Collagen Induction Therapy

…. reduce the appearance of acne scars, surgical scars, stretch marks, loose skin & wrinkles!

What is Collagen Induction Therapy?

Collagen Induction Therapy, called ‘CIT’ for short, is a treatment designed to stimulate the production of new collagen and elastin fibres in your skin. The micro-needling treatment also creates channels for the infusion of various collagen-stimulating preparations into your skin should they be required.

Once the channels have been created, various cosmetic preparations can be applied to the skin which then infuse into the deeper layers of the skin through the channels created. An assortment of cosmetic preparations can be delivered into the skin depending on the condition being treated. For example, Dermal Fillers can be infused when general skin rejuvenation is desired, skin lightening products can be infused to treat melasma and pigmentation, and so on. The options are many and varied.

The rationale behind CIT is based on the skin’s natural ability to repair itself after it has encountered any physical damage like cuts, scars or other physical damage. When a skin injury occurs, your skin will replace the injured issue with freshly-produced collagen.

This technology stimulates your skin to produce not only more, but also better-quality collagen and elastin tissue. This in turn translates into more support for your skin, a tighter skin tone and an improved appearance of wrinkles and acne scars.

Various devices such as ‘Rollers’ and ‘Pens’ exist to deliver the micro-injuries necessary to kick-start the skin’s healing process. However, at Sydney Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinic, we prefer the time-proven and very successful e-Dermastamp® for the following reasons:

e-Dermastamp® skin needling pen uses multiple needles that vertically pierce the skin and create thousands of micro-injuries which then trigger the growth of fibroblast cells that will stimulate the production of collagen resulting and deliver plumper and smoother-looking skin.
The e-Dermastamp® skin needling system gives you rejuvenated and plumper skin with no pain, minimal discomfort and with very little downtime.
With Dermapen®, the depth of the needles is adjustable and this allows for every treatment to be customised to each patient’s needs. Depths from 0.5mm to 2mm can be used depending on the skin condition being treated.
It can easily treat the hard-to-reach areas such as around the nose, eyes and lips.
Needles are injected vertically and so can easily penetrate scar tissue.
It is a very controlled and consistent treatment that yields optimal results.
It causes less pain and redness for patients.
Most importantly, the needles are disposable which eliminates the risk of cross-contamination between patients.

Although skin resurfacing treatments such as Laser Skin Resurfacing, Chemical Peeling and Surgical Dermabrasion also promote collagen re-modelling, the main advantages of CIT are:

It is less invasive; and
There is essentially no ‘downtime’; and
Most importantly of all, it can be used on those with brown, olive or Asian skin without the risk of causing pigmentation complications.

Which conditions can be treated?

Fine lines and wrinkles
Acne scars
Surgical scars
Injury scars
Stretch marks
Open Pores
Loose skin
Melasma and other pigmentation problems

How is it done?

Although most patients find the treatment tolerable, if you have a low pain threshold you can render the treatment totally painless by applying a Local Anaesthetic cream.

A full-face CIT treatment typically takes around 30-45 minutes.

After the treatment, the skin may be mildly red or sensitive for the first 24 hours but there should be no pain or bruising whatsoever.

Preferably, you should delay wearing any make-up for 24 hours after treatment. However, if you feel you MUST wear makeup to hide the redness, please wait AT LEAST 30 minutes post-treatment.

How will I look after the treatment and what is the downtime?

Immediately after the treatment, your skin will most likely be red and flushed (similar in appearance to a mild sunburn). You may also experience skin tightness and slight sensitivity to touch on the areas treated. This will subside over the following few hours and will have completely subsided by the next day.

You may experience slight redness for a few days post-treatment. Also, for the next 3-5 days after the treatment, your skin may feel a little dry and be flaky in some areas. This is due to the rapid skin cell turn-over post-treatment.

How Long Before I See Results?

You will not see results instantly as the collagen stimulation and replacement process takes time. Nevertheless, you should start to see a visible improvement from around the 6 – 8 weeks after treatment. However, the exciting thing about CIT is that your skin will then continue to improve over the next 12 months as more collagen is produced.

Which other body areas can be treated with CIT?

At the Sydney Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery Clinic, we offer treatments on the following areas singly or in combinations:

Face
Neck
Décolletage
Hands
Abdomen
Arms
Legs

How often do I need treatments?

For collagen and skin rejuvenation, 4-6 treatments at 4 weeks apart.
For scars and acne scar reduction, 6 or more treatments at 4 weeks apart.
For pigmentation problems: treatments every 4 weeks until the pigmentation has disappeared.

Who is not suitable for CIT?

Patients with the following conditions would most likely be considered unsuitable for CIT:

Keloid or Raised Scarring
History of eczema, psoriasis and other chronic inflammatory skin conditions
Active bacterial or fungal infection
Immuno-suppressive disorders or immune-suppressive medications
Active bacterial or fungal skin infections
History of Herpes Simplex
Anti-coagulant medications
Bleeding disorders
Scleroderma
Collagen vascular diseases
Roaccutane therapy in the last 12 months. If you have been taking Roaccutane for acne it is essential that you have been off it for 12 months before having any treatment on your acne scars.