Check Out The Results Of My Micro Needling in Calgary Experience

I can’t get over the wear and tear to my body in my 40s. This decade is hard on so many levels, and nowhere is that more apparent than on my face. I’ve got annoyingly sensitive skin, hormonal adult acne, a ton of crows feet and my eyelids are starting to droop. Hey, guess what? Eyebrow waxing for 20 years really does stretch out that skin! But I will not be defeated! Here’s my journey towards combating lacklustre skin with getting micro needling in Calgary. 

Micro needling Calgary

I’ve been seeing Dr. Behm at Papillon Medical for a good decade. Back then it was called the Dermatology Centre or some such. In the past year, the clinic has had a reno, refresh and name change to Papillon. Before I started getting micro needling in Calgary, I used to go in for skin cancer checks, get a few weird things lasered off and the occasional pimple popped. (They will seriously do that for you in the right way to prevent scarring.)

Then I was like, this is ridiculous! Why shouldn’t I investigate their medi-spa services to see if there’s a legit way I can look and feel better? It annoys me to no end that I look mean even when I’m not cross. I look tired even after a great night’s sleep. And I try to do all the right things: don’t smoke, use Vitamin C creams, etc…

So I booked a complimentary consultation to get their opinion on what could be done. Erin, a Medical Esthetician, offers personal recommendations to everyone. After listening to the above rant, she recommended I get a Beauty Booster treatment (which is like micro needling, but with more oomph) and something called a Fotona Laser, an intraoral oral laser to tighten up my jawline. For best results, you should get three treatments of each spaced a few weeks apart. Here’s how it went down for me.

What is Micro Needling?

You’ve probably heard of micro needling, but in case you haven’t, in this Kardashian-approved procedure, a bunch of tiny needles puncture the first layer of your skin. The needles are in an injector gun, so you get several hits at once (think there’s nine needles in total) vs one at a time with facial acupuncture.

The needles stimulate the production of elastin and collagen – both of which decrease their production when you’re in your twenties. Micro needling is great for reducing acne and other scars, but the Beauty Booster treatment goes beyond.

Beauty Booster

In addition to stimulating elastin and collagen through the needle gun, it injects a cocktail of minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins. This goes further to get your elastin and collagen amped up. Let me tell you, it’s a major revitalizer – especially for middle aged gals like me who are looking for an allover glow. Beauty Booster even helps to soften out fine lines.

My Beauty Booster treatment happened to be administered by a Registered Nurse. Bretton was super sweet and helped me take my mind off the procedure. I’m a big wuss and not a needle fan. It’s too much to say getting Beauty Booster hurts – the needles only go in to a depth of 1 mm, but it did feel like a quick sting. If you like, you can get numbing cream put on prior, but there’s also a numbing agent in the Beauty Boost serum which helps.

What to know about micro needling

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about micro needling and getting Beauty Booster: Your pores open way up and stay that way for hours afterwards. You really shouldn’t be putting on make up or sunscreen. But if you have to (if you’ll be in the sun, you ought to put on sunscreen), best to use a mineral make-up or suncream.

The second thing you need to realize before getting this treatment is that you may not want to be seen in public immediately afterwards. A good friend of mine told me I’d need to hide out for at least four to five days! After getting my second treatment, I had to dash off to a work event at ritzy Hotel Arts Kensington.

Yep, two hours after my treatment I had to mingle over cocktails with my hypersensitive, blotchy, red face. Just like my first treatment, I looked horrendous immediately afterwards. Each time my face was red for 60 to 90 minutes. 

After my first treatment I didn’t get any raised bumps, but I did with my second. But here’s the weird thing that happened to me within hours of getting needled –  I looked better. Two hours after treatment, you really couldn’t tell I had it done.

I WENT OUT IN PUBLIC WITHOUT FOUNDATION ON. AND I LOOKED PRETTY GOOD! This is insane for me. My skin actually looked dewy. Maybe I could be ballsy enough to claim it looked radiant. I was surrounded by all these chic, well put together fashion bloggers (the majority of whom had tried micro needling before), and they couldn’t believe how good I looked so quickly after treatment.

Now I’m not saying you’re going to have the same results. But if someone with super sensitive skin like me can go out in public a few hours after getting trauma to the face, well, there’s hope for us all.

I can totally see myself getting this treatment done again in the winter or whenever my skin looks lacklustre and could use a boost. At the same time, I had the intraoral laser done. It’s so exciting it deserves its own post.

What should you do after your medi spa appointment

• Ask for samples, natch! They usually have loads to dispense from their skincare and pharma reps. Don’t be shy. I’m not.
• Depending on your treatment, you may be advised not to workout or sweat afterwards.
• Avoid the sun. If necessary, they can give a moisturizer/sunscreen combo sample if you know you’re going to be outside. Still, it’s best if you can keep your skin clean, dry and free of additional chemicals.
• Ditto for make-up. Try to schedule your appointment at a time when you don’t have to reapply.
• Obviously, I ignored that last point.

You may also enjoy reading:

Secrets from the mom with the best skin

These are the best places in Calgary for massage

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