What is Mesotherapy?

 

Mesotherapy is one of the treatment and beauty methods for the skin and is in the category of injection methods. In other words, in this method, special substances with therapeutic properties are injected under the skin. These specific materials are determined by your problem. Items such as plant extracts, vitamins and enzymes, drugs and hormones are among the items that are injected topically into the skin during mesotherapy.

Mesotherapy or treatment of the middle layer of the skin

The word mesotherapy consists of two parts, "meso" and "therapy". Meso means "middle" in Latin and therapy means "cure". As the name implies, in mesotherapy we treat the middle layer of the skin.

What is the middle layer?

To put it simply, the skin is made up of three layers: the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis:

The epidermis is the superficial layer of the skin that is made up of dead, dead cells. This layer is about 1 mm thick and its cells are constantly dividing, dying and shedding from the skin.

The dermis is the middle layer of the skin that is made up of flexible connective tissue. The dermis contains protein fibers of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. These protein fibers make the skin firm, moisturized and supple. As we age, the amount of these fibers decreases, resulting in loose, dull, and dry skin. Hair follicles, sebaceous glands and sweat glands are also located in this layer.

The hypodermis, or subcutaneous tissue, is the deepest layer of skin, made up of fatty and connective tissue. This layer is responsible for connecting the dermis to the underlying structures (muscles).

How do we access Derm?

So far we have seen that mesotherapy is a special way to access the dermis or the middle layer of the skin. Normally the epiderm or epidermis completely covers the skin and rarely anything passes through it. For example, among the natural elements, only mercury (which is a very toxic metal) can pass through the epidermis. So topical medications can very hardly penetrate the epidermis and reach the middle layer (dermis).

In mesotherapy, we have to use a needle to reach the middle layer. Of course, there are needle free methods for mesotherapy that have a different mechanism. However, very thin and short needles are commonly used for mesotherapy.

For example, for scalp mesotherapy and hair loss treatment, we can send minoxidil directly to the dermis. Minoxidil is difficult to pass through the epidermis normally. Therefore, minoxidil used in mesotherapy has a better effect than topical application.

Effects and benefits of mesotherapy

Before we move on to the applications of mesotherapy, we need to see what effect this method has on the skin and how it helps us.

Mesotherapy affects all three layers of the skin. The therapeutic effects of this method are observed on the skin, middle layer as well as subcutaneous connective tissues. This has led to a variety of applications and is effective in treating hair loss, cellulite and other cases.

The benefits of mesotherapy can be divided into two parts, one is the benefits of the material injected into the skin and the other is the effect of the very small holes made by the needle. Let's start with the second benefit, which is unknown to most readers.

Useful minor injuries

One of the most interesting benefits of mesotherapy is the effect that the micro-damages caused by the thin needles used in this method leave on the skin. The needle penetrates deep into the skin and causes minor damage. This damage activates the skin's repair processes.

By activating skin repair processes, healthy skin cells begin to make and secrete collagen, growth factors, interstitial proteins, and other substances. New blood vessels form and stem cells move to the affected areas.

The set of events described above help rejuvenate the skin and treat problems such as hair loss. Most of the therapeutic effects of this method are due to these minor and controlled injuries.

Delivery, water supply and nutrition

As mentioned, during mesotherapy, substances are injected into the skin. The solution injected in this method is called a cocktail. The formula of the cocktail is determined depending on your needs. For example, to treat hair loss, cocktail mesotherapy is combined in a way that contains anti-hair loss drugs and nutrients to the hair follicles.

Some of the ingredients commonly found in mesotherapy cocktails are listed below:

• medicines:

Vasodilators: Drugs such as buflumedil that increase blood flow to the treated area. These materials are safe and secure.

Local anesthesia: Drugs such as lidocaine and procaine, which in addition to anesthesia, also have anti-inflammatory effects.

Hormonal drugs: These are mostly used in hair mesotherapy cocktails. Drugs such as finasteride or cyproterone acetate inhibit the effects of sex hormones that cause hair loss by inhibiting hormone receptors.

Calcitonin: One of the body's natural hormones that improves blood flow, follicular nutrition and skin nutrition.

Nutrients: Substances like silicon that are naturally present in our skin and hair and play an important building role.

L-Carnitine: A fat-degrading substance used to treat cellulite.

• vitamins:

Vitamin B5: One of the B or B family vitamins that plays an important role in cell division and skin tissue improvement.

Biotin: Has a similar effect to vitamin B5. Biotin deficiency causes scaling and hair loss. This vitamin is also effective in regulating the secretion of sebaceous glands in the skin.

Vitamin C: A beneficial antioxidant and one of the substances that stimulates collagen production.

Vitamin A: Stimulates collagen production and improves skin delivery.

Minerals: Elements such as copper, selenium, phosphorus, zinc are effective on the health and vitality of our skin and hair.

