The question of how often microneedling treats hair loss is among the most frequently asked across the globe. Hair loss prevention and treatment is the top concern for people battling baldness. It is a devastating condition that impacts many emotionally, mentally, and socially. Unfortunately, no standard solutions guarantee a complete cure for hair loss. This article discusses the facts behind microneedling for hair loss and why it is highly effective.
What Is Microneedling?
Microneedling for hair loss is a new and innovative treatment. It has been proven effective in treating hair loss, especially baldness. The best results are achieved when it is combined with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma).
Microneedling for hair loss involves rolling a needle over the scalp to create small punctures that stimulate the scalp and promote blood flow. The idea behind microneedling is to increase blood circulation in the scalp, stimulating the follicles and increasing hair growth.
Microneedling for hair loss can be performed on any part of the body where hair loss has occurred due to aging or other factors.
Microneedling Procedure
After cleansing your skin, the aesthetician will apply a numbing cream to help reduce any discomfort during the procedure. Then, they will use the microneedling device to create hundreds of tiny holes in your scalp. The device contains fine needles that penetrate your skin at different depths, depending on how deep you want the needles to go. The deeper they go, the more effectively they stimulate new hair growth or thicken existing strands.
You may feel mild stinging during this process, but it shouldn’t be painful enough to make you cry or scream! The entire treatment takes about an hour, but it may take several sessions before you see significant results.
Aftercare
After your treatment, you will have an appointment with your doctor or nurse, who will remove any remaining sutures if necessary. You should avoid washing your hair for at least 24 hours after your treatment and avoid contact with water (including swimming) as this may cause infection or complications with healing.
How Does Microneedling Work for Hair Growth?
It works for hair growth by the following methods.
Reorganizing Collagen
Hair microneedling for hair loss is a treatment that uses tiny needles to reorganize collagen in the scalp. It helps stimulate the production of new hair follicles and improve hair growth.
Increasing The Provision of Protein
Hair contains keratin, and it is an essential component of hair follicles. If less keratin is available, hair loss can occur due to damage or breakage of these follicles. In this condition, microneedling for hair loss helps provide additional keratin to your hair which helps in repairing damaged follicles and promoting new growth of healthy hair.
Reducing Inflammation
Inflammation occurs when free radicals cause damage, it can be caused due to external factors like pollution, stress, or even from inside due to lack of nutrients or other reasons. Inflammation causes dandruff which results in itching, flaking, redness, scaling, or even bald spots on the head. Microneedling for hair loss is a significant help in reducing inflammation.
Providing Nutrition
Microneedling for hair loss works by creating small skin wounds, allowing them to heal quickly and effectively. As the skin repairs, it produces more collagen and elastin, which helps to provide nutrition to your hair follicles. It allows your hair follicles to grow healthier, stronger, and longer hair over time.
Improving Blood Flow
Another benefit of microneedling is that it improves blood flow to the scalp and hair follicles. That helps with a better nutrient supply to the scalp and ensures that any toxins or waste products move through the body more quickly, allowing them to be eliminated more efficiently from the body.
Reducing DHT Levels
Hair microneedling also helps reduce levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is commonly known as the “male hormone” because it causes male pattern baldness in some men (women also have this hormone but at lower levels than men). By reducing DHT levels, microneedling encourages thick, shiny hair regrowth.
Is It True Microneedling Once Every 1 to 3 Week Is Necessary?
The frequency of the microneedling session depends on many factors.
The time it takes to heal, your skin and hair condition, and your age may affect the healing time.
The healing time can range from 2 to 10 days, depending on the penetration depth and size of the needles used. The deeper and larger the needles used, the longer it will take for your skin to heal.
At least three weeks is recommended for optimal results. If you are looking for faster results, you can schedule a touch-up session two weeks after your initial treatment.
Hair restoration is another reason people choose microneedling over laser treatments or chemical peels. It restores hair by stimulating collagen production, making it appear fuller, thicker, and healthier.
