A recent article in the Facial Plastic Surgery literature made a good case to combine microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for facial skin care. At my practice serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, I’ve been using microneedling (a collagen induction therapy) as a “prejuvenation” treatment to help patients look their best without surgery.
How is collagen stimulated?
To stimulate collagen in the skin, a micropen is used to make thousands of tiny openings in the uppermost layer of the skin initiating thousands of mini wound-healing events. Similar to the way exercise stimulates your muscles to grow, microneedling stimulates new collagen to be generated.
What does PRP do?
The application of PRP on the surface of the skin during the microneedling procedure appears to augment the wound healing response by supplying additional growth factors and biologically active proteins. PRP is obtained by spinning your own blood in a centrifuge, separating the fluid portion of the blood from the red blood cells, thereby concentrating the active platelets cells that contain the growth factors.
Recovery from the treatment is generally quick, with most people being able to wear makeup 24 hours after the treatment. PRP also helps to speed the resolution of the redness, promotes faster healing, and generates more collagen in the skin.
How often should I do microneedling with PRP?
It is safe for most patients to have a microneedling treatment as often as every 4 to 6 weeks. For many women and men, microneedling + PRP is part of an ongoing facial skin care regimen that includes treatments 3 to 4 times a year.
Call (952) 835-5665 or request a consultation to schedule a facial treatment with double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Edward Szachowicz.
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