What is collagen induction therapy and how it works

Collagen induction therapy, (CIT), is also referred to as micro-needling or face needling.  It's an elective cosmetic procedure that involves piercing the skin repeatedly with sterile tiny needles to create controlled damage to your skin. 

CIT is a controlled skin injury, and the reason people want to do it is because the injury will activate your body to create new collagen and elastin to repair your skin.  Collagen is a well-known skin rejuvenator, so it will repair fine lines, wrinkles, firm and tighten your skin. 

CIT is superior to other anti-aging treatments because it is chemical free.  The needles stimulate collagen and elastin production so the healing of the skin is natural. Over repeated CIT sessions, your skin will become firmer and more elastic so it will look more youthful. 

Collagen induction therapy can be used for all skin types.  People with dark skin tones can use CIT to improve the quality of their skin.  CIT can be performed on many parts of the body such as the face, neck, arms, chest, handles, legs, back and abdomen.

Collagen induction therapy is a minimally invasive skin treatment.  Depending on the results you are trying to achieve, as well as your current skin condition and age, you will need at least four to eight visits to reach your optimum look.  After that, you would need to receive the treatment every six months or so to maintain your look. 

Each session is 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the treatment area.  While the procedure is safe, you have to allow your skin time to heal in between sessions.  Each treatment is normally scheduled 4 to 5 weeks apart.  This length of time will allow your body to produce the collagen needed to fill in lines and rejuvenate your skin.

How often we can go for collagen induction therapy treatments truly depends on the state of your skin to begin with.  However, on average you can get a session once every 4 or 5 weeks.  It is imperative that your skin heals in between sessions.  Younger people will usually have skin that heals quicker than older people so they will be able to go for a treatment every 4 weeks while older patients would usually need 5 or 6 weeks between sessions in order to allow their skin to heal properly. 

Collagen induction therapy not only tightens sagging skin and reduces fine lines in the face, but it is also a treatment for acne scarring.  If your skin is pitted from acne scars, CIT can be beneficial because it promotes collagen production and regenerates new skin cells.  Collagen accelerates the healing and rejuvenation of the skin. 

CIT has been used successfully for treating stretch marks. Once stretch marks appear on your skin, they can never be fully eliminated, however, CIT treatments will reduce the visible color and improve the texture of stretch marks. The micro-needling process will regenerate new skin cells making the stretch marks less visible. It will take six sessions before seeing a noticeable improvement in your stretch marks.  Collagen induction therapy breaks down old scar tissue so it begins to blend in with the surrounding skin and the stretch marks are less visible.  

CIT can be an effective treatment for rosacea and age spots. Because the upper layer of skin is shed through collagen induction therapy, melanin production is lessened. The darkening of skin and age spots are brought on when your skin manufactures excessive amounts of melanin. CIT can help in the regulation of melanin production which reduces the dark skin spots.

While collagen induction therapy is usually done in a physician's office, it is not the only way to get it.  You can do collagen induction therapy at home. Yes, you can!

CIT treatments can be done in the comfort of your own home with a derma pen or roller device. These devices use shorter needles than the ones that would be used in a physician's office. The shorter needles are not capable of treating severe skin conditions.

A physician would normally use a 1.0 - 2.0 mm needle, whereas at home products are only available in 0.25 mm or 0.30 mm.  The results that you can achieve at home are not going to be as good as the results you can get at the doctor's office because of the needle size. The larger the needle, the deeper the puncture, which yields more collagen production. If you have deep scarring or wrinkles, the best advice would be going to an office for in-patient treatment. 

Make sure you disinfect your derma roller before your treatment.  Soak the derma roller in rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl) or hydrogen peroxide for 20 minutes.  Never use your derma roller on anyone else.  They are not that expensive, so it is well worth buying your own rather than share someone else's.  Sharing derma rollers can spread disease.

Here are some at home derma roller products to try:

Prosper Beauty's Dermaroll is a five-piece kit and includes the derma roller handle, storage case and 3 replaceable heads.  The needles are 0.25 mm and made of durable titanium so the needles will last longer than stainless steel needles.  One reason this derma roller made it to editor's #1 pick is because it comes with replaceable roller needle heads.  Most other products do not have replaceable heads which means you have to buy the entire product again when you need a new blade, so this one is better for the environment and is ultimately more economical because you can buy the replacement heads separately. 

Roller head needles must be replaced after 3-5 uses, in much the same way as a razor blade because the needles dull after each use.  The sharper the needles, the lesser the pain. Each head contains 600 needles.  The derma roller is available in black or white colors.

Linduray's derma roller kit is for your face and body.  You can use the derma roller on your hands to reduce wrinkles or other places on your body where you have scarring.  The derma roller has 540 .25 mm needles and comes with a storage case.  
 
Linduray does not offer replacement heads for the needles, so you will need to replace the whole product when you are ready for a new needle.  The derma roller is available in colors blue and peach.  Every purchase comes with three E-books to show you how to use the product to achieve optimum results and includes professional tips and tricks on derma rolling.  The E-books are emailed as PDF files after your purchase.

ZustBeauty's derma roller kit contains 540 0.30 mm needles in the roller head. The kit contains the roller, a vitamin C Hyaluronic serum and a clear cosmetic bag that can be used to hold your roller.  The vitamin C serum is designed to be used following your derma rolling treatment. It soothes the skin and tones down redness. The serum is made with bees wax and vitamins C and E.

ZustBeauty's derma roller does not come with replaceable heads so you will need to re-purchase the product when you are ready for new replacement needles.  

Collagen induction therapy is a good choice for people who are looking for a safe and minimally invasive method for treating wrinkles and fine lines, acne, stretch marks, rosacea and dark spots. If you have a severe skin condition, you should consult a physician for treatment because the results you can achieve by doing it yourself in your home will not be as good as the results the doctor can get for you in the office due to the limitations of at home equipment.
 
The cost of treatments in a doctor's office is more expensive than the price you will pay for a derma pen or roller that you can use on yourself in your home. However, bear in mind that the results will vary depending upon the needle size and the severity of your skin condition. If you are not confident in your DIY abilities, you may not want to try the home treatments.  However, if you don't have the money, you may just want to try the home kit first to see whether you can achieve the results you want. If you try the DIY way and you do not see the major improvement you were hoping for, then you can try the doctor to see if the results are better.