• Other materials:

Sodium pyruvate: to improve dull and tired skin, anti-aging effects and remove skin blemishes

Glycolic acid: Bleaching agent to heal scars, dark spots and skin cracks.

Caffeine: Used in lipolytic solutions and is effective in treating cellulite and hair loss.

Other benefits of mesotherapy

• Reasonable cost relative to therapeutic effects

• A minimally invasive procedure without surgery

• No need for anesthesia and no pain

• A short recovery period without the need for special care after treatment

• Side effects and limited risks

Side effects and risks of mesotherapy

In mesotherapy, side effects are rare and limited because the drug is injected locally and precisely at the site of the problem. Some of the side effects that have been reported so far are:

• Allergic reactions or allergies to medications and injections into the skin - Allergies may appear immediately or after a while. They are usually mild and rare.

• One of the substances used in mesotherapy called listin sometimes causes local inflammation and swelling.

• Skin infections - This complication is mostly caused by medical staff errors and sometimes due to the patient not following the care after treatment.

• Dark or light spots appear at the injection site

• Bruising and bleeding at the site of treatment

• Wounds, scars or deformities at the treated site

• Inflammation of subcutaneous adipose tissue

Almost all of these complications and risks are rare

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Does mesotherapy hurt?

No; Mesotherapy usually does not cause pain. The needles are very thin and local anesthetic drugs are used in the injection solution. If you have a problem with the needle, it is possible to perform needleless mesotherapy, but it has weaker effects compared to the original method.

How many treatment sessions do I need?

The number of mesotherapy sessions depends on your condition and your skin's response to treatment. The number of mesotherapy sessions usually varies between 8 and 15 sessions. The intervals between sessions also vary. Most of the time, the first 4 sessions are done at 7-day intervals and the next sessions are at 2-week and monthly intervals.

Applications of mesotherapy

The applications of mesotherapy increased over time with the improvement of the composition of the injection solutions as well as the injection system. Simply put, in all applications of mesotherapy, our goal is one thing: to inject substances into the skin that make cells function in the best possible way.

Some applications of this method include the following:

Treatment of pigmentation (spots) and scars

Mesotherapy cocktail can be prepared in a way that reduces skin blemishes. Skin blemishes are caused by the activity of certain skin cells called melanocytes. Some substances in mesotherapy serum can control the activity of melanocytes. Therefore, mesotherapy can be used to improve some sun spots and melasma.

Mesotherapy can also be used to remove scars and acne scars. Especially if the acne area is in the form of a skin depression. The hyaluronic acid used in cocktails gives volume to the skin and other antioxidants and amino acids with their anti-inflammatory effects stimulate the skin to repair itself.

Hair loss treatment

One of the newer applications of mesotherapy is to improve hair loss and stimulate hair regrowth. This method can be used as a supportive or complementary treatment for androgenetic alopecia (female and male pattern hair loss), telogen effluvium (stress-induced hair loss), hair shaft problems, coin hair loss and accelerated hair growth.

Mesotherapy does three important things to improve hair loss:

• And improve blood flow and stimulate skin cells to produce growth and repair factors by causing minor damage
• Nourish hair follicles by injecting vitamins and nutrients
• Delivery of anti-hair loss drugs directly to the follicles

Usually the types of hair loss mentioned above respond well to mesotherapy. However, to improve hair loss and regrowth, you need to go through several treatment sessions. After that, it is better to have meetings at longer intervals to stabilize the effects of mesotherapy.

Cellulite treatment

Mesotherapy is sometimes referred to as a way to lose weight and eliminate body fat. The fact is that this method can reduce excess fat under the skin and tighten loose skin, but you should not expect a miracle from it.

Fat deposits in cellulite and certain areas such as the chin and under the jaw are such that we can break them down by injecting specific enzymes to remove them over time. The enzymes that we inject into these fat stores locally open the membrane of fat cells and release fats. The released fats are collected and excreted by the lymphatic system.

Compared to liposuction

Mesotherapy is a less invasive alternative to liposuction than liposuction.

In liposuction, the fatty tissue in the abdomen, thighs, and back is removed from the body forever. This is done using a plastic tube and making a thin cut on the skin. The suction device then removes body fat. Liposuction is performed under general anesthesia.

Although liposuction is an effective and permanent way to get rid of fat, its recovery period can take up to 6 weeks. It also has many dangers; Such as damage to blood vessels and nerves, improper contouring, burns and infection. The cost of liposuction is many times more than mesotherapy.

In general, mesotherapy is not suitable for removing localized fat in the way that liposuction is performed. Of course, there is a method called "injectable lipolysis" that is often confused with mesotherapy. In injected lipolysis, substances such as phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate are injected into the subcutaneous fat to break down and remove the adipose tissue.

So mesotherapy is effective for cellulite and small fat deposits, but it can not work as well as liposuction. Injectable lipolysis can be used instead of liposuction, which is similar to mesotherapy.