Vivace RadioFrequency MicroNeedling

What Is Microneedling?

Though there are a myriad of options available to treat nearly any symptom of aging skin care, finding the solution means understanding what is happening “behind the scenes.” As you age, your skin begins to lose its ability to repair itself due to a decrease in your body’s production of two vital building blocks necessary for maintaining youthful, healthy skin – collagen and elastin. Microneedling is the hottest ticket in skin care right now, because it is a minimally-invasive therapy designed to boost your body’s collagen production in order to reduce or even completely eliminate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve acne scars, and decrease hyperpigmentation, as well as improve your skin’s tone and texture.

Microneedling, which is also known as “collagen induction therapy,” involves the use of a handheld device equipped with the tiniest of medical-grade needles. The device is moved over the surface of your skin, creating several evenly-spaced micro-punctures in your epidermis. These punctures are nearly invisible, but they are enough to activate the injury response in your body to stimulate healing, which results in a natural increase in your body’s production of collagen and elastin.

This increase in collagen and elastin not only helps to reverse existing signs of aging, but also helps to prevent further aging of your skin by triggering cell turnover. After just a few microneedling sessions, you will see a noticeable improvement in the firmness and texture of your skin, as well as decreased pore size, and less visible fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and acne scarring. Microneedling is a virtually painless therapy that can be performed quickly and requires no downtime for recovery. An added advantage of this treatment is that the micro-punctures on your skin’s surface allow any skin care products applied after your session to absorb deeply and more easily, and work more efficiently. The effects of microneedling lasting, leaving you looking beautiful, youthful and radiant.

Am I a Good Candidate for Vivace?

At your consultation with our medical aestheticians or Dr. Terrasse, your skin will be examined and your goals discussed to help you determine if Vivace is the right treatment to address your concerns. Unlike many facial treatments, Vivace has been proven effective in treating both light and dark skin tones, sensitive skin types and acne-prone skin. After just one treatment, your skin is noticeably smoother, firmer and younger-looking. A series of treatments over a short period of time is best for optimal results. Other issues that may make you an excellent candidate for Vivace include:

• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Sun damage
• Enlarged pores
• Hyperpigmentation
• Acne
• Rough skin texture
• Uneven skin tone (dark spots and irregular pigmentation)
• Stretch marks or scars

The number of sessions needed to achieve your desired results will depend on the severity of the condition you wish to treat with Vivace. We typically recommend at least three sessions, but Dr. Terrasse will work with you to create a customized treatment plan designed to provide you with the smooth, refreshed skin you’ve been looking for.

Benefits of Vivace

Besides being minimally invasive and offering a short recovery period, Vivace has been approved by the FDA to tighten skin while providing additional benefits, including:

• Diminishing fines lines and wrinkles
• Reducing pore size
• Minimizing acne scars and stretch marks
• Evening out skin tone
• Improving overall skin texture
• Reducing the oil levels of your skin
• Increasing the absorption and effectiveness of skin care products
• Reducing the occurrence of acne, as well as lessening acne scars when used with topical
  acne treatments

Vivace is primarily used on the face, décolletage, chest and hands. However, it is flexible and fully adjustable, making it uniquely able to treat any area on your body, because of the following characteristics:

• Needle penetration can be adjusted from 0.5 millimeters to 3.5 millimeters
• The pulse duration of the needles can be adjusted from 100 milliseconds to 800 milliseconds
• RF energy can be increased or decreased

This flexibility allows for a truly customized treatment for nearly any skin issue on nearly any part of your body.

Vivace Microneedling Combined With Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy

For a beautifying boost, we offer the option of adding platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to your Vivace microneedling treatment. This powerful combination of therapies furthers your results with the addition of growth factors obtained from your own body. PRP therapy involves the extraction of a small amount of blood that is processed to isolate the nutrient-rich cells it contains. PRP consists of white and red blood cells and thrombocytes, also known as platelets, which are essential for the natural healing and growth processes.

During a microneedling treatment with PRP therapy, the PRP serum is prepared by drawing whole blood and placing it into a centrifuge. The machine spins rapidly, separating the plasma and platelets from other components of the blood. The finished PRP serum can then be applied topically to the treatment area, where it will sink into the micro-channels and the concentrated platelets will release growth factors and stimulate restorative cells.

PRP therapy has been used for decades by athletes seeking to accelerate recovery from sports injuries. In aesthetic medicine, PRP microneedling is commonly used for treating age spots and sunspots, but can be especially beneficial for patients with stretch marks or acne scars. The unique properties of this treatment can also make it helpful for restoring areas of the face that have been damaged by injury. Because PRP stimulates cellular regeneration and microneedling increases collagen production, this combination is the ultimate nonsurgical rejuvenating treatment. Microneedling with PRP is suitable for any skin tone.

Microneedling Procedure and Recovery

Upon your arrival at ERASE MediSpa & Terrasse Aesthetic Surgery, you will meet with Dr. Terrasse and his staff to review your individualized treatment plan and discuss any questions you may have. To prepare the treatment area for Vivace, your skin is cleaned and a numbing cream may be applied. While Vivace is virtually painless, using a numbing cream before the treatment can ease any potential discomfort. You will receive a custom treatment focused on your skin type and concerns. Then, the device is placed against your skin, allowing the needles to deploy and retract quickly while simultaneously delivering RF energy. The device is moved to untreated skin and the process is repeated, moving incrementally across the treatment area to ensure thorough coverage. Afterward, a treatment serum may be applied. The tiny micro-channels created by Vivace allow the serum to penetrate into deeper levels of the skin. Depending on the size of the treatment area, as well as the degree of correction desired, the entire Vivace procedure takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes.

The beauty of Vivace is that there is little or no bleeding, swelling or pain following the procedure. With your rejuvenated, glowing skin, you are free to return to your normal activities immediately. To achieve optimal results, we suggest that you avoid wearing makeup until the following day, to allow the post-treatment serum to work its magic. We also recommend no exercise or physical exertion the first day, to avoid overheating the skin. Finally, avoid sun exposure and follow the skin care routine prescribed by Dr. Terrasse and his staff.