Microneedling Frequency Depends on Several Factors
Here is the list.
- The Type of Hair Loss You Have
If you have pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), you’ll probably need more frequent sessions than someone with telogen effluvium (TE) or another cause of diffuse thinning.
- How Much Progress You’re Making
If you’re making steady progress with your current treatment plan, I’d recommend waiting longer between sessions than someone still waiting for results.
- Your Regrowth Rate
If your hair is growing back quickly, then there’s no need to microneedle every month as long as they’re still healthy looking and not falling out easily when you wash or brush them.
4. The Thickness of Your Hair and Scalp
Whether you have thin, medium, or thick hair, the frequency you need to get microneedling done will differ. That is because the thinness of your hair makes it easier for the needle to penetrate it. You can get more frequent sessions without worrying about damaging your scalp or causing side effects.
5. The Condition of Your Skin and Scalp
If you have sensitive skin or a damaged scalp, you should get only a few sessions done at a time. That is because even if you have thick hair, doing multiple procedures at once might cause inflammation and other problems that could lead to side effects such as itching or irritation.
Interesting Facts About Microneedling
Here are some interesting facts about the effectiveness of Microneedling for hair loss.
1. It Increases the Absorption of Minoxidil
Minoxidil, a drug used to stimulate hair growth, is ineffective in some people. As a study in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy mentions, microneedling can increase the effectiveness of minoxidil by up to 50%. Experts found that some subjects experienced noticeable hair growth after only two weeks of using microneedling.
2. It Induces Stem Cells
Microneedling can induce stem cells that help promote healing in the skin. Stem cells have been found to promote faster healing after injury or surgery because they attract new blood vessels, collagen, and fibroblasts (which are responsible for scarring).
3. The Boast of Collagen
Microneedling can stimulate collagen production, which helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles while improving elasticity in the skin. Collagen fills in pores and fine lines and thickens your dermis (the second layer of your skin), giving it more volume and fullness.
Microneedling can be used to treat many different hair conditions, including:
Alopecia Areata
The most common reason for hair loss in men and women is alopecia areata. This auto-immune disease results in unpredictable patches of hair loss on the scalp and other body areas. Microneedling may help improve the appearance of affected areas and reduce itching associated with the condition.
Anagen Effluvium
Anagen effluvium occurs when there’s a sudden disruption in the growth phase of your hair cycle — typically due to hormonal changes or other medical conditions that affect your body’s hormone production. As a result, your hair grows more slowly than expected, causing breakage at the root before reaching its entire length. Microneedling may help stimulate regrowth and reduce shedding associated with anagen effluvium by helping damaged follicles produce new hair shafts faster than usual.
Things To Consider Before Microneedling
You need to consider some factors before opting for microneedling for hair loss.
Research
Researching the procedure is very important because it will help you know what to expect from the treatment and how to prepare for it. The research should include reading reviews of people who have undergone the treatment and learning about their experiences.
It will help you know whether it was successful and whether you experienced any side effects. You can also ask other people who have undergone the same procedure if they would recommend it.
A Patch Test
You should do a patch test before microneedling your scalp to avoid allergic reactions after treatment. The idea behind this test is that if you are allergic to anything, it might cause an adverse reaction when used on your scalp during treatment. If you think there could be some side effects after treatment due to allergies, then it is better to do this patch test before starting treatment.
Choose A Qualified Professional
You must choose a qualified professional who has experience in performing the procedure. A good practitioner should have experience performing this treatment on other patients with similar conditions and know how to use the device and how to administer the treatment properly.
The better way to determine whether a professional is qualified is by asking them about their experience. Also, if they have any qualifications, they have obtained from institutes such as the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), the American Medical Association (AMA), or the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
Type Of Skin
The first thing that you must consider is the type of skin that you have. You should consult an expert before getting this microneedling for hair loss if you have sensitive skin.
