If you suffer from skin pigmentation problems, you might be wondering whether microneedling can improve your complexion. Whether you have patches of light-colored skin, patches of dark-colored skin or a combination thereof, an uneven complexion can affect your self-image. You may find yourself covering up with additional layers of clothes to conceal your uneven complexion So, can microneedling treat skin pigmentation problems such as this, or should you look for an alternative treatment solution?
What Is Pigmentation?
Pigmentation refers to the coloring of skin. Our bodies produce a substance known as melanin that gives color to our hair, eyes and skin. The more melanin in a particular area of your body, the darker the skin will be in that area of your body. Pigmentation simply refers to the coloring — specifically the darkness or lightness — of skin. Because melanin is responsible for the color of your skin, it will directly influence your skin’s pigmentation.
Normally, our bodies do a pretty good job at evenly distributing melanin, but there are instances in which levels of the color-causing pigment may be higher in some areas of your body than other areas. When this occurs, it can lead to pigmentation conditions that manifest as an uneven complexion. If you suffer from a pigmentation condition, you may notice areas of your body with a different color than the rest of your body. Pigmentation conditions typically don’t pose a risk to your health, but it can affect your self-image nonetheless. This has prompted millions of men and women to seek treatment for their pigmentation conditions, including the use of microneedling.
Hyperpigmentation vs Hypopigmentation: What’s the Difference?
There are two primary types of pigmentation conditions: hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation. Hyperpigmentation is characterized by excessively high levels of melanin, resulting in patches of dark-colored skin. In comparison, hypopigmentation is characterized by excessively low levels of melanin, resulting in patches of light-colored skin.
With hyperpigmentation, certain areas of your body will experience significantly higher levels of melanin than others. As previously mentioned, melanin is responsible for giving skin its color. Therefore, hyperpigmentation results in patches of dark-colored skin. Hypopigmentation, conversely, occurs when melanin levels are lower in some areas of your body than the rest of your body. While hyperpigmentation manifests as patches of dark-colored skin, hypopigmentation manifests as patches as light-colored skin.
How Microneedling Treats Pigmentation Conditions
Back to the original question, microneedling can, in fact, treat pigmentation conditions like hyperpigmentation and e hypopigmentation. During this nonsurgical procedure, a needle-covered roller will be used to score your skin with many small and shallow holes. Don’t worry, the roller device features short needles to minimize discomfort. As the roller device glides across your skin, it will pierce your skin while subsequently triggering your body’s natural repair mechanism. Your body will then respond by supplementing the injured skin with blood and collagen, result in a more even complexion. The procedure is called “microneedling” because it revolves around the use of micro-sized needles to stimulate the production of collagen.
Melanin is typically found in the outer layer of skin, the epidermis. When you undergo microneedling, you’ll expose your epidermis to minor injury that stimulates the production of new collagen. The roller device will create small and shallow holes in your epidermis, something to which your body will respond by producing and replenishing it with new collagen. The outer layer of your treated skin will start to peel off in response to the increased collagen, allowing for the production of new skin with more evenly distributed melanin.
Over time, melanin may build up in some areas of your body to create an uneven complexion. If you fall asleep while lounging on the beach or by the pool, for example, you may develop a sunburn on your shoulders. In turn, the skin on your shoulders will have a higher melanin content than the skin on areas of your body. Once the redness has faded, your shoulders will look darker than the rest of your body. Microneedling can treat pigmentation conditions such as this by stimulating the production of collagen as well as new skin cells.
Whether you suffer from hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation, microneedling can help restore your skin’s complexion so that it no longer suffers from patches of uneven coloring. The nonsurgical procedure will stimulate your body’s production of collagen. As the treated skin is replenished with new collagen, it will shed its outer layer. Your body will then produce new skin cells with collagen that’s more evenly distributed.
Microneedling Can Treat Other Skin Conditions
While many people seek microneedling to treat pigmentation conditions like hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation, this nonsurgical cosmetic procedure can treat a myriad of other skin conditions as well.
In addition to pigmentation conditions, microneedling is frequently used to treat scars. Scars, of course, are the resource of physical injury to trauma to the skin. A deep laceration, for instance, may result in a permanent skin running the length of the cut. Alternatively, severe or chronic acne can injure your skin and, therefore, cause scars to develop. Microneedling can treat scars, however, by filling them collagen.
Scars actually contain plenty of collagen, but they are constructed in a different formation. While healthy skin has a basket-weave pattern, scars have a cross-linked pattern that goes in a single direction. If you injure your skin, your body will attempt to repair your skin as quickly as possible by supplying it with collagen. Because of the unique pattern in which scars are formed, though, it won’t look like the rest of your skin. The cross-linked pattern of scars results in thicker, darker skin. Thankfully, microneedling is highly effective at treating scars. It will replenish your skin with collagen using the conventional basket-weave pattern, which can smooth and reduce the appearance of scars.
Microneedling has been proven effective for the treatment of stretch marks. Also known as stria, stretch marks are defined long and narrow patches of skin that form as a result of rapid weight gain or rapid weight loss. Technically, stretch marks are a type of scar. They form when your skin is injured. Stretch marks, however, typically only occur when you gain weight or lose weight in a short period. When this occurs, your skin may stretch to the point where it’s injured. Your body will respond by creating a scar in the injured area, thus forming a stretch mark. Because microneedling can treat scars, it can also treat stretch marks.
Many people seek microneedling to improve their overall skin tone and texture. With microneedling, your skin will sustain micro injuries that trigger your body’s self-repair mechanism. As your body replenishes the treated skin with new collagen, as well as nutrient-rich blood, you’ll benefit from glowing and healthy skin. These are just a few skin conditions that microneedling can treat.
In Conclusion
Microneedling is a safe and effective treatment for pigmentation conditions like hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation. Also known as collagen-induction therapy, it involves the use of a roller device that scores your skin with many small and shallow holes. As your body identifies these micro injuries, it will respond by replenishing the treated skin with new collagen.
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