Skin Care Debate: Should I try Morpheus8?
The radiofrequency plus microneedling device is super buzzy as a skin-tightening treatment. Here's how I weigh the pros and cons.
When I’m considering any procedure or treatment, I like to do a pretty hefty dose of research beforehand. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you may recall that I’ve been looking into Morpheus8. I asked Dr. Sarmela Sunder, a double-board certified facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, what exactly it is. Here’s how she explained it:
Morpheus8 is a Radiofrequency (RF) Microneedling device that combines both the properties and benefits of radiofrequency energy and a microneedling procedure. The RF energy is emitted through the tips of the microneedles and delivers heat into the deeper layers of the skin, stimulating collagen and elastin production, reducing wrinkles, and tightening the skin. At the same time, microneedling involves the use of tiny, sterile needles to create microscopic punctures in the skin, thereby stimulating the body's natural healing processes and encouraging the production of collagen to help rebuild the skin.
Searches for the treatment spiked after Kim Kardashian posted about doing it to tighten the skin on her abs, so there were a bunch of deep-dives published about it like this one. I was already curious and got even more intrigued after a coffee catchup a few months ago with Laurel Pantin, stylist, creative director, and writer of the fabulous Substack Earl Earl.
Laurel had just come from her treatment and spoke really highly of her past sessions—although she also admitted she felt a bit out-of-it because of the pain.
READ: My Glass Skin Holy Grails
I haven’t personally tried it yet because I still have a few concerns (I’ll discuss more below). But since Laurel has had three sessions, I asked her to share her experience. Read it below!
Special Go Ahead, Try Me Guest…Laurel Pantin!
“I’ve dabbled in Botox and filler for a while—mainly preventative Botox in my forehead and crow’s feet, and filler under my eyes and on my cheekbones to lift my smile lines back up. But eventually I started feeling like my forehead had a very waxy, frozen quality, and my cheekbones also looked unnatural, even though I was going to super skilled providers. Christina, at GoodSkin in LA told me about Morpheus8, and I decided to try that as an alternative to Botox and filler.
It doesn’t do the same thing but rather can improve the overall integrity of your skin. I stopped doing fillers over a year ago and don't miss them at all, but I still do some Botox in my neck to keep my neck muscles from pulling down on my face.
My biggest concern I hoped to address with Morpheus was preventing jowls (so tightening the skin on my jawline), and just generally firming my skin. I did three rounds of Morpheus8 on my face and neck—each time I only did topical numbing, I declined numbing injections, and took Xanax to kind of chill myself out. Still it was mega painful.
The needles sometimes hit a nerve and you feel your face twitch and spasm—it’s extremely unpleasant. I should probably do a fourth round, but I’m reluctant since it’s so painful.
After each round my skin was sandpapery, and looked like it had some light scratches—the first time I had a very bad breakout a few days later. It took about a week and a half each time for my skin to level out and heal. I noticed the biggest difference after the second treatment—my spots looked lighter, and my jawline looked a bit smoother. It wasn’t a dramatic change, but I was realistic about what was possible, and overall I’m happy with the results. In my opinion, Morpheus8 is a good option if your goal is to age gracefully—it’s less of a quick fix and more of a way keeping your skin strong and healthy.” — Laurel Pantin, writer of Earl Earl
Okay, it’s Michelle again. Super interesting, right? I have a pretty high threshold for pain, but I admit: I went without numbing cream the first time I tried professional microneedling (which is way different than the dermarollers you use at home) and wheewww, that definitely hurt. So the pain does give me some pause. But I’m still intrigued. Now let’s get into the details…
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