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*Treatment results may vary
This is going to be a long post, so stay with me...
This is going to be a long post, so stay with me.
I've had acne since I turned 18. I'm 33 now, and after being on the right birth control that doesn't mess up my hormones, I've finally got the acne under control. At one point, while on YAZ actually, I had severe cystic acne that covered about 60 percent of my face and hurt like heck. After a few years of this, I had somewhat bad acne scarring, mainly rolling scars. On top of that, I have pretty bad melasma and hypo AND hyper pigmentation. So much fun.
I tried a YAG laser once (did nothing) and a medium-depth chemical peel (did very little). Retin-A never worked and messed up my skin even more. And, of course, I had tried every topical and "natural" at-home treatment known to man, to no avail. I had almost given up.
After ending a not-so-healthy relationship, I decided to try again and stick with whatever treatment I decided to do again. I read about microneedling and thought, what the heck; I've tried everything else. So I paid $150 for a 1.5 mm needle. I expected literally nothing. About a month later, I saw moderate improvement, so I committed to at least 2 more.
Two sessions later with 2.0 and 2.5 mm needles (plus four superficial chemical peels in between) and my God, I'm floored at the results. My scars are significantly more shallow, and many have cleared completely. I used to avoid direct sunlight and tried to sit next to people so they wouldn't see the right side of my face, which was my bad side. Whenever I caught a glimpse of my right side in direct sunlight, I would lament my "hamburger face." I felt terrible about myself. Now, I think my right side is my good side! I recently took a picture of it outside in the sun, and you'd never know I ever had acne except for a couple of ice pick scars by my nose. Who cares.
Although I got microneedling mainly for my scars, it has helped tremendously with lines on my forehead. I had actually gotten Botox on my forehead because those lines were getting more noticeable. When the Botox wore off, though, my lines were so diminished I'm thinking I might not need Botox there for a few years as long as I wear sunscreen every day.
One thing I've learned about skin treatments is that what works for one person might not work for another, so microneedling might not work for you. But I'd definitely try it. I'm going to get it done at least three times a year for anti-aging. I even got it again today just to keep progressing. (I do look like a human tomato, though.)
Another thing is that it really didn't do much for my melasma, at least not long-term. It's always come back, and honestly is worse now than it was a few years ago. Thankfully, I found a good makeup that covers it, so I don't care too much. You cover scars with makeup as well. It did help a little with the hypo pigmentation, but it didn't eliminate it.
Anyway, my advice is to stick with it. Do at least three treatments and wait 6 months to measure your results. Consequently, be reasonable with your expectations. My skin is far from perfect. The texture is still a little rough; I still have some scars; and I still catch a glimpse of the -- albeit much reduced! -- dreaded hamburger face in really bad lighting. But it's sooooo much better now, my goodness. And I just feel so much better about myself and my skin. This has been by far the best thing I've done for my appearance, and I highly recommend it.
I've had acne since I turned 18. I'm 33 now, and after being on the right birth control that doesn't mess up my hormones, I've finally got the acne under control. At one point, while on YAZ actually, I had severe cystic acne that covered about 60 percent of my face and hurt like heck. After a few years of this, I had somewhat bad acne scarring, mainly rolling scars. On top of that, I have pretty bad melasma and hypo AND hyper pigmentation. So much fun.
I tried a YAG laser once (did nothing) and a medium-depth chemical peel (did very little). Retin-A never worked and messed up my skin even more. And, of course, I had tried every topical and "natural" at-home treatment known to man, to no avail. I had almost given up.
After ending a not-so-healthy relationship, I decided to try again and stick with whatever treatment I decided to do again. I read about microneedling and thought, what the heck; I've tried everything else. So I paid $150 for a 1.5 mm needle. I expected literally nothing. About a month later, I saw moderate improvement, so I committed to at least 2 more.
Two sessions later with 2.0 and 2.5 mm needles (plus four superficial chemical peels in between) and my God, I'm floored at the results. My scars are significantly more shallow, and many have cleared completely. I used to avoid direct sunlight and tried to sit next to people so they wouldn't see the right side of my face, which was my bad side. Whenever I caught a glimpse of my right side in direct sunlight, I would lament my "hamburger face." I felt terrible about myself. Now, I think my right side is my good side! I recently took a picture of it outside in the sun, and you'd never know I ever had acne except for a couple of ice pick scars by my nose. Who cares.
Although I got microneedling mainly for my scars, it has helped tremendously with lines on my forehead. I had actually gotten Botox on my forehead because those lines were getting more noticeable. When the Botox wore off, though, my lines were so diminished I'm thinking I might not need Botox there for a few years as long as I wear sunscreen every day.
One thing I've learned about skin treatments is that what works for one person might not work for another, so microneedling might not work for you. But I'd definitely try it. I'm going to get it done at least three times a year for anti-aging. I even got it again today just to keep progressing. (I do look like a human tomato, though.)
Another thing is that it really didn't do much for my melasma, at least not long-term. It's always come back, and honestly is worse now than it was a few years ago. Thankfully, I found a good makeup that covers it, so I don't care too much. You cover scars with makeup as well. It did help a little with the hypo pigmentation, but it didn't eliminate it.
Anyway, my advice is to stick with it. Do at least three treatments and wait 6 months to measure your results. Consequently, be reasonable with your expectations. My skin is far from perfect. The texture is still a little rough; I still have some scars; and I still catch a glimpse of the -- albeit much reduced! -- dreaded hamburger face in really bad lighting. But it's sooooo much better now, my goodness. And I just feel so much better about myself and my skin. This has been by far the best thing I've done for my appearance, and I highly recommend it.
Pictures
I didn't attach pictures, so here they are. The first three are my before pictures. (The third one shows my scars the best.) The fourth one was taken a few days ago outside in the sun and shows my skin after three treatments. The before and after pictures of my forehead were both taken outside as well.