How does microneedling stimulate collagen production?

Collagen follows from two steps that happen in a fixed order, and a reader in Dexter, Michigan can follow both. The first step is the needling and the second is the healing.

Step one: the needling

my.clevelandclinic.org describes it plainly: "Your healthcare provider uses thin needles to make tiny holes in the top layer of your skin." The treatment starts with a controlled mark on the surface.

Step two: the healing response

The page then names the link to collagen: "The damage helps stimulate your skin’s healing process, so it produces more collagen and elastin". Collagen is a product of the repair, and it does not come from the needles directly.

Where this falls in the sequence

Needling comes first and the healing response comes second. Collagen sits at the end of that order, so it depends on the skin healing after the session.

What to gather

• Your questions about the treatment, written out
• The two my.clevelandclinic.org statements above for reference
• A list of what you want the treatment to change

The next step

The next read is the research. Start with a retrospective study of fractional carbon dioxide laser versus microneedling radio frequency, then a systematic review of microneedling versus chemical peels for atrophic acne scars and a broad review of microneedling in dermatology.