My Microneeding Experience with EnlightenMD
Let me start off by saying that I’ve struggled with insecurity about my skin for many years. I’ve hid behind makeup and masked it all until now. I grew up being in the sun constantly, whether it was long pool days in the 90+ Texas heat or playing sports, I was exposed to the damaging effects of the sun for years on end. Sunscreen wasn’t super important to me back then like it is now. I was also a tanning bed regular from the time I was 15 years old to 21. Obviously I didn’t treat my skin the way I should have and if I could go back in time I would in a heartbeat. Now I’m reaping the consequences and have to really work at keeping my skin looking healthy.
I think my skin really started going downhill once I was in college and I was extremely stressed out and experienced real anxiety for the first time in my life. My skin broke out more than ever during that time and I took all that built up stress and frustration out on myself and my skin. I basically made my acne so much worse and scarred my skin. I now have hypopigmentation (white spots) in some areas on my face. I’ve lost the ability to produce melanin in these areas and it really stands out when I have any sort of tan on my face. What a mess, right?
In addition to the acne scars I also have a lot of melasma (brown patches) on my face. Melasma is super common but can be triggered by sun exposure, pregnancy, birth control pills, genetics, hormonal fluctuations and stress. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what caused my melasma, but all I know is that it has progressed in recent years. Even though I am now diligent about wearing sunscreen on my face and wearing hats when I’m out in the sun, any sort of heat on my face causes the melasma to flare up and get much worse. I’m not going to lie, once that happens my face looks a little cray and my skin tone is extremely uneven. I wasn’t kidding, the struggle is real when it comes to my skin. That’s why it’s difficult for me to open up and write this post, because I am very insecure about it and it’s hard sharing something like that with others. At the very least I hope it helps someone out there who may also be struggling with their own skin insecurities. You’re definitely not alone.
I’ve seen so many dermatologists the past few years to try and get some answers on how I can improve my melasma and even my skin tone. Trust me, I’ve tried all the creams, retinols, etc to try to improve things. Pretty much every dermatologist I’ve ever been to told me to do fraxel laser. I was contemplating it for the longest time but just unsure because I felt like I was just being sold some crazy expensive procedure that wouldn’t really do much for my personal issues. Another thing that held me back on fraxel is the fact that it’s a heated laser. Heat is not good for my skin, so that held me back as well. I will say I’ve seen other people have amazing results with fraxel, I was never convinced it was right for my specific needs.
Things quickly changed the day I went to EnlightenMD and has a consultation with the owner Kari. As hard as it was for me to go bare face anywhere, I went in with zero makeup on and was desperate for help. Kari examined my face and made me feel at ease, assuring me that we would develop a plan to improve my specific skin issues. I told her that every dermatologist in the past recommended fraxel and she quickly threw out that idea saying a heated laser is definitely NOT right for my skin. Instead she said we would do 3 rounds of microneeding.
I started my microneedling treatments in 2018 and can honestly say now that it’s over that I’ve never felt more confident in my own skin than I do now. Channing at EnlightenMD did all of my microneedling treatments and was so helpful with the entire process. She’s a pro and I highly recommend her if you’re in the DFW area. Microneedling really cleared up my melasma in a big way and now my skin tone looks more even. I still have to work hard everyday to maintain all the progress we’ve made on my skin but I’m up for the challenge after seeing the drastic changes. I use several products daily (shown below) that help the process and I also avoid the sun if possible and wear sunscreen every single day.
Even now my skin is nowhere near perfect or flawless in any aspect. However the improvement I’ve seen from where I started is more than enough for me. My self confidence has dramatically improved as a result of this treatment. I actually feel comfortable going places makeup free now. This is huge because I used to never leave the house without concealing everything first. I had a total of 3 microneedling treatments and will continue these as part of my skin care regimen moving forward. I didn’t think results like this were possible for me but EnlightenMD really did an amazing job at developing a plan to meet my specific needs. It’s been the best experience and I’m forever grateful for Kari and the EnlightenMD team I worked with for helping me overcome my skin insecurities and improve the overall health of my skin.
Don’t forget you can always get 15% OFF ANY treatment at EnlightenMD when you mention my name!
Common questions I’ve received about microneedling
Q: How many treatments did you do?
A: I did a total of three treatments, each around 6-8 weeks apart
Q: What all does microneedling treat?
A: Sun damage, acne scars, melasma, fine lines and overall skin texture
Q: Are there different kinds of microneeding?
A: Yes, Enlighten offers 4 different kinds: Brightening, Hydrating, Anti-Aging and PRP/Vampire Facial
Q: What kind of microneedling did you do?
A: I did a brightening microneedling with Lytera
Q: How much does microneedling cost?
A: I recommend going in for a consultation because everyone’s treatment plan is different
Q: Have you had good results from your microneedling?
A: I am officially hooked on this treatment, it improved my skin so much – just look at the before/after pictures below
Q: How painful is microneedling?
A: Obviously everyone’s pain tolerance is different, and I do feel like I have a pretty high one. I personally think it’s about a 4 out of 10 overall and then increases to 6 out of 10 level on the forehead area. They do numb the entire face beforehand which helps
Q: What is the downtime after microneedling?
A: 24 hours with no sun exposure or makeup. Your face will be red but there’s no pain or discomfort afterwards in my opinion
Before + After Pictures after 3 Microneedling treatments at Enlighten
These are the 3 products I use on my face daily (in addition to sunscreen) to help maintain the more even skin tone I’ve achieved after microneeding. I get all of these products at EnlightenMD in Dallas.
xoxo
Whit
