Microchanneling — a term more recently used to describe needling the skin at shallow depths, usually in the 0.25mm range. The question remains, does needling at shallow depths provide any benefit? These “cosmetic” depths do have value, since they will still pierce viable epidermal cells and allow them to release epidermal growth factors and cytokines. These will help in stimulating a mild repair and rejuvenation response. At the deeper “medical” depths, you will get a more robust portfolio of regenerative proteins getting produced, and this is important when you are doing more corrective work. Each level of penetration can provide its own unique advantage.
It is advisable to only use ingredients during microchanneling and microneedling that are considered native to the human body, as foreign material introduced during needling can be presented to the immune system as a dangerous molecule, and granulomas can often form around them. The short list of ingredients advisable to use are:
- sterile saline
- pure High Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid
- certain concentrated human growth factor products that lean more anti-inflammatory, like the Bone Marrow Stem Cell Growth Factors.