Dermarolling, also known as microneedling, may seem like a form of torture that one should avoid if given the choice when you hear how the process works. But hey, sometimes beauty and self-improvement comes at the cost of a little discomfort, right? To put a picture to the discomfort dermarolling causes, think of tiny needles puncturing your skin in rapid succession. It’s not the most pleasant thing in the world, and the after effects of the treatment definitely warrant some serious after care.

Dermarolling – Worth It? A Review of the Potential Benefits

Pictured in this update is the microneedle kit I recently purchased. These kits and units can be very cost effective. They range in price of course, according to the quality and brand of the product just like anything else. Considering the fact that you really should replace these units every couple months, it is probably wise to purchase a microneedle instrument that is on the lower end of cost.

All microneedle instruments really need to have stainless steel or titanium needles in them, but what you are paying for is the quality of the needles and the unit that holds the needles. Some are easier to use than others. The needles also can vary in quality. You want a unit that gets great reviews for not “sticking” or “pulling” the skin. You want needles that easily go into the skin, and cause the least amount of sticking when you’re rolling over the skin.

The kit pictured was under $20 and it is high quality enough. As you can see, it has several heads for various parts of the face. A tiny one for the area between the eyes that’s difficult to reach with a larger roller, and a large one for larger surface areas for example. It also has different sized needles on the various heads.

For a more serious dermarolling session, you would want the needles that are larger in diameter if you’re trying to target difficult issues such as keloid scarring, acne scarring, rough skin, or a lot of hyperpigmentation. The larger needles cause greater “injury” to the skin because they go deeper and cause a larger surface area to be punctured. Yes, this translates into more pain and discomfort, but it can also accelerate your results.

How and Why Does Dermarolling Work to Address Skin and Haircare Issues?

In a word, the tiny micro-tears microneedling causes to your skin are viewed by your body as wounds. When our skin is wounded, it kicks collagen production into high gear. So you are really forcing your body to produce more collagen on demand, and the area that is treated will see an uptick in the production of this skin-plumping and luminizing material.

This also means you’ll see plumper, firmer and smoother skin in the treated area. For hyperpigmentation, age spots and melasma or any other skin pigmentation issues, microneedling breaks up the spots and the pigmentation physically, and helps the products you use deposit more efficiently to these areas of pigmentation.

So say you put a high quality vitamin C or MSM skincare product on the area after treatment, these skin-lightening ingredients can really get deep into the layers of skin to do their skin-lightening work. The physical breaking up of the discoloration also lends to the effect so many people see to diminish their age spots.

Microneedling/Dermarolling Addresses the Following Skin Issues Pretty Effectively

1.)  Hyperpigmentation

2.)  Age spots

3.)  Acne scarring

4.)  Fine lines and smaller wrinkles/Facial firming

5.)  Hair loss and beard growth

6.)  Large pores

7.)  Uneven skin tone

8.)  Dull skin

9.)  Keloid or raised scarring

10.)  Improved elasticity

11.)  Stretch marks

12.)  Lip plumping

Note that last one about the lips. Some dermaroller products suggest you do not use the product on the lips, however there are documented benefits to using microneedling lightly in order to help with the fine lines that develop immediately surrounding the lips. Those lines occur even if you’d never smoked a day in your life, simply form the act of smiling and moving the lips over and over throughout life.

They can be difficult to address because they are so fine and the area around the mouth is very sensitive. However, dermarolling the lip area, and even on the lips in a light fashion, can help keep the lips plump looking with age and can also have a pretty dramatic effect on the lip lines as well.

A word of caution – dermarolling the lips is a delicate process and should be handled with caution as it can cause a lot of discomfort due to the delicate nature of the tissue. However, it can really make your lips look plumped, flushed and healthy if you practice this regularly! The lip tissue is delicate, so it is not recommended you do this as often as you would be able to do other facial areas.