Firmer skin, built by your own collagen.
Skin thins and slackens after menopause. CIT, or collagen induction therapy, sets off your own collagen repair. Firmness comes back over weeks.
Book microneedling
- FROM
- $275–$675 — see the full spa menu
- TREATMENT
- Microneedling (CIT — collagen induction therapy)
- DURATION
- 60 minutes
- DEPTH
- Dermal
- DOWNTIME
- 24–48 hours (visible redness)
- TREATS
- Fine lines, acne scarring, uneven texture, enlarged pores, loss of firmness
- SAFE FOR
- Not during pregnancy · not for active oncology treatment · flag blood thinners at intake
24–48 hours (visible redness)
What actually happens
Microneedling uses a device with very short, fixed-depth needles. It creates a controlled pattern of fine channels in the skin.
Those channels are a small, deliberate injury. They are shallow enough not to open the surface as a wound.
Yet they reach deep enough to signal the dermis to start its own repair. That repair includes new collagen and elastin over the following weeks.
A serum goes on during the pass and moves into those same channels. Still, the serum alone is not what drives results.
Your skin's own healing response is.
What it feels like
It is not painless, and anyone who says otherwise is selling. Most people describe a prickly, scratchy pass with a vibration behind it, like fine sandpaper.
It stings most where skin lies thin over bone — the forehead, the jaw, the upper lip. Each area takes under a minute.
Depth is ours to set and it can come down, so say at intake if pain worries you and we work shallower. Say stop at any point and we stop.
The days after, and how many visits
Expect visible redness for about a day, like a moderate sunburn, sometimes with mild tightness. Most people are back to normal the next morning.
Leave makeup off for 24 hours and be strict with sun. One session helps.
A short run of them, spaced weeks apart, is what moves scarring and slack texture. How many you need depends on what we are working against, so we answer that at the read rather than guess at it now.
Book at least two weeks out from anything photographed — the redness fades in days, but skin looks best once the rebuild starts.
Same pass. Five different serums.
Microneedling opens the channels; what goes into them is the choice. The levels run from a peptide baseline to exosomes, and the right one comes out of the Skin Read rather than off this page.
- Level 1 — Peptide Microneedling $275
The baseline CIT treatment, with peptides carrying the repair signal.
- Level 2 — Salmon DNA Microneedling $375
- Level 3 — NAD+ Booster Microneedling $475
- Level 4 — PDX5 Microneedling $575
- Level 5 — Exosome Microneedling $675
The most regenerative of the five.
Every level runs the same needling depth and the same aftercare. Downtime does not increase as the level does.
Common questions
What is CIT and how is it different from a regular facial?
CIT stands for Collagen Induction Therapy. A device makes a controlled pattern of fine channels in the skin. That prompts the dermis to rebuild collagen over the following weeks. A regular facial works at the surface. Microneedling works deeper, so your skin runs its own repair.
How much downtime should I plan for?
Visible redness for 24 to 48 hours, close to a moderate sunburn, and no makeup for the first day. Most people carry on as normal the next morning. Leave two clear weeks before anything photographed, so the rebuild has started by then.
Is microneedling safe during pregnancy?
No — microneedling is not done during pregnancy. Pregnant or trying to conceive? Say so at intake, and we will suggest a different treatment for that visit.
How many sessions does it take to see results?
Most clients see the clearest change in texture and firmness after a short series of sessions, spaced several weeks apart. Each session's collagen response takes time to develop. We will map out a schedule from your Skin Read.
Can I book microneedling if I'm currently in cancer treatment?
Not during active cancer treatment. The controlled injury involved is not right for fragile or immune-suppressed skin. Ask about the oncology-safe facial line instead — it is built for exactly that situation.
Your first Skin Read is on us.
The Skin Read consultation ($70) and a full Brow Wow wax and shape ($30) — a $100 experience, free for new clients. We look at your skin, tell you what it needs and what it doesn’t, and nothing is treated that day unless you want it to be.
- Rated 5 out of 5
Nancy, at Bella Reina Spa is the Skin Guru! She is transforming my face with microneedling with exosomes.