Tried and tested: SkinPen microneedling for improving skin texture

The Treatment
SkinPen Microneedling

What it’s good for
Improving skin texture, reducing fine lines and boosting collagen; basically, making your (face) cheeks feel like a baby’s bottom!

How it works
Although it sounds counter-intuitive, you are essentially damaging the skin (in a controlled way) to force it to repair itself. As Dr Deirdre Fitzgerald puts it (much more professionally), “Medical microneedling, when performed accurately, punctures the skin at the correct depth, such that the skin perceives it as an injury of sorts and then sets out to “heal” itself. Part of this process is that the skin begins to make and remodel collagen and elastin.” She goes on to make the point that most of us won’t have had a collagen reboot (naturally) since the age of about 25, so when I rock up with my very tired 47-year-old skin I know it’s in serious need of a replumping. Dr Deirdre is far too polite to wholeheartedly agree but does recommend three consecutive sessions, to be carried out one month apart.

What’s involved
In the excellent hands of The Fitzgerald Private Clinic’s head therapist Jade Guidon, I have my face cleansed and prepped, before she applies a topical anaesthetic which feels nice and cool. She leaves it for about ten minutes to take effect, and I can feel a subtle numbness on my skin. Jade removes the anaesthetic and applies a layer of SkinPen Lift gel as a cushion to the skin before she begins the actual microneedling. Holding what essentially looks, and sounds, like a bulky electric toothbrush, she begins sweeping the pen in uniform strokes across the skin, working from the bottom of my neck up to the tip of my forehead. The pen, I later learn from Jade, has 14 Japanese stainless steel surgical grade needles that move in and out to puncture the skin, creating thousands of controlled micro-injuries (98,000 channels per minute to be precise). Jade controls the depth of the needle, which varies between from 0.5-1.5mm, depending on the particular skin concerns being treated and facial zones; going ‘lighter’ around the eyes and tender areas. The full face and neck treatment takes about 20-30 minutes. After which Jade applied a lovely hydrating and soothing mask.

Does it hurt?
Thanks to the topical numbing cream, it is only mildly unpleasant in certain areas. On a comfort/enjoyment scale of Smear Test to Sipping by the Pool, it is nowhere near the dreaded smear, but you might be juddered out of a pool-side slumber with the odd ‘rubber band flick’ feeling as it goes over a sensitive spot.

After effects
I had forgotten to ask about down-time after my first appointment and had arranged to go on to a press event after. Suffice it to say, I had to do a lot of explaining as I looked a bit like I’d fallen asleep under a sun lamp. When I got home that first evening my skin felt a little tender and tight (bringing back more memories than I should have of a sunburnt face in my youth). But a nice dose of the SkinPen rescue calming complex before bed cooled it right down and the next day it was calm and ready for make-up as usual.

Personal Feedback
I had tried microneedling previously (a few years ago) but did not do the proper three sessions and felt lukewarm about the benefit of the treatment. This was completely different. After three sessions, I would describe my skin as nothing short of transformed. I would be exaggerating if I said I looked ten years younger; I don’t. But my skin feels ten years younger. Almost every morning when I apply my daily SPF 50 (daily, I promise Jade!) I get the same little surprise at my skin’s softer, smoother texture. I have already bored my close friends to death telling them about it; I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Details
A single SkinPen (face only) costs €250, while a course of three is €675. They also offer SkinPen treatment for hands and will soon offer SkinPen Body treatments – as a corrective treatment to help improve the appearance of surgical scars, stretch marks and enlarged pores.

The Fitzgerald Private Clinic, 3 Anne’s Lane, Dublin 2. fitzgeraldprivateclinic.com