The true testament to a good skin treatment? The skincare specialist herself swears by it.
'I love microneedling,’ says Andiswa Dingiswayo, a therapist at The Laser Beautique. 'The results are incredible when it comes to the firmness of skin and the glow. I do it on myself – and on my partner!
‘I like doing treatments on myself because then I can offer clients advice from experience.’
How exactly does it work?
This minimally invasive treatment is mainly used for skin rejuvenation. A motorised handheld device uses fine needles to puncture the skin, creating micro-channels into the top layers of the epidermis. These tiny micro-injuries trigger a healing response, stimulating the skin to produce new collagen and elastin. In addition, injury to keratinocytes increases epidermal growth factor production and increases cell turnover.
As a result, skin looks plumper. The treatment improves texture, firmness and hydration, and reduces fine lines, pore size, scarring, sun damage, stretchmarks and pigmentation. Since the procedure also creates micro-channels, specialised cosmeceutical serums are applied, which can then be absorbed deeply into the skin.
What kind of device is used?
The Laser Beautique uses the Dermapen, which has been the market leader in professional microneedling equipment since 2011. The microneedling pen, characterised by its automatic, high-speed vibrating mechanism and fine needles, causes minimal discomfort by making swift vertical insertions into the skin.
How many sessions do you need?
For best results, 4–12 sessions are recommended – but it all depends on your skin’s condition.
Does it hurt?
‘I think the pain is manageable with numbing cream,’ Andi says. ‘It’s usually afterwards, because of the increased blood circulation, that skin is quite sensitive. It almost feels like your skin is naked – as if you feel cold and warmth more than you normally would.’ For a day or two post-treatment, your skin will most likely be red and sensitive – similar to having a moderate sunburn. You may also have some slight peeling. ‘Many people expect hectic peeling, but not everyone has it,’ Andi says. ‘The peeling does assist in removing dead skin, so that’s good. But if you don’t experience peeling, that doesn’t mean it didn’t work.’
What else can I expect?
‘You might also have some slight bruising, but that’s generally because the technician was pressing a bit too hard,’ Andi says. ‘I’ve had it happen once or twice when I do my own needling and I get a bit too enthusiastic!’
Andi herself has a technique that helps prevent bruising. ‘When I do bonier areas, where there is little padding, I push the skin in from the side to cushion it a bit. So when I do needling around the eye, for instance, I push the skin in from the temple to give it a bit of a cushioning.’
You may also have some pinpoint bleeding during your treatment. ‘It doesn’t happen every time,’ Andi says. ‘It depends on the length of the needles. You probably won’t have bleeding during your first session because you usually start with shorter needles and more superficial needling. Clients generally like it when there is a bit of bleeding, I think because they feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. And people are so obsessed with the vampire treatment, so they feel they’re getting something close to it.’
Anyone who should steer clear?
You should avoid microneedling if you’re diabetic or pregnant, if you are sunburnt, or if you are on Roaccutane or blood thinners.
‘I’ve been told that microneedling is not for acne because it’ll pop the pimples and spread the bacteria,’ Andi says. ‘We can do it at The Laser Beautique, but we’d treat the acne and heal the skin first.’
THE PROCESS
Since the Dermapen’s needle length is adjustable, it’s good to start off slow and up the ante gradually. ‘For Liza’s first session, I started on 0.75 mm; since then, we’ve been building it up gradually,’ Andi says. ‘Today, for her fourth session, I will play around between 1.5 mm and 2 mm. It always feels a bit more intense on the bony areas of the face, so I’ll drop it down to 1.5 mm on the forehead.’
Andi starts with a quick face massage, using a pair of microfibre mittens. ‘I want to make sure I’ve touched the skin,’ she says. Then she moves on to a double-cleanse. The foamy cleanser is a 2-in-1: It gently cleans the skin, but because it contains papaya extract, it also exfoliates. This is massaged on using a silicone brush. Once the face is clean, she spritzes on a hypochlorous acid mist, which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, before smoothing a layer of numbing cream all over the face and letting that get to work.
Once the numbing cream has taken effect (there’s a telltale tingle), she thoroughly wipes it off one side of Liza’s face. ‘It has quite a thick, Vaseline-like texture and has to be completely removed so that it doesn’t create a barrier and prevent the serum from being absorbed.’
Then it’s on to the main event. Andi uses a new sealed needle cartridge that she unwraps in front of you, and applies a targeted serum that will absorb into the skin through the micro-channels created by the needles. ‘As we’re creating those channels, the skin gets fed in the process,’ Andi says. ‘The first time, I used the Anti-ageing Serum; the second time, I used the Radiance Serum; the third and fourth time, I moved on to the Melaclear Serum, which is for pigmentation. It’s all from our in-house brand.’
Andi starts with one side of the face, then does the other, before moving to the centre – and the chin and the forehead – removing the numbing cream as she goes. ‘I work from the least painful area to the most painful – that way, the numbing cream will have been on the forehead the longest.’ She also drops the needle length down to 1.5 mm for the forehead.
Liza notes that she can definitely feel the difference between the shorter needles used in previous sessions and these longer ones. ‘I can feel that something is different today! Andi is going for it!’ she jokes. There’s also a bit of pinpoint bleeding, which Andi seems to relish. ‘I love it,’ she says.
Once she’s done, Andi applies a cooling post-treatment gel to help with the redness. ‘This cold weather is also helping!’ Liza says. ‘Yes, it’s a great treatment to do in winter, especially because you cannot apply SPF afterwards,’ Andi says. ‘You don’t want the chemicals in the sunscreen to penetrate into those micro-channels we’ve created.’
She then moisturises the skin with Lightfix, which helps with hydration and healing.
For the next two to three days, Liza will experience some sensitivity. ‘It’s just the redness, and you’ll feel super dry,’ Andi says. ‘Stay away from actives and exfoliating; just be gentle with your skin. And moisturise! You really need to amp up the hydration.’
WHAT’S THE VERDICT?
‘The treatment itself is not what I would call relaxing, but it hasn’t been an unpleasant experience,’ Liza says. ‘I enjoyed it! Andi is one of the most entertaining people to be around, and I love how invested she was in getting my skin to look its best. I loved our chats.
‘I was saying to someone, it just feels like somebody is scraping your skin – although I could definitely feel the difference between the shorter and longer needles. Afterwards, my face was usually a bit red for a day or two. I remember one day I looked quite sunburnt. Your skin just feels quite dry and sensitive, maybe with some slight peeling. Nothing major.’
Liza had four treatments, with a chemical peel and a bio-needling facial in between. This treatment utilises Spongilla spicules – natural micro-crystals extracted from freshwater marine plants. The biodegradable spicules penetrate the skin’s outer layers, stimulating collagen production and triggering its natural regeneration process. One session is equivalent to two microneedling sessions.
‘I think the treatments have paid off. The other day I was on a fashion shoot and the makeup artist told me my skin was glowing – which meant a lot coming from her; she works with models all day long, and skin is obviously something she looks at quite closely. There’s a pigmentation mark on my face that has been bothering me, and it is definitely a bit lighter. I’ll go back to see Andi again for sure!’
