Can You ACTUALLY Reduce the Visibility of Scars? We Tested The Laser Beautique’s Strategy

Microneedling is something, admittedly, very unfamiliar to most men. Predominantly used by women, the skin rejuvenation technique uses an extremely small needling technique (hence the name) to rebuild the skin and reduce fine lines. However, it can also be used for scarring, helping decrease the visibility of scars, the darker pigment old skin damage can create, and the general appearance of ‘hurt’ skin.

What is microneedling exactly?

When it comes to non-surgical treatments for fine lines and wrinkles, it doesn’t get more powerful than microneedling. However, it’s also a great treatment for those concerned with deeper acne scars, texture and pigmentation, along with overall loss of collagen and elasticity. The minimally invasive treatment involves the insertion of micro-fine needles into the skin. The needles enter the skin at surface-level depth, puncturing the skin to create tiny ‘injuries’ which in turn stimulates the body’s collagen production. Collagen is an essential protein that helps keep our skin looking youthful, firm and smooth, but as we age, our production of collagen decreases and this contributes to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

To help facilitate healing after a microneedling treatment, the body produces and sends healing agents collagen and elastin to the skin, thereby helping to firm and smooth the skin while lessening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Where to go?

Offering world-class and cutting-edge treatments for face, body and hair, The Laser Beautique is a place where South Africans can go for the very best in non-surgical aesthetic procedures. With branches across the country, the team at each location is made up of highly skilled medical aesthetic practitioners, who offer outstanding standards of care in a relaxing and comfortable environment.

Each branch offers a wide variety of medical aesthetic treatments, where you can choose from a menu of bespoke pain-free laser hair removal options, peels and facials, microneedling treatments, facial contouring treatments, and a variety of other treatments.

For those men who feel a little daunted by the prospect of diving into the world of aesthetic treatments, there really is nothing to worry about, as you can test the waters and opt for a small and simple scar treatment procedure (with the number of sessions that suit you), and that’s exactly what we did.

Giving it a go

I personally have had some small ice-pick scarring marks on the brow area (due to some less-than-great skin and mild acne as a teenager). It’s never been really noticeable to anyone, but is something that catches my eye every so often; so the potential to reduce the visibility further was worth a shot.

Based on my consultation with the savvy staff at The Laser Beautique, it was suggested some microneedling to the area would help a lot, and the more sessions I did, the less visible they’d become (with 6-8 sessions initially suggested).

Because it was such a small, targeted area, the sessions themselves wouldn’t take long at all, but of course, there is some small prep work to be done before the needling begins. The treatment started with the technician cleaning and sterilising the area, and then applying a topical numbing cream to my skin (this topical anaesthetic really helps to minimise any possible discomfort during the treatment).

What did it feel like?

During the microneedling treatment, the MicroPen (which includes the sterile needle) is gently pressed against your skin and softly glided across the face in different directions, stopping every so often to concentrate on areas or spots that might need more attention. The great thing about the MicroPen is it’s tough enough to target any skin concern, but also gentle enough to treat more sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth where the skin is much thinner.

The question of whether it’s painful or not is always asked, but it’s really not something to be concerned about, feeling more like a gentle tingle and very light sunburn-like sensitivity post-treatment. The buzzing of the needle sounds like something you’d hear out of a tattoo parlour, but the experience is less invasive than your average trip to the dentist.

Post-treatment feeling?

After the treatment, a cooling post-treatment gel and healing mist was applied to the area, allowing the skin to be disinfected, heal up a little quicker, and reduce the redness, which admittedly, is noticeable after the treatment (you are poking your skin with a tiny needle hundreds of times, to be fair).

There is a little bit of healing that needs to be done over the next few weeks (with your skin regenerating every 28 days), but within a day or two, your targetted zones will look a lot less red and ‘sore’, even though it’s not really painful. The one consideration to take note of is that you can’t expose your skin to the sun or any harsh environments for up to 48 hours, so just keep that ocean swim or trip to the cricket on hold for another day.

After about 4 full days, your skin will feel as per normal again, and you really begin seeing the difference within the 28-day period where your skin rejuvenates itself thanks to the needling spurring healing. After just two sessions, each a month apart, there was a notable change in the colouration and size of the scars:

The Laser Beautiuque makes a great place to start your aesthetic healing journey – whether it’s a longtime bugbear wrinkle, a small scar, or some enhancements you’ve been seeking. You can find out more about The Laser Beautique and all the services offered on the official website.