Microneedling Facial Treatment with PRP – Before and After

I finally tried a microneedling facial treatment with PRP at CosmetiCare! I’ve never been happy with the texture of my skin. The acne that I had in college has left my skin scarred and not smooth.

After looking into a few different treatments, I decided that microneedling was a great start! And when they add the PRP facial with it, it’s even more effective! I’m sharing the whole procedure, as well as before and after pictures, so you can see if you think this treatment might be right for you too. 

As an ambassador for CosmetiCare, I am super lucky that I get to try out some of their treatments for free and then share the process with you. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After my initial consultation with the team at CosmetiCare, we decided that a series of microneedling appointments would really help my acne scarring. I thought I’d ease you into this post with a non-gross photo.

I want to warn you, the photos in this post are not super pleasant – so just be warned! 

Skip down to check out my video or read on for more details!

PRP with Microneedling for my Acne Scarring

I want to start off by sharing what my skin started out like before the treatment. I had it done when I was 40 years old. I had acne mostly in my college years and it left me with scarred skin with a terrible texture. 

As I started aging, I felt like the uneven texture was even more pronounced and decided it was time to do something about it. I found some harsh light to take a before photo in so you can really see the texture I’m talking about. Sometimes, in photos, my skin doesn’t look that bad. But I have always been self-conscious about it.
Not only do I have acne scarring, but I have large pores and, ugh, fine lines and wrinkles. Microneedling helps with all of these things which is why I thought it was a good first skin treatment to do with CosmetiCare.

I loved getting Botox, but knew that to really make a difference with my skin, I’d need to do something a little stronger to help me look a little younger overall and smoother.
I was pretty nervous when I arrived for my appointment at CosmetiCare. I think they’ve done a great job with creating a serene environment in the lobby waiting area. Plus, being located right on the harbor, the views are incredible! And who doesn’t love an office that plays Real Housewives of OC?! CosmetiCare is the go-to office for plastic surgeries and skin treatments for some of your favorite local housewives. But that’s just a fun side note. I also fully trust the staff, nurses and doctors.

Microneedling Facial Treatment with PRP

There really isn’t too much prep for the PRP microneedling facial treatment. I stopped using any products with retinols about a week prior to my appointment. This is the before photo taken right before my treatment started. I came with freshly washed skin without makeup.
They start off by applying a numbing cream that sits for about 45 minutes. You want this cream to work so don’t run late on the way to your appointment! 

If you are doing the micro needling with PRP, they will draw your blood while the numbing cream does its thing. They spin your blood to separate out the plasma so that it is ready for when your procedure starts.

What is PRP?

PRP stands for platelet rich plasma. It is also known as collagen induction therapy. I’m not going to get all science-y but basically, by using your own plasma, it helps generate new collagen to grow which helps to improve scars, etc. I’ll explain how that fits into this microneedling facial in a minute. I did my microneedling with a nurse, which means she is able to go a little bit deeper with her needling pen than an aesthetician can. This is better for those with deep scars.

The staff at CosmetiCare shot an Instagram live of my treatment! YIKES! It was actually a great way to have the treatment done since as the people watching would ask questions, I got to hear all the answers at the same time.

After wiping off all the numbing cream, Kat, my CosmetiCare RN, applied a serum to my face. The tip of the device holds micro needles and she runs it over your skin.

The needles help to get the serum to sink in. The device does cause bleeding as you can see in the picture above. For the areas with deeper scarring, she pulses the device up and down, kind of like a tapping motion.

But notice I’m smiling. It looks worse than it is! (Note: My first microneedling treatment was tolerable and not too painful. The second and third were very painful. Your pain tolerance may fluctuate depending on your hormones. Y’all, it sucked. I love the final results but it did hurt! A lot!)I felt the treatment a lot more than I thought I would. But it was tolerable. It hurt most when it was over an area with bone, but since she is moving the device, and not holding it one space specifically, the pain is very short. After the first pass, she wiped down my skin. The bleeding stopped immediately and there is no scabbing at all.
Then it was time to use the PRP. The plasma is put in a syringe, and its squeezed over the skin before the nurse does another pass with the needling device (watch the video to see all of that!). The plasma is not “blood”-colored like people might think. It’s basically clear.

When she was done going over my skin, the second time with the needling pen, she used a small needle to inject the leftover plasma back in to my cheeks where the scarring is the worst. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes. Kat finished off by holding a cold compress on my face for about a minute. It was a nice way to end. I wasn’t in any pain but my skin felt really hot so this was really soothing. This is how my skin looked right after the treatment. My skin continued to feel hot for the rest of the day.

For the microneedling done with a nurse, the recovery is about 5 days (unlike 3 when done by an aesthetician). I was given a balm to put on twice a day for the five days, to help with healing.

I had made sure that my schedule for the week was open so I let it heal and didn’t wear makeup that whole week (although they told me I could wear makeup on day 2 and beyond if I wanted). And the recovery is not painful at all. That’s the best type of recovery! 

What Does the Recovery Look Like From PRP Microneedling?

This is a picture from day 3 but day 2 looked pretty similar, just a little bit redder. 

Here’s how the 5 days of recovery went:

• Day 1 – my face felt hot, a little bit like it was on fire but only mildly uncomfortable.
• Day 2 – my face felt itchy and was starting to dry out.
• Day 3 – I started peeling more in the areas where she went a little bit deeper (big peels on my chin).
• Day 4 – the rest of my face started peeling, but small and kind of all over the place.

Watch my video to get even more details on each day.By day 5 most of the redness was gone and I finally put makeup on. Having completed my first microneedling treatment, I’m totally ready to do the next 2!

They recommend several treatments, about 6 weeks apart to see the best results. While I feel like my skin is a little bit smoother, the full results won’t be seen for about 6 months since you are waiting for your collagen to grow and repair your scars.

*This is my first real attempt at doing video and, yes, I held the camera the wrong direction (and even worse, I took all the video in Instagram stories which makes it even more narrow). I’ll get better! I promise! 

I would definitely plan on taking at least Day 1 – 4 off so that you don’t have to worry about makeup, but you totally could make it work if you had to. I’m lucky to work from home and have that flexibility.

More microneedling posts:

• What is Microneedling?
• Microneedling For Acne Scars Final Results
• Microneedling Results After Two Treatments by Living Mi Vida Loca- My friend, Pattie, tried it too. Check out her results!

More CosmetiCare posts:

• I love Botox
• What is Coolsculpting?
• I Tried Under Eye Fillers!

Use the code above to get 10% off any of the treatments I’ve done at CosmetiCare! Includes Botox, Restylane, Coolsculpting, Microneedling and CO2 Laser Treatments.

Thank you for supporting companies, like CosmetiCare, who enable me to create fun content, for you and your family, through partnerships, products, services and/or compensation!

Pin This Info about Microneedling with PRP for Later!

If you aren’t happy with your uneven skin texture or acne scars, you definitely need to check out a microneedling facial treatment with PRP! I’m happy with my results and think you will be too! Have you done any skin treatments before?