You’ll meet with the doctor ahead of time to find out what to expect. You might have to avoid aspirin (Bufferin) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for one week before the procedure. These pain relievers can increase your risk of bleeding and bruising during mesotherapy.

During each session, you may or may not have numbing medicine applied to your skin. You’ll get a series of injections using a special short needle. The needle may be attached to a mechanical gun to deliver many injections in a row. The injections can be given at different depths — from 1 to 4 millimeters into your skin — depending on what condition you’re having treated. Your doctor may place the needle into your skin at an angle, or flick their wrist very quickly while injecting. Each injection may only place a tiny drop of the solution into your skin. You’ll probably need several mesotherapy sessions to get the desired effect. You should expect to return to the doctor between 3 to 15 times. At first, you’ll get the injections every 7 to 10 days. If your skin starts to improve, the treatments will be stretched out to once every two weeks or once a month.

It’s hard to say whether mesotherapy works, because so many different ingredients and methods are used in the treatment. Few studies have been done to test the technique. And many of the studies that have been done were small.

Because mesotherapy is noninvasive, there usually isn’t any downtime. Many people are able to return to their regular activities right away. Others may need to take a day off due to swelling and pain at the injection sites.

In addition to treating wrinkles and removing unwanted fat, mesotherapy is also used to treat hair loss from alopecia. The treatment injects natural plant extracts, vitamins, or medicines like finasteride and minoxidil into the head. People who perform mesotherapy for hair loss claim it: corrects hormone imbalances in and around the hair follicle delivers nutrients to the hair