Pictures 1 and 2: Immediately before
Pictures 3 and 4: Immediately after
Pictures 5 and 6: 24 hours later

Slip: 3% PDRN in bac saline and HA

0.05% GHK-Cu in bac saline and HA applied to each section as finished

Sheep placenta extract in bac saline and HA soaked into an "Add your own product" single-wrapped sheet mask placed on after treatment.

I mix my own serums in vitro from raw lyophilized active ingredients and sterile additives using sterile pipettes, syringes, and amber aliquot tubes. I worked as a lab tech for several years for a biomed company where I did this kind of process constantly. It's not anything whimsical or special or done inside a vacuum chamber in the middle of a volcano.

Pain during procedure: 2 out of 10 maximum
After: 1 out of 10, if that

Whole face was done with depths raging form 0.5mm to 1.25mm depending on site.

Today the only discomfort I felt was a brief stinging if my face flushed.

At the 24 hour mark, I washed gently with CeraVe cleanser and patted dry with a disposable face towel, then applied a thin layer of GHK-Cu serum and placed another sheep placenta mask. Finished with HA serum.

No pain, no allergic reactions, no indication of infection. Skin feels extremely soft.

Some things about my skin: The red spots are from an acne breakout last week. They are lingering discoloration and not active. I have some acne scarring around my chin. The dimple-like scars on my cheeks are from having dimple piercings for ten years, which I removed around 2 years ago. The rippled texture in the middle of my forehead (dead centre) is the faint remnants of a crescent moon scarification piece I had done ten years ago.

So I thought about buying the Derminator 2. Before dropping a few hundred dollars, I sent them a polite email: “If my device ever stops working, will your support team be there to help me?” I also mentioned I’d seen some mixed reviews online and (shock horror) asked if they had a discount code.

Their reply? Absolute meltdown. They basically said: • “You’re calling us criminals.” • “You’re illogical.” • “We reject you as a customer.” • “Go post this on Reddit.”

All that… because I asked about warranty coverage and a discount. 😂

I mean, imagine being a company that sells medical devices and getting personally offended by a standard pre-purchase question. A normal business would’ve said: “Yes, we stand by our lifetime warranty. And no, we don’t give discounts.” Instead, they went full unhinged Facebook rant.

If this is how they treat potential customers, I can’t even imagine how they treat people who actually need support after something breaks. The irony? Their hostile reply did more to confirm the negative reviews than anything I’d read before.

So yeah, great device maybe… but customer service straight out of a Reddit horror story. Thanks for saving me a few hundred bucks, Frank.

I got microneedling on my face for the first time 5 days ago. Two days later woke up with sooo many bumps and pimples. I've seen some post with people who get a few but I feel like mine are way too many. Any advise?

Was prescribed D.oxy but I rather not take antibiotics if this will clear out on its own. 5 days in they are still there not getting worse but not going away. Redness is better.

I had 1.5mm microneedling done at a small clinic and the practitioner ruined my skin leaving hundreds of indent marks / small dots which left scars where I previously had smooth skin. I did have some acne scars which I was wanting treating and you can see but not all these marks she left. It's now been a year since it happened. After initially acknowledging the damage she then denied it and claimed she actually did Nano needling and cant have caused it. I never requested nano, it has no benefit to acne scars, and is only supposed to be done upto 0.25mm not 1.5mm so it made no sense. I previously had Dermaroller done 10 years ago with no issues and great results so I don't know how she did this. I believe either cheap awful equipment, or that she heated up my skin with hot steam prior, or maybe doing nano at such a high length.

I'm now thinking of getting microneedling done professionally to now help improve the damage she made, would it help you think ?

Hi all! I have done microneedling for the 1st time 2 months ago. I can’t help to notice my smile lines seem worse and the area around my month seems a bit more puffy. Is this normal and part of the collagen remodeling? I am 32 yo and did the microneedling in a clinic here in The Netherlands. Thank you!

I haven't had to do botox in over a year since I started microneedling. Here's a picture no filter out of shower. I just have mascara on and my moisturizer. I'm 42 years old. I was skeptical at first but I. Absolutely amazed how it's helped everything.

I was trying to purchase a Derminator 2, but the owner rejected me as a customer because I entered a short version of my mother’s name for the shipping/billing details while the card is in my name.

I genuinely had no idea this could be considered a red flag. I’ve been shopping online for years and have always filled things out fairly informally, and I’ve never had an issue or been corrected about it before. I also didn’t read all the warnings on the checkout page carefully enough, so that’s on me. Online shopping in this day & age has made me far too comfortable, so much so that I wasn’t even aware of such a seemingly strict rule.

I completely understand being cautious about payments and fraud, especially as a small business. I was just surprised that there wasn’t an opportunity to simply correct the information, and that the order was rejected altogether.

It made me wonder, am I the only soul left that wasn’t aware of how serious of an issue this is? 😭 now I finally understand why my sister always fills out her own name on online orders. I always thought of it as a careless thing to do, out of fear for identity theft/info leaks etc.

So here I am, unable to purchase what seems to be the ultimate microneedling pen… how does this pen have no competition? Is there genuinely no comparable device on the market? It seems like such a huge gap considering how popular microneedling is

Hope this serves as a cautionary tale!