You can also get an idea about what treatment will benefit your hair fall problem by consulting a dermatologist or a trichologist. The doctor will advise on whether it is safe for you and what kind of product should be used on your scalp after completing the procedure.
Microneedling Frequency
Another factor you need to consider before using microneedling for hair loss is how often you should do it. It relies on how much damage has been done to your hair follicles by aging or other factors. If there is not much damage, then once every six months may be enough. However, if there is more damage, it may be necessary to do more sessions to restore the health of your scalp.
The Size Of the Needle
Microneedling for hair loss creates thousands of micro-injuries in the skin’s surface, stimulating collagen production and repairing damaged tissue underneath the skin’s surface level. However, if too large needles are used, they may cause inflammation instead of repairing tissue damage. Therefore, ensure that only small needles are used during the procedure so as not to cause any adverse side effects on your scalp.
Scalp Sensitivity
Scalp sensitivity is one of the biggest concerns with microneedling for hair loss. Your scalp may become red and inflamed after having the treatment done. It could require days or weeks before it gets back to normal again. Some people experience itching and burning sensations after their treatment as well.
Budget
Your budget is the first thing you must consider before microneedling your scalp. The microneedling for hair loss is costly, and it can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on the extent of damage caused by thinning hair and how quickly you want results. You should also consider how many sessions you will need to achieve optimal results. The more sessions that are required, the more expensive it gets! So, make sure to choose the treatment following your budget.
Is There Any Downside to Microneedling For Hair Loss?
“Microneedling for hair loss is safe when done by a licensed professional and by someone who knows what they’re doing,” says dermatologist Dr. Kavita Mariwalla. The most crucial thing is to choose someone who has experience with microneedling for hair loss and can give you an honest assessment of whether it will be effective for you.
Still, there are some downsides to it.
The most common side effect reported with microneedling is bruising and redness. That is usually temporary and should subside within a few days. In some patients, however, bruising can be more severe. If you have darker skin tones or very thin skin, you may experience more bruising than others.
Microneedling can cause bleeding as well. It is normal after treatment but can occur during treatment if your skin is cut by the needle too deeply or if your skin is fragile due to sun damage or another condition that makes it more susceptible to bleeding.
In rare cases, patients experience burning sensations during treatment or develop an infection at the site of their microneedling for a hair loss session. These problems are rare enough that they’re unlikely to happen unless you have compromised immune systems or other underlying conditions that increase your risk of developing an infection after treatment (such as diabetes).
While microneedling can be an effective treatment for hair loss, there are some reasons you should avoid it.
Avoid microneedling for hair loss if you have a fever or infection on your scalp. Otherwise, it could cause hazardous results. Especially on cuts and sores, microneedling might result in infections. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding your baby, avoid microneedling.
The scalp is susceptible and prone to infection. Avoid using any products on your scalp before microneedling for hair loss, if possible. If you have to use shampoo or conditioner, ensure it doesn’t contain harsh chemicals that may irritate the scalp and cause redness or a burning sensation during treatment.
What Should You Avoid Before Microneedling?
There are certain things that you must avoid before microneedling for hair loss. These include:
- Avoid blood thinners. It is essential to avoid taking blood thinners such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and warfarin before your procedure. These medications can increase the risk of bleeding and bruising.
- Avoid certain medications that cause photosensitivity. Before your procedure, avoid taking medications that cause photosensitivity, like tetracycline or photodynamic therapy (PDT). These medications make your skin more sensitive to sun exposure which could cause severe burns in the treatment area.
- Avoid using topical acne products around your treatment area (at least one week before). That includes benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, retinoids, and vitamin A derivatives like Accutane or Retin-A gel, cream, lotions, gels, tubes, pads, and foams.
Wrapping Up
In short, microneedling for hair loss is nothing less than good news for the person experiencing baldness. But its frequency relies on your hair condition and regrowth rate. It’s recommended to consult a professional to make an informed decision to avoid any discomfort during the treatment.
Open Monday to Friday: 9am to 7pm
& Saturday: 9am to 4pm
