BEAUTY
The second gadget is the Age Revolt’s
Micro Needle Roller—the Roll & Renew.
I became intrigued about the microneedling concept when I saw the
Rodan+Fields version (the AMP MD
Micro-Exfoliating Roller) reviewed
on the Today show a few years ago.
Micro-needling does a few things:
1) It creates very small channels in the
skin’s surface, purportedly to allow
better penetration of skin care products, allowing active ingredients in
serums and creams to work better.
2) It creates micro injuries in the skin
in a controlled way, which promises
to make your skin plumper and tighter
by increasing collagen production.
This made sense to me because many
cosmetic procedures, such as lasers
and dermabrasion, create controlled
injury to the skin so that it renews itself.
In the interest of full disclosure, the
folks at Age Revolt sent me their starter
kit to try. I have to say, I loved the idea
of a micro-needler and I asked my
aesthetician if she thought it worked.
She said there is clinical data that this
works well for normal skin types (without acne, rosacea, sensitivity and other
skin conditions) for anti-aging. The feel
of using it takes some getting used to
because it doesn’t feel “good” in the
way that the Opal does. Age Revolt
makes a serum that is used right after
the Roll & Renew, which contains
retinol in a mild form that most skin
types can tolerate. I used mine with
a prescription strength retinoid that
I already used.
There are some impressive before and
after pictures on their website. I do
think the roller has helped my lines
between my eyebrows. I also met
with Beth Heesman, Age Revolt’s
cofounder, and her skin is amazing.
She says she can use her micro-needler
in a flash, which is always the goal.
THE BOTTOM LINE: These beauty aids will
only work if you use them consistently,
so you need to decide how much time
and money you are willing to