There are so many cosmetic skin treatments available in the market. People with minor acne concerns and significant skin problems turn to these cosmetic procedures to fix and improve their skin, especially their face.
While many of these procedures are minimally invasive, like microneedling, it is still essential to do research before getting into any cosmetic surgery or procedure and get an opinion of a dermatologist or aesthetician on what method would work best for your concern.
What is Microneedling?
Before we get into makeup concerns after microneedling, let’s first explore what microneedling is, especially for those not familiar with this procedure yet.
Microneedling is a minimally invasive procedure (which only involves needling through tiny incisions on the face) performed by dermatologists to cure and treat certain skin conditions. These conditions include scarring, acne, wrinkles, alopecia, skin pigmentation, stretch marks, rosacea, loose skin, large pores, fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, or sun damage.
Wow. That’s a lot. So basically, microneedling is performed to heal most skin issues by pricking the skin with needles of various sizes (they’re tiny needles, but they come in different small sizes).
Microneedling is also called collagen induction therapy. But why collagen?
Collagen is found in every part of our body, our bones, blood, muscles and compose one-third of our skin. Collagen breaks down and doesn’t produce more as we age. This collagen degradation causes our skin to deteriorate, making it more elastic, rough, unhealthy, and prone to skin problems.
A 2019 study showed that collagen supplements improved a group of women’s skin appearance and elasticity, showing how important collagen is for the health and development of our skin.
What Happens During a Microneedling Procedure?
Microneedling isn’t just done at the face but can be done at every part of the body from head to toe.
With microneedling, the dermatologist inserts and makes tiny pricks using a pen-like tool to make even pricks around your skin. Because of this pricking, the wounds would force your body to produce more collagen and skin tissue to make your skin firmer, smoother, and more toned than before.
The new collagen produced by the skin through microneedling will also reduce the appearance of acne scars and stretch marks.
Microneedling is generally safe for healthy people. However, you might want to reconsider undergoing this procedure when taking acne medications or during pregnancy.
One of the downsides and the most common side effects of microneedling is that you will notice a pronounced redness and irritation around the skin where microneedling was done.
Although numbing creams are applied during the procedure to reduce the pain, the minor cuts done by the needles will inevitably cause redness and bleeding.
This procedure is not just done once, but at least four to six times to see the effects of microneedling, so many wonders what kind of microneedling aftercare should be done in these cases.
Microneedling Aftercare
No cosmetic procedure is ever easy, especially aftercare, even in the most minimally invasive treatments like microneedling.
After each microneedling session, you will most likely experience redness and swelling that will last for 24 hours or even more. The best thing you can do as microneedling aftercare is as follows:
1. Sunscreen
Keep sunscreen by your side for two weeks after your procedure. Make sure that you constantly apply sunscreen to lessen the redness and irritation the sun brings when going out. At the same time, avoid going out as much as possible under the sun.
2. Topical Antibiotic Creams
Your doctor might prescribe topical antibiotic creams. Make sure to apply them as recommended.
3. Avoid Physical Activities
Avoid activities where you expect to sweat a lot. These include activities like going to the gym, biking, running, swimming, and other strenuous activities. Also, avoid touching and wiping your face before washing your hands.
4. Don’t Wear Makeup
Never apply makeup right after the microneedling procedure. Doing so might be the worst thing you can do.
The question is, how long before microneedling can I wear makeup? Is it safe to wear makeup after microneedling, and how long do I have to wait?
We have the answers.
Wearing Makeup After Microneedling
You’ve probably undergone microneedling in hopes of healing your facial skin so your makeup can apply and set more smoothly. In this logic, it makes sense that we need to allow our face to recover before applying makeup.
Applying makeup after microneedling will cause breakouts as it will block the pores of your newly opened skin, and you wouldn’t, want that right?
While you can use moisturizer and sunscreens (as recommended) within 24 hours after the procedure, your foundations are a big no-no.
It is recommended to wait at least 48 to 72 hours, or three days, or until your dermatologist gives a signal before trying to apply makeup.
Covering the redness and irritation may offer temporary relief will adversely affect the newly rejuvenated and healing skin.
Within 24 hours, your skin would have been able to breathe after the procedure. The 72-hour time frame will make sure that the top layer of your skin is healed so that the chemicals on the makeup won’t pose a threat to your skin.
Foundation, BB creams, CC creams, and other products mainly comprise oil that blocks pores. Applying makeup will make your skin unable to breathe and heal properly.
As 72 hours is the time frame to wait for the skin to heal, it is recommended to only do a skincare routine that doesn’t involve very harsh chemicals and are composed of natural and safe ingredients. These include sunscreen, aloe vera, mild cleansers and moisturizers and the like.
While you might think that acids should be avoided during microneedling, one kind of acid could help. You can include skincare with hyaluronic acid in your post microneedling skincare routine as it helps in collagen growth and is a natural acid that helps retain skin moisture.
It is important that you allow your skin to heal in this period by only using safe products that promote skin health and protection, rather than beautification. Let’s leave that for when the skin heals.
Avoid skin actives like retinol, glycolic acid, and Vitamin C– all ingredients that target skin concerns.
During this period, we defend the skin and not attack it. So using products with these ingredients should be avoided. Double-check if your original skin care routine has these ingredients, as you may want to set them aside until your skin heals.
Suppose you are looking to apply makeup three days after your microneedling procedure. In that case, you may want to use natural, organic, and paraben-free makeup before going back to your usual routine.
Many ask how long after microneedling can they wear mineral makeup. The answer is that they are the best choice after three days from your microneedling procedure.
Make sure, however, that your makeup is a pure mineral and not just mineral-based. If you have an option to use mineral foundations that are free from harmful chemicals, you may want to use them in the meantime in the first few weeks after your procedure to make sure that your skin won’t irritate despite being covered.
