.

David Rosenstein, MD · Answer

Thank you so much for your question. Microneedling has been known to help with acne visual acne scarring. However, redness can be best treated with laser. A combination of the two would work wonders for anyone with acne pitting and red scarring. Best of luck!

Azadeh Shirazi, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Microneedling will not help reduce the redness from acne scars.  The vbeam laser or an IPL laser can help with targeting your concerns with the redness.

Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD - Account Suspended · Answer

Potentially could make your redness worse, as any procedure that has potential of collagen induction can also cause angiogenesis (blood vessel formation). This often goes hand in hand. Red acne scars should be targeted with vascular lasers or even simple old fashioned IPL. Micro needling can address other types of acne scars. Acne scar revision is a sub-specialised field. For the best results, one should target the acne scar type with ideal treatments and not just one device. The web reference below will take you to a resource to help you understand acne scar revision at a specialist level. I embedded all the videos in one page to help. 
  
For example deep ice pick scars, and narrow box car scars can be treated with TCA CROSS peels, mixed scars, rolling, and atrophic scars treated with fractional devices such as Fraxel, fractional lasers, PRP and INFINI radiofrequency. Atrophic scars (depressions) can be treated with either fat grafts, or with HA dermal fillers. Tethered and anchored scars are best treated with surgical techniques such as subcision. Other surgical techniques that we use include punch elevation, surgical elevation, punch excision and traditional excision of focal scars. 
  
The majority of patients will have a collection of different scar types, and hence a tailored treatment METHOD will be best. Careful examination, especially under angled lighting with scar mapping will give you an understanding of what are the best options for your scars. In the majority of patients its finding the correct combination that give you best results, and everyone is unique! All the best, 
  
Dr Davin Lim. Acne scar dermatologist specialist. Brisbane, Australia.

Justin Harper, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

I have extensive experience with Microneedling which you correctly referred to as “collagen induction therapy”, so I hope this helps. Microneedling in a nutshell is a safe and minimally invasive procedure, that creates a lot of microholes or intentional wounds on the epidermal or outmost layer of the skin to initiate what could be termed as a “cascade” of events that starts with releasing growth factors, creating a vascular network, migration of cells called fibroblasts and finally, collagen and elastin creation which reduces the depth of the acne dents.
Let’s break down your problem into its two components, acne scars and redness. Numerous studies confirmed what we had proven in practice: microneedling is great for the so-called rolling scars which are often are numerous, shallow to medium in depth and with sloped edges. It is not effective on pinprick scars which are small but very deep, box car scars with defined edges and hypertrophic scars. It’s main advantages over laser (if the scars are not deep)  are: 
Shorter downtime (wounds are safe because these are superficial and close immediately);Safe for all types of skin color;Smoothly “blends” with untreated areas (no demarcation lines);Safe to use around the eyes and Does not cause photosensitivity because area affected is superficial. And did I mention cheaper?
Since, the appearance bothered you enough to write RealSelf, I can only assume that the redness, your other aesthetic concern, is prominent and had not faded over time. However, though microneedling, your treatment of choice, does wonders for scars and can help even out skin tone, it is not an effective treatment for any condition that involves erythema or redness from any cause, including old acne scars. This is why we would recommend BBL, a non ablative laser therapy that we have successfully used in our practice to treat redness resulting from acne scars. Both microneedling and laser (photo) therapy takes three or more sessions. Because the skin is being repaired at the cellular level, the skin continues to improve 3-6 months after the last session. Now, that is something to smile about!
For scars that are still unsightly after the combination treatment, consult your dermatologist or trusted provider about dermal fillers like Juvederm or Restylane. Last but not least, to avoid future breakouts (and more scarring), follow the skin care regimen recommended for you. 
All the best,
Justin Harper, MD.

Will microneedling help reduce redness from acne scars?

Answers (5)

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