Tried & Tested Mamamia
'I tried the celebrity treatment that feels like hot staples to the face. Here's my verdict.'
Mamamia’s Tried and Tested series is your review of the latest to hit our desks in beauty, health and wellbeing. You won’t find any #sponsored content here, just honest, relatable and independent advice. This week, Mamamia's Senior Health and Beauty Writer trials the celebrity-favourite Morpheus8 treatment.
I've been a beauty editor for almost a decade, and as Mamamia's designated beauty rat and host of You Beauty's The Formula, skincare is my beauty topic of choice. I'm obsessed with skincare. I love chatting with experts about skin. Asking others what they do to their skin. Perfecting my own skincare routine. The whole show.
As such, I've tried a lot of different skincare products and treatments on my face over the years. It's part of my job, and I love helping people know what's actually worth using.
But none have been quite like Morpheus8.
If you haven't heard of the treatment, it's become something of a celebrity favourite over the past couple of years. It started off with Kim Kardashian sharing an Instagram story of herself undergoing the treatment, labelling it a "game changer".
Then there was Jessica Simpson, who said the treatment was her "saving grace" when it came to tightening her skin.
Lindsay Lohan also said she was a fan, telling Cosmopolitan "I'm big on non-intrusive facial experiences. I love lasers. I just started Morpheus8, which I'm obsessed with."
She said it's "like a hardcore micro-needling laser machine" that stimulates collagen production in the deeper layers of the skin.
Similar to micro-needling, the procedure uses tiny needles to inflict micro 'wounds' in the skin which trigger your body’s natural healing response, resulting in the production of new collagen and elastin.
The result? Firmer and plumper skin, and an improvement in fine lines and wrinkles.
The only drawback: "It's painful," shared Hirons at the time. "It's quite intense, but it works."
"It works in terms of rejuvenation, I would say it's like shaking up the quilt — you flip it to get everything back up to the top. It kind of gives you a bit of a 'zhoosh' and tightens things up.
"I think you start with a few treatments then go down to one a year. I've not used it before — because every time I see someone who's had it, it looks like they're in pain. But that might be the next step."
It sounded horrible. And I immediately needed to try it.
Here's how it went.
What is Morpheus8 treatment?
Put short, Morpheus8 is a minimally invasive treatment that combines microneedling with radiofrequency — it's like a two-in-one procedure.
"The device uses very fine needles which penetrate the skin to deliver the radiofrequency deep into the skin, which creates a controlled injury with heat and in turn triggers an immune mediated healing response," explained Dr Nicole Chater from Concept Cosmetic Medicine.
"This promotes new collagen and elastin production, as well as contraction of existing collagen, which in turn, causes a tightening and firming effect of skin."
Dr Charter went on to explain that while its benefits are for skin tightening, it can be used anywhere on the face and body and also promises to smooth the skin's texture, including different concerns caused by or acne scarring or textural irregularity.
"Morpheus8 is appropriate for anyone wanting to address signs of ageing," she added.
"It can be utilised in either women or men and it can be done in almost all skin types. It can be used to treat loose skin on the neck, or stomach, arms, or legs.
"As this treatment involves tiny needles penetrating the skin over and over and delivery heat, it can be uncomfortable. I will often prescribe different types of pain relief, which range from creams which numb, to medications inhaled, swallowed or given intravenously which can take away pain."
How did you go with it?
Now, just a bit of background: I've never actually undergone skin needling. While I've written and heard a great deal about it, I've always found myself veered over to laser and light procedures, and have had RF laser before.
I'm 32 years old and my skin is typically quite good. I do experience hormonal breakouts and dullness (I'm dry and sensitive) and my main concerns would be the lines around my eyes and nose/mouth (nasolabial folds).
After a solid consultation with my doctor, I opted to have three sessions, spaced around four weeks apart (which is what was recommended to me), and had the treatment on my face and neck.
And, look. Let's just get this bit out of the way — I’ve tried a lot of different procedures, and have always thought I've had quite a high pain tolerance. But this was by far the most painful one of them all.
