The initial series of microneedling sessions is usually five to six treatments with six weeks or longer between visits to ensure maximum healing time. Retreatment sessions may be recommended every three to four months to maintain your results.
If you're looking to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, four to six sessions should suffice. For more severe skin concerns, such as acne scars or stretch marks, you may need eight to twelve sessions.
Some people also have dry, flaking skin that improves with moisturizer. Most people need multiple microneedling treatments, usually about 3 weeks to 8 weeks apart.
With Microneedling, you'll start to notice improvements in your skin's texture and tone after just one session. To achieve the best results, 4-5 sessions spaced one month apart are recommended, with effects lasting up to 6 months.
In general, you can expect the results of SkinPen microneedling to last for four to six weeks. The longevity of these results can be attributed to the length of your natural cellular turnover cycle, as well as how long newly produced collagen can last in the skin.
Skin damage is a risk that commonly occurs with microneedling devices. The damage may include bleeding, bruising, redness, tightness, itching and peeling, and these typically go away without any treatment after a few days or weeks.
The average cost of microneedling in the US is about $640 per session, according to over 300 patient experiences on RealSelf. This can vary between $300 to $700, however, depending on: Your location: Prices may be higher in major cities or upscale clinics.
Providing more dramatic results than microneedling on its own, RF microneedling has been shown by researchers to be effective in tightening the skin on various body parts, including the face, neck, chest, arms, and stomach.
Of course, this depends on your insurance provider and policy. So it is always worth checking your policy. However, you might qualify for insurance support if your doctor prescribes microneedling as medically necessary for your recovery. This can apply in cases of traumatic injury scarring.
You'll often notice a difference after just one microneedling session. However, optimal results typically require multiple treatments, depending on your skin's condition and desired outcomes. Each session builds on the last for cumulative improvements.
As stand-alone treatments, these are both fantastic in their own ways. Botox will provide good visual results on the skin, as the area will look and feel smoother – although for firmer, plumper, healthy-looking skin, microneedling wins, hands-down.
Even though microneedling benefits the skin, overdoing it can cause serious risks, including skin irritation, redness, and inflammation, leading to discomfort. Overdoing treatments or not allowing ample time between sessions can lead to scarring and even hyperpigmentation.
For treating acne and other scars as a routine, a needle length of 1.5–2 mm is usually used. When microneedling is used as a procedure to treat ageing skin and wrinkles, the needle length of 0.5 mm or 1.0 mm is usually recommended.
Results will depend on the severity of the area being treated. The tightened and final results will be seen gradually over 6-9 months which is the time it takes for each individual's body to produce collagen naturally and for the skin to rebuild after injury.
Getting results with microneedling
You may need three to five microneedling treatments every two to four weeks to get the best results. Research shows that microneedling can fade acne scars by as much as 70%. It takes time for your skin to rebuild collagen and results appear slowly over several months.
Immediately after treatment, you will notice that your skin looks smoother and more radiant. After a month, you will notice that your skin is significantly tighter.
One study showed that almost 100 percent of microneedling participants reported a noticeable difference, and 80 percent reported a vast improvement in the appearance of their acne scars after a treatment1, so yeah—microneedling is that girl.
You might look older after microneedling because your skin is temporarily inflamed and shedding older layers. This initial phase is crucial for the rejuvenation process, leading to improved texture and reduced wrinkles later.
A treatment session itself only lasts between 20 and 30 minutes depending on how many areas need to be treated. However, you must wait for the numbing cream to take effect and have your treatment area disinfected. Expect to spend at least an hour or two from start to finish.
If you have a larger treatment area, this would result in the price quoted increasing. Another factor is the option to have microneedling with PRP. Adding the PRP to your microneedling significantly increases the results and does incur an additional fee.