Adventures in Home Microneedling, Part 1: Eradicating a Lip Wrinkle

I had great results from the first lip-wrinkle microneedling session, as pictured. Four weeks passed and it was time for another one. Since it was so painful last time, I left the 5% lidocaine gel on my upper lip area for one hour.When I washed off the gel, the area felt very numb. "This'll be a piece of cake," I thought. HA! It was far worse than last time. The 1.5 mm roller was intolerable, so I switched to a 1.5 mm stamp. I managed a few half-hearted stamps along the length of the wrinkle and gave up, planning to find a better anesthetic. I tried again with a 1.0 mm roller but it wasn't any better.I have a chicken pock scar above my right eyebrow that I rarely notice, but since I had a dermastamp in my hand I decided to take a stab at it. I stamped it a dozen times, without the use of anesthetic and without pain. Amazing how different parts of our face have such different levels of sensitivity! I didn't take photos of the scar, but I'll let you know how it goes.My determination to eradicate that lip wrinkle led me to Amazon in search of a stronger topical anesthetic. 5% is the highest strength allowed for over-the-counter lidocaine... unless the product is made for prolonging an erection, so I snatched up a bottle of Apex Spray with 10% lidocaine. The things we do for beauty!Speaking of lidocaine, there is a reason for limits on the strength. Lidocaine isn't just a numbing agent; it's a potent cardiac drug used for slowing down the heart rate. When you put lidocaine on your skin it's absorbed into the bloodstream, and depending on the amount there could be some serious consequences (death is one). Since my upper lip area is very small I'm not worried about that, but if you're going to microneedle a large area or multiple areas, it could be a problem. It's probably best to do smaller areas, each one on a different day. Oh, and for goodness sake, after the area is numb, WASH OFF THE LIDOCAINE with soap and water before you begin microneedling! Anything on the surface of your skin will be driven INTO your skin by the needles. Not only does this increase the risk of it affecting your heart, but it can also cause granulomas to form under the skin (hard bumps that are not easy to treat). Granulomas can form after microneedling due to inflammation triggered by irritation or allergy to any substance (not just lidocaine gel) ON the skin or applied AFTERWARD before the microchannels (openings left by the needles) close, which can take up to 12 hours. I know there are all kinds of potions for sale claiming they're for use with microneedling. Don't do it! If you're using needles long enough to penetrate into your dermal layer, you need to use extreme caution with what you apply before, during or afterward. There are very few products actually formulated for (and safe to use with) microneedling.One such product is Cellese's AnteAge Home Microneedling Solution with stem cell cytokines. I've ordered some for my next session. I applied Retin-A after my last treatment because a few docs here said it was safe, but I'm not 100% sure. The doctors on this site haven't exactly gained my trust, having seen some of their errors followed by their refusal to take responsibility (or to even acknowledge them) in many cases. That's why I avoid them. I'll do what I can, and leave it at that.Stay tuned for Part 3...

I never expected to see results so soon, but my lip wrinkle has improved significantly! It's only been 7 days since my first home microneedling procedure.

This photo was taken right after washing my face. No moisturizer or makeup. I'm telling myself it must be due to something else... but that doesn't make sense; the wrinkle hasn't changed over the last year, not until now! It's surprising. The length and depth are markedly improved.

I still have 3 weeks until the next treatment, and it should continue filling in with collagen during that time. Who knows, I may not even need another one! I'll keep you posted...

I forgot to say I curled my upper lip around my teeth during the needling, to stretch the skin taught so the needles would penetrate more easily with less pain.

Also, I just found an interesting website called Bare Faced Truth dot com. It's written by two guys who are doctor/scientists who specialize in cosmecueticals, and there are several articles about microneedling. Two articles of interest are "Cosmeceuticals Applied to Skin during Microneedling. Safety, Efficacy, and Restoration of Sanity" and "Roll your own. Face."

They say using the wrong products along with microneedling can result in some serious skin reactions, including granulomas. They also say:

"A minimum of six weeks is recommended between two treatments as it takes that long for new natural collagen to form...

It is important to stress that in micro-needling, the longer the needle used mandates that the interval between treatments should also be longer. As noted above, needling into the deeper dermal layers requires time for desired changes to occur. More frequent use can produce a state of chronic inflammation that is in fact counterproductive...

Needles longer than 1.5 mm should not be used on the face.

Medical needling (0.5 mm or more) should be infrequent, spaced at least 2-4 weeks apart to allow healing around the dermal-epidermal junction, and to prevent scar tissue formation and collagen bundling problems due to due to chronic stimulation of the first phase of healing which is inflammatory."

I know there is some controversy over how long to wait between treatments, but since waiting 4 to 6 weeks can;t hurt (while doing it too frequently can) I choose to wait until my skin is definitely ready.