FEATURE
e i st i r Ch w e r Dr And SPOTLIGHT ON
By Louise May
Dr Andrew Christie is a micro-needling specialist with over 25 years’ experience in aesthetics. He has lectured in over 65 countries and has been invited as a key speaker at over 55 major congresses across the world. He trains over 50,000 medical practitioners each year and is considered a world authority on automated skin needling.
As the Global Medical Trainer for Dermapenworld, Andrew is the author of Advanced Innovations With Micro-Needling. Andrew has also authored three other training manuals on skin needling and written over 600 articles for industry publications, trade magazines, consumer media and journals. Andrew has been a regular judge for the ABIAs and Beauty Squad in Australia and was awarded the prestigious Educator Of The Year. Beauty Biz Editor Louise May chats with Dr Andrew Christie about skin needling, Dermapen and advanced innovations.
As a world authority on automated skin needling, what advancements have you witnessed in the field of microneedling over the past decade? While earlier forms of microneedling (including the stamp and roller) date back to around 1997, it wasn’t until 2010 that automated skin needling was created. Would you believe that Sydney-based DermapenWorld is the inventor of this automated technology? Arguably the biggest development however in aesthetic needling history, is the creation of digitalised automation in 2018. The revolution from analogue, dial devices to digitalisation has delivered a new precision that promotes exact, predictable, and reliable depth outcomes. Dermapen 4™ is the world’s only skinneedling device which features a digital, depth adjustment mechanism. This feature references off a zero baseline to guarantee true needle penetration, particularly with depths over 1.0– 1.5mm. In 2017, Dr Fernandes (a developer of dermal rollers), published a commentary where he argued that analogue, automated needling pens were not delivering precise puncture depth into the skin. Essentially the needle insertion was often more superficial than what had been dialed on the device. With Dermapen 4 ingenuity, the digitalisation allows each increase of depth increment to be 100% exact, ensuring the precision of every puncture. This is also supported by an RFID chip in both the pen and our single-use, needle cartridges to promote even greater control, facilitating a smooth, comfortable application and glide.
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Beauty Biz Year 16 Issue 5
This is why Dermapen 4 won Good Design Awards in Germany, Australia, and South Korea. *Des Fernandes, MD, Commentary on: Micro-Needling Depth Penetration, Presence of Pigment Particles, and Fluorescein-Stained Platelets: Clinical Usage for Aesthetic Concerns, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Volume 37, Issue 1, 1 January 2017, Pages 86–88
What makes Dermapen Treatments™ the leading authority on microneedling results?
Dermapen Treatments are centred around patient safety, comfort, and confidence. And just as the great Greek physician Hippocrates stated, “first, do no harm”. DermapenWorld’s global network of Authorised Treatment Providers are experts in synergistic solutions who understand that needling is only one component of successful patient results. The facilitation of appropriate mesotherapy-glides, serve as a unique chemical regeneration that delivers potent actives into the skin during the procedure. The application of anabolic chemical peels such as ÜBER PRO™ and ÜBER MD™ and even LED therapy now maximise results that go beyond the classic limitations of autologous, mechanical needling. Each DermapenWorld protocol for each indication has been expertly designed and tested to deliver safe and effective results that surpass patient expectations and deliver new versatility in what can be successfully treated. Furthermore, Dermapen 4 offers evidence-based innovations that have been published by leading academics and physicians across the world. Such practitioners include Drs Gabriella Frabbriocini (Italy), Gabriela Casabona (Spain) and Gordon Sasaki (USA). Publications include J Drugs Dermatol; ASJ, ECD and JOCD. Dermapen 4 is TGA, FDA, CE, Health Canada, MHRA, ANIVISA and ISO accredited and approved.
How do you approach training and education for medical practitioners, and what is your vision for empowering professionals in the field of microneedling? What are your key focus areas?
Education needs to be accessible, inspirational, and most importantly memorable, irrespective of the audience or level of practitioner. I think of music as my motivation. While Wagner’s
Ring Cycle may be technically brilliant and complex, it is long and odious for many people and therefore unlikely to inspire. Education needs to reach practitioners on all levels – visually, auditorily, emotionally, and physically. I think of modern pop songs, they inspire, repeat the key themes, and leave the listener singing their tune. My approach to training is to identify how to inspire, educate and motivate practitioners to “sing MY tune”. Like a Mozart opera, it’s a combination of technicality, experience, theatre, entertainment, and repetitive riffs. I choose to empower professionals with evidencebased information, concepts, and protocols. Training needs to be relevant, practical, and educational. There is no benefit in telling people what they already know. My key focus is making the most technical of topics easy to understand with simple examples and an open approach. It was Albert Einstein who stated, “I never teach my pupils, I only provide the conditions in which they can learn”. He also stated that educators who cannot make their subjects accessible and simple, obviously are not as expert as what they may think.
With your extensive experience in aesthetics, what specific results or improvements have you witnessed in patients who have undergone microneedling treatments?
We have known since the late 1990s that skinneedling delivers effective collagen induction therapy for the treatment of scars, striae and rhytids (wrinkles), so I’d love to focus on a few unfamiliar applications. Veterinary surgeon Dr Joanna KaraśTęcza (Dermawet, Warsaw), has innovated revolutionary techniques to treat alopecia X, an auto-immune disease that creates mass hair loss on Pomeranian dogs. Her success has just been incredible. Likewise, Dr Melissa Goddard, a dental surgeon and academic (Manchester, U.K.) has applied new methods with skin needling for receding gums and xerostomia (dry mouth syndrome). Due to the improvements, she has introduced needling as a regular service at her dentistry practice. Dr Ana Hernández Morales from G Clinic, Mexico City is a pioneer for intimate rejuvenation, treating the outer labia and vulva for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation disorders. This is a common trend also performed throughout the Middle
