While there may not be anything you can do about the march of time, you’re far from helpless when it comes to turning back the clock on aging skin.
As science meets technology, there are more options than ever for effectively breathing new life into aging skin, and this perfectly describes microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP). In fact, skin resurfacing treatments like these are on the rise; there were more than 3.5 million treatments performed in the United States in 2023 alone.
At our practice, Dr. Sean P. Nikravan and our team believe that wellness is an inside and outside pursuit, which is why we’re offering more services like IV hydration and microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
This month, we dive into why microneedling with PRP delivers the ultimate one-two punch, allowing you to hit the reset button on dull and tired skin.
Let’s start with the first aspect of this innovative skin treatment — microneedling. One of the biggest culprits behind aging skin is the loss of collagen, which starts in your 20s and continues for the rest of your life at a rate of about 1%-1.5% per year.
For reference, collagen is a protein that gives your skin structure and tone, which is why your skin wrinkles and sags without the benefit of collagen.
A great way to increase collagen in your skin is to provide a wake-up call, which is where microneedling comes in. As the name suggests, we run tiny needles over the surface of your skin to create a matrix of microchannels.
One of the first responders to what your body perceives as a minor injury is collagen. (Rest assured, we’re not damaging your skin, and our patients find microneedling to be perfectly comfortable.) This new collagen helps to fill in the microchannels, and this lifts and tightens the entire surface of your skin.
As an added bonus, we can also break up minor surface concerns on your skin with microneedling.
You might have heard of PRP as a treatment for musculoskeletal issues. The platelets in your blood are responsible for healing and they kick off a rebuilding process by releasing growth factors.
With PRP therapy, we harvest platelets from your own blood to create a concentrate that we redirect into areas where we want to boost cellular regeneration. In this case, we use the PRP at the same time as we perform the microneedling. This addition calls on powerful regenerative resources in your body that rebuild your skin from below, on a cellular level.
There are other benefits of microneedling. For example, there’s really no downtime after your treatment, though we do recommend extra care in the sun.
Additionally, your results will be both immediate and gradual — your skin tightens in response to the microneedling and then it rebuilds with new collagen and skin cells over the next few months after your treatment.
To see for yourself why so many people make microneedling with PRP a part of their regular beauty regimen, please contact Sean P. Nikravan, MD, in Newport Beach, California, today, to set up your appointment.
