It’s one thing to feel good on the inside, but living a healthy life is also about projecting it onto your skin. First impressions can leave a lasting impression – especially when it comes to the health of your skin! With the popularity of skin treatments such as microneedling, people are increasingly aware of the benefits of taking care of the skin from the inside out. A clean diet and healthy lifestyle can substantially enhance your microneedling outcomes and keep your skin radiant for years.
We take a deep dive into just how healthy living and microneedling go hand in hand to produce the beautiful and long-lasting results!
Microneedling, also known as collagen induction therapy, is a minimally invasive cosmetic procedure that involves using very fine needles to create hundreds of tiny, invisible puncture wounds in the top layer of skin. These intentional injuries stimulate the body’s own natural wound healing which lead to higher collagen and elastin levels. The end result is firmer, smoother, and more youthful-looking skin.
Indications Microneedling is Typically Performed to Improve:
Fine lines and wrinkles
Acne scars
Enlarged pores
Hyperpigmentation
Overall skin texture and tone
On its own, microneedling can work wonders, but a lot of it depends on your body’s capacity for healing and rejuvenating itself—so a few other factors come into play, like living a healthy lifestyle.
Nutrition: You Are What You Eat From Your Head Down To Your Feet
What you are putting in your body will impact your skin’s ability to heal itself after microneedling. Eating a diet full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants helps aid collagen production and speed the healing process.
Essential Nutrients for Great Skin:
Essential for synthesizing collagen and for inflammatory reduction. They can be found in such foods as oranges, strawberries and bell peppers.
Vitamin A: Facilitates the shedding of skin cells. It’s concentrated in sweet potatoes, carrots and leafy greens.
Zinc: For healing and calming. You’ll find it in nuts, seeds and legumes.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Presence of omega-3 fatty acids such as flaxseeds, salmon and walnuts helps in maintaining the skin’s moisture and elasticity.
On the other hand, a diet laden with sugar, processed foods, and unhealthy fats could slow your healing, and possibly even lead to post-procedure breakouts or inflammation.
Pro Tip: Stick to a colorful, whole foods-based diet in the weeks prior to and following your microneedling session to set your skin up for the best results.
Water: It’s What Your Skin Is Thirsty For:
Keeping your skin happy and healthy can be done, in part, by staying hydrated. Water contributes to flushing toxins out, as well as maintaining plump skin and speeding up the healing process post-microneedling.
Try to consume at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, and more if you’re active. Herbal teas, water-packed fruits such as watermelon and cucumber, and electrolyte-absorbing drinks are also in order.
Keep in mind, dehydrated skin can look dull and flaky, which in turn can make it difficult to achieve that fresh, healthy glow that microneedling is meant to bring about.
Exercise: To Improve Circulation and Aid Healing
It’s amazing what regular exercise does for your skin in increasing blood flow! Better blood circulation means oxygen and vital nutrients will be carried more readily to your skin cells. This surge could potentially help your body to heal the micro-injuries that happened as a result of your microneedling session, all the more quickly and efficiently.
Anything from jogging to yoga to strength training to brisk walking can help make skin more glowing and radiant.
Pro tip: Do not pull off a killer sweat workout for at least 24 to 48 hours following your microneedling appointment, as sweating can agitate newly healing skin.
Sleep: Your Skin’s Secret Weapon
Your body’s best healing work happens while you sleep. Your body releases growth hormones as it enters a deep sleep stage, which helps repair cells and produce collagen. Insufficient sleep can impede recovery and exacerbate inflammation, counteracting any good the microneedling might do.
You should aim to get between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep each night to maximize your skin healing. You should also establish a relaxing pre-sleep routine, stay away from screens before sleep and in bed, and ensure your room is cool and dark in order to promote sleep quality.
Dealing With Stress: How to Stay Shiny Outside and In
Your skin suffers under the burden of chronic stress. It can cause breakouts and hinder the healing process, and may even cause you to age faster, since it elevates levels of cortisol in your body. Stress can also dull the body’s collagen production — perfect for a microneedling treatment.
Add stress-reducing activities you can implement into your life daily—such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, journaling, and spending time in nature—to help your skin heal and keep your skin glowing even after microneedling.
Skin Care: Prolonging Your Results
Microneedling is simply too powerful for the procedure to stand alone – after all, your skin was just punctured hundreds of times. A healthy lifestyle, along with the simple skincare regiment that’s fair to your recovering skin.
After-Microneedling Skin Care Tips:
Soft Cleansing: Wash your face with a mild, non-irritating cleansing product.
Moisturize: Treat your skin to a calming, unscented moisturizer.
Sun Protection: After microneedling, always use a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher to prevent your new skin from UV damage.
No Harsh Products: Avoid retinoids, acids , and exfoliants for at least a week post-procedures unless your provider says otherwise.
Your skincare should complement the skin’s own healing process, not fight against it.
In Summary: Good Living is the Perfect Way to Take Your Microneedling to the Next Level!
Microneedling is an amazing way to refresh the skin, but it’s not a silver bullet by itself. A healthful lifestyle to support your skin in optimally responding to treatment. Healthy eating, hydration, regular movement, plenty of zzz’s, stress management, and skin care are all key factors in getting your best skin ever.
In mixing microneedling’s cutting-edge technology and the philosophy of healthy living, you are investing not only in better skin but a better you.
