With the help of skin experts, we answer all of your burning questions about the bloody — yet popular — skincare procedure, including whether it’s safe for all skin types and what products to use post-procedure.
At first glance, microneedling could seem downright medieval: A doctor scoring your skin with, well, scores of needles. But the beauty industry has regularly revisited the resurfacing technique, which originated in the mid-’90s, hoping to eliminate unpleasant side effects such as pain, bleeding and serious downtime.
The Dermapen, one of the most well-known microneedling devices, heralded the treatment’s slow creep back into the spotlight in 2010. But now microneedling’s makeover is complete, delighting needlephobes and laser fans alike, thanks to innovative combination treatments that minimize discomfort and maximize results.
How does microneedling work?
Jabbing the skin with needles admittedly sounds counter-intuitive, but consider that the needles are teeny (think acupuncture-thin, but much shorter) and microneedling is based on the same concept as a fractionated laser, which creates a controlled injury that the surrounding skin then swoops in to repair. The result: Fresh, new collagen production.
“Microneedling started this idea even before lasers,” says Dr. Diane Wong, owner and medical director of Toronto’s Glow Medi Spa. But pros like Wong are calling the recent marrying of microneedling and radiofrequency energy (RF) a game changer. Because the tiny needles penetrate the skin, topical RF can reach the deeper layers to better rejuvenate. “Combining these two technologies allows the energy to be delivered very directly,” says Manhattan cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank.
“Microneedling creates tiny channels for better product penetration,” says Jamie Sherrill, founder of the Nurse Jamie brand and owner of Beauty Park Medical Spa in Santa Monica. “We…
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