You basically go in and they apply numbing cream to your face and neck and you wait for an hour for it to kick in.
Once the treatment starts, (the doctor started on the most superficial setting) I found that while it felt a little weird, it wasn't too sore. However, as the second and third pass swing 'round, the numbing cream decides to do the very least, and it literally feels like you're getting a hot staple gun to the face.
The first time I went ahead only using the numbing cream — and by the third pass, it felt like it had completely worn off. Of course, your treating doctor will make sure the right pain relief can be completely tailored to you — but I walked into this feeling a little proud after discussing my high pain tolerance.
So, in my second and third sessions, I swallowed my pride and had the facial numbing along with holding the green whistle. This helped take the edge off slightly — although, by the third treatment I levelled it up and literally did not take it out of my mouth.
Right after they finish the session, your doctor will apply an antiseptic cream that helps protect your damaged skin from infection — you've literally had little holes stapled into your face, so you want to make sure things are kept nice and clean and happy. My doctor gave me a tube and told me to continue re-applying the cream.
For me, the downtime itself was fairly minimal. I expected a lot more swelling but found it was mainly red and a little bleedy in certain areas (mainly around my neck). The redness lasted a day and a bit (the first day you're pretty red, but it calms down fairly soon).
Your skin feels really rough for a week or so (it kind of feels like braille on your face) and honestly, makeup doesn't look great (can look patchy or flaky), so it's best to go minimal or just completely avoid it.
Here's what my face looked like immediately after the first treatment — you'll notice I was definitely bleeding on my face and neck and you can see remnants of the stamp on my face. It kind of just looks like a bad rash.
Image: Supplied.
One thing I'd note, is to not follow your treatment with a touch of day drinking. For reasons I can't explain, I enjoyed a few beverages (with a bleed-y face, why am I like this) following my treatment and found the healing process probably took a bit longer than it did the second and third sessions. So, yeah. Don't do this.
Another thing I noticed (my doctor actually warned me about this in our consultation) was that my skin broke out a little more, and I experienced a bit of congestion, particularly around me cheeks. A couple of weeks later, however, my skin was GLOWING.
The verdict.
When it comes to results, experts recommend most people have three treatments for noticeable improvement in their skin.
However, as Dr Chater told me: "This really depends on an individualised treatment program. The settings can be changed depending on the target, the needle depth can vary, as well as the heat or energy which is delivered to the tissue."
"An individualised treatment plan is necessary for each patient, but generally maintenance could mean every six to 12 months."
When it comes to my own personal experience, I feel like my skin is in better shape than it's ever been. While I still struggle with hormonal breakouts every now and then, overall the tone and the texture of my skin is way better — it's clearer, brighter and smoother.
Image: Before (left) and after (right).
It's worth noting that I did also have masseter injections (jawline injectables) for teeth grinding, so the definition in my jawline can be a combination of both - but my facial features definitely look a little more defined than they were before. For example, my cheekbones look more contoured and my neck area feels tighter.
Now for the important bit — the price.
Morpheus8 certainly isn't cheap, with treatments starting at a cool $1,200. However, the cost obviously varies depending on your individualised treatment plan and the number of sessions required.
With this in mind, this isn't a treatment you want to cheap out on. It's important to remember that Morpheus8 is a medical treatment, and like every medical treatment, there are benefits but always potential for risk. So, make sure you see an experienced professional and really look into their experience and where you're getting it done — don't get something just because it's cheap. You only have one face, and it's not the kind of treatment you want to get willy nilly.
While my recovery and downtime was textbook, I have seen others deal with less-than-satisfactory results, including this writer from The Cut, who said a random medi spa left her with visible spots/scarring. Again, do your research!
As I mentioned before, it's also important to make sure you have a thorough consultation to ensure you get a treatment program that best suits you and your needs. I sat down with my doctor and discussed my skin concerns, my treatment history and exactly what I'd like to focus on (and avoid!). So find yourself someone you like and trust.
For me, I couldn't be happier with my results — and I fully understand why it's become such a buzzy treatment with A-listers and experts alike.
