Change: a word we all learn to embrace as we grow older and navigate through new seasons in our life. While there are countless changes that I have welcomed with turning 30 – giving birth to two beautiful girls, celebrating 5 years of marriage with my husband, growing deeper in my friendships, there is one such change that I have not been so fond of: my skin.
As I’ve gotten older, all of those days spent in the sun without sunscreen, giving birth to two girls, and just plain old aging, the ability to keep my skin looking flawless has become a real challenge. My biggest “skin struggle” lately has been dark spots. Having melasma means that my dark spots are only made worse with hormonal changes; so, thank you pregnancy for making my face look worse. In all honesty though, I have reached the point where no amount of make-up can truly hide the dark spots on my cheekbones.
Despite spending who knows how much money on different skin care products, masks, and facials, I never saw the results I wanted and wasn’t able to get rid of my dark sports. So, I decided to seek out help from a professional – a dermatologist, to shoot me straight. So, I set up a consultation with Sandra Witten of Unit Skin Studio to examen my face and become better informed about what I could do to reduce or get rid of my dark spots.
Unit Skin Studio is located in Preston Hollow Village and prides itself on helping their clients feel confident and beautiful. From the aesthetically pleasing decor, to their knowledge and medical background, to the dermatological and cosmetic services they offer, the staff at Unit Skin Studio truly does make you feel welcomed, valued, and beautiful!
pictured above: Sandra Witten – partner, dermatologist
Micropen: What is it?
Micropen, also known as collagen induction therapy, is a treatment to help reduce wrinkles, diminish acne scars and dark spots, reduce stretch marks (can I get a “heck yea,” mommies?), reduce pore size, and tighten your skin. The procedure only takes about 15-20 minutes and uses a micro-needling pen that is gently dragged across your face in a stamp-like motion to make small little holes in the outer layer of your skin. This in turn stimulates your own collagen production to improve the look of your skin!
I love that with this treatment you’re using your own collagen and not adding anything artificial to your face. I also love that it only takes about 15 minutes – as a young mom this is huge! It does take about 20 minutes to numb your face (via a gel), so in total it probably takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Worth it.
pictured above: Stacy Ward – medical aesthetician & professional laser technician
my outfit: top: loft | vest: similar for $18 | jeans: gap | shoes: similar | earrings: gorjana
Commonly Asked Questions:
- Does it hurt? No! I kind of thought it would hurt even though they numb your face, but in all honesty, it just feels like someone is dragging a vibrating toothbrush across your face.
- Is your skin red after? For how long? Everyone’s skin is different, but they estimate that your skin will only be red for a couple of hours – 24 hours. For me, my redness died down after about 24 hours. When I say red, I mean more of a pinkish tone. It wasn’t red enough to keep me from running errands or being out in public. The redness can be followed by some dryness as well – I had dry skin for one day on day 3 after my procedure.
- What does skin care look like immediately after the treatment? It is recommended that you don’t wear make-up for the next 24 hours and that you don’t work out for a week. This allows the treatment to really have time to work it’s magic.
- Do you only have to do 1 micropen session to get the results you want? Let me say this, will you see results after one session? Yes. I have already seen a reduction in the pigment of my dark spots. Will you get the best results after just one treatment? No. It is generally recommended that you do 2-6 treatments (spaced out with 1 month in between each), and for the best results to couple your treatment with a night serum that helps to lighten your dark spots.
- Do you have to use their lightener or can you use your own night cream? Using their lightener serum is highly recommended. Keep in mind that they are dermatologists, so they mix each individual serum to fit your skin type.
- Can you do micropen sessions multiple times in your life? Yes! I was so excited to hear that you can do these as much as you want without doing any damage to your skin. So, for example, if in a couple of years I see a flare up of my dark spots due to my melasma, say after a long summer in the sun, I can do these treatments again.
- You said it helps stretch marks, is that true? Yes. And mommies, I was so excited to hear this! While my stretch marks aren’t terrible, I know stretch marks can’t always be helped and knowing there is something that can reduce the color and depth of them is so encouraging. They did inform me that there’s a critical window – the first 6-9 months following delivery, where it would be recommended to get the treatment in order to see the best results.
Stay tuned!
I will be updating you all on my progress after each treatment I do and I will be sharing my before and after pictures so you can see the difference for yourself!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading today’s post and please feel free to email me or comment with any questions you may have that I haven’t addressed here!
xx – anna
photography: sukilynn
This post was created in collaboration with Unit Skin Studio, a company I love. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make this blog happen!
