History of Skin Needling (CIT)                          

Skin Needling has been performed for many years, using a variety of instruments, to soften depressed scars and deep facial lines. Dr Philippe Simone, a Swiss-French dermatologist, published his results in Baron's Cosmetic Dermatology 1994, but his ground breaking techniques, which he named Electroridopuncture (ERP) remained largely unknown to the wider medical community. In his study of 600 patients, he examined results for 2 patient groups - one with Skin Aging and the other with Old Scars. He performed 10 treatments on all patients.

In the patient group with Skin Aging, 40% showed significant improvement, 22% moderate improvement and 13% some improvement - as measured by comparative skin imprints. In the patient group with Old Scars, 60% improved with 5-6 treatments. Best results were obtained for old fibrous and depressed scars.

In 1992, Dr Andre Camirand, a Canadian plastic surgeon, made a chance observation of improvement in the texture and depression of the scars of his facelift patients, who had undergone tattooing for scar camouflage. He experimented with tattooing facelift scars without pigment, and noted improvement in texture and colour. He published an article on his results in JACPS in 1992.

Dr Andre Camirand postulated that hypochromic (depigmented) skin repigmentation through transplantation of melanocytes (pigment producing skin cells) from normal skin to the hypochromatic skin during the needling procedure. Dr Camirand also reported flatterning of hypertrophic (overgrown) scars. He performed his needling procedures using a high speed tattoo gun, under local anaesthetic and treated each scar to pinpoint bleeding. He repeated the procedure every 2-8 weeks and no side effects or complications were reported.

In 2002 Dr Des Fernandes, a plastic surgeon from South Africa produces the first skin roller device. Numerous types of skin rollers are nowproduced in Korea and China, they vary in proce and quality.