Microneedling in Alpharetta
Microneedling creates thousands of controlled micro-injuries in the skin, which triggers a wound-healing response and, over the following weeks, new collagen. It is a series treatment — one session is a facial, three to six sessions is a result. It is genuinely good for texture and early scarring and it is genuinely not a substitute for a resurfacing laser when the scarring is deep.
What it is
A motorised handpiece drives a cartridge of fine needles into the skin at a set depth and speed. Each puncture is a tiny, self-sealing wound that the body responds to in the ordinary way: inflammation, then proliferation, then remodeling. The remodeling phase is where new collagen and elastin are laid down, and it runs for weeks after an appointment that took twenty minutes.
Depth is the variable that decides what the treatment is. A shallow pass improves surface quality and product penetration. A deeper pass reaches the level where scars and dermal thinning live. Depth is set per area of the face rather than once for the whole appointment, because the skin over the cheekbone and the skin at the temple do not tolerate the same setting.
What it feels like
Numbing cream for twenty to thirty minutes first, after which most of the face feels like a vibrating sandpaper pass — odd rather than painful. The forehead and the area along the jaw are the sharp bits. Expect to feel warm and tight for a couple of hours afterwards, like a strong sunburn without the sting.
Downtime
Two to four days. Red like a sunburn on day one, fading through pink on day two, with some flaking and tightness on days three and four. Makeup goes back on at twenty-four hours. Deeper settings for scarring extend that to about five days.
How long it lasts
The collagen produced is yours and ages with the rest of your skin, so a completed course holds for a year or more. Most people return for a maintenance session every six to twelve months rather than repeating a full course.
Who it’s for — and who it isn’t
A good fit
- Shallow rolling acne scars and general textural irregularity.
- Fine surface etching across the cheeks and upper lip.
- Anyone who wants meaningful remodeling without the recovery a resurfacing laser requires — and most skin tones tolerate it, which is not true of every device here.
Not a fit
- Active acne, an active cold sore, or any infection in the treatment area. We will reschedule rather than treat around it.
- Deep ice-pick scarring. The needle does not reach the base, and we will say so rather than sell a course that improves the skin around an unchanged pit.
- A history of keloid scarring, where controlled injury is the wrong mechanism to introduce.
Who performs it here
Nia Ellison
LE, CLT
Lead Medical Aesthetician
Cosmetic laser services are delegated by, and performed under the supervision of, Anita Rao, MD, in accordance with Georgia Composite Medical Board requirements.
Bree Salazar
LE
Medical Aesthetician
Performs delegated treatments under the medical direction and standing orders of Anita Rao, MD.
What it costs
Priced per session, and it is a series — so we quote the course of three and the interval, not a single appointment. Quoting one session for a treatment that needs three is a smaller number that describes a different thing.
Questions about microneedling
How is this different from a roller I could buy?
Depth, sterility and control. A home roller drags at a fixed shallow depth rather than puncturing vertically at a set one, which tears the surface instead of remodeling below it. The professional depth range is where the collagen response actually happens, and it is not a range that belongs in a bathroom.
How many sessions?
Three for texture, four to six for scarring, spaced four to six weeks apart, with the result assessed three months after the last one. Assessing at three weeks is looking at healing rather than at remodeling.
When can I wash my face?
Water and a gentle cleanser after about six hours. Nothing active — no acids, no retinoid, no vitamin C — for five days. Sun protection every day, and that one is not optional, because freshly remodelled skin pigments readily.