Written by Kathie Gonzales, ARMNP-BC

Nonsurgical Facial Rejuvenation is a series of nonsurgical, cosmetic treatments that aim to improve the appearance of one’s skin. The goal of each type of treatment is to reduce the appearance of asymmetry, acne scars, sun damage, and the fine lines of aging. This facial rejuvenation can be achieved with many different nonsurgical procedures like fillers that plump and add symmetry to the face, chemical peels or lasers that resurface the skin, and micro-needling by Dermapen or Dermaroller that stimulate collagen production.

Micro-needling or percutaneous collagen induction has been used for many years by Dermatologists and started as one treatment for acne scars. Dermaroller is a wheel of needles that have a fixed depth of skin penetration from 0.5mm to 1.5mm. Dermapen is a device that moves multiple fine sterile needles in and out of the skin with varying adjustable depths. In both techniques, the needles move over the skin of the area to be treated in several directions to create micro-punctures in the top layers of the skin that stimulate the body to produce as much as 400% more collagen and elastin. These proteins provide both strength and flexibility to the skin and other connective tissues in the body. The goal of this treatment is to stimulate the body to continue hyper-production of these proteins for up to six months after the procedure.

Platelet-rich plasma or PRP is a concentration of one’s own blood components that contains over 1500 growth factors and proteins that aid in speeding up the healing process. Utilizing PRP with micro-needling is also known as the vampire lift and can be used to enhance and augment this rejuvenation technique. This technique requires two to four treatments with limited downtime and spaced three to four weeks apart for optimal results.