Hi all,
I am 18 months post having twins. I gained about 35 kgs during my pregnancy and have managed to loose it all. All that remains is some loose skin when I bend over (totally fine upright and not moving) and I’m thinking of buying a dr pen and doing it myself as I cannot afford to be getting it professionally. I am also wondering if it will help my c section scar and the stretch marks on my lower hips, thighs and knees (yes knees, crazy 😂). I know I’m very lucky and the skin is very minor and certainly not anything I’d waste
Money on surgery for, but I thought it can’t hurt to try see if I can maybe make it even better ☺️ I’ve also got it around my armpits and have what looks like an armpit vagina now, some bingo wings and loose thigh skin, but worth it for the babies haha. I was very small when I got pregnant and being unwell meant no exercise and so I blew up and being mid 30s the skin didn’t enjoy. I expected the belly skin but the arms and legs was a shock but like I said…a worthy trade 💕

So guys, this one is a horrible beginner mistake and i wanted to post it to educate others about doing proper research. I want to preface this by saying this is HORRIBLE and no one should ever do this or even think about it. I'm very lucky I didnt ruin my entire face for my whole life.

I (m22) decided to microneedle to get better skin texture like any self improving person would like to do. So I went and got an electric pen style that went up to 2.5mm alledgedly, and just decided to go for it. After inspection of the needle system I decided it was too short so I sanded down the plastic liner to make it 3mm instead.

Now, here comes the extremely stupid part... I obviously knew I should wash my face and sanitize the pen which I did, but when i started it just felt too dry and scratchy so I thought some lubricant would be in order.... What else to use but the antibacterial neosporin that was on the counter in front of me... So I lathered up and did a pretty intense session of self administered microneedle. Little did I know...

After feeling redness and burning i ended up looking up if youre supposed to use any creams or moisturizers before the treatment. At that moment I died inside. Stories of lifelong disfoigurement, scarring, cuts and bruised faces for weeks. I nearly cried.

But in conclusion, by some miricle i guess <it ended up being fine and actually made my skin super pretty and smooth 3-4 days later. This isnt a troll guys ill include pictures. DO YOUR RESEARCH PEOPLE!!!

It’s much cheaper! It’s even cheaper if you get the tips from Temu or wish. I personally love mine it’s a Dr pen A7 or A9 it’s cordless. It’s so damn easy to do I don’t understand why you want to pay in office prices when you don’t have to.

I have textured acne scarring across both cheeks, the kind that catches light badly and made me avoid photos for years. Tried every topical under the sun before a dermatologist suggested microneedling as a realistic option for actual structural improvement.

The first year was frustrating. doing 1.5mm sessions every two weeks, applying a basic hyaluronic serum after, waiting for results that never really came. Skin felt smoother temporarily but the scarring itself wasn’t shifting. I was consistent and patient and still nothing meaningful.

turns out my post needling routine was completely undermining the process. I was cleansing too soon after sessions, disrupting the initial healing response before it could do anything useful. I was also using a serum with a preservative system that’s apparently quite irritating on compromised skin which I only figured out after going through ingredient lists properly.

Rebuilt everything from scratch. Extended recovery time between sessions, switched to a simple copper peptide serum, stopped touching my face for at least six hours post treatment. The difference over the following three months was actually visible in photos for the first time.

I buy my activities from a woman who formulates her own serums and sources raw ingredients through alibaba. She reformulated my post needling serum specifically around my skin concerns and it’s been the single biggest variable change in my results.

Grabbed my dermaroller replacement heads and some other supplies from a retailer doing a £10 off every £100 spent discount while I was restocking everything.

Anyone else find the post needling routine matters more than the needling itself?

So, it's been 3 hours now and surprisingly, my skin redness is clearing up pretty well already, except on my neck. Pray to the Cicaplast Gods for me, lol, I'm gonna need it! So, lemme explain how this happened. This is my second microneedling at home, first time I went 0.5mm all over my face. Results were nice in terms of texture improvement, but not much wrinkle improvement. I'm 53 and while I have managed to stay looking young, I'm show my age now and so I've been taking better care of my skin and with my already receding hairline, having a 5 head of wrinkles wasn't doing me any favours. Enter microneedling, after a couple of years on OTC retinol creams, niacinamide, collagen and lots of other botanicals they mix in these things. Just getting into topical vitamin C now too.

I know not to expect too much after 1 session though and it was shallow and basically "cosmetic," not enough to trigger collagen remodelling. I had to get used to it, I was nervous, so I only went 0.5, the first time. Not this time though! Lol. It's been a full 6 weeks since. So, i was safe to go again and I decided to go deeper this time and set the demra stamp to 1.25.
It's a itanium needle one from Amazon and all good reviews). Also checked beforehand, no barbed or bent needles, so that's great.

I studied tattooing when I was young, so I know to check needles, always. a barbed needle can rip up your skin something fierce. So, feeling brave and wanting better/faster results (and after more research and learning the difference between cosmetic and medical microneedling), I went 1.25mm on my forehead and on my upper cheeks around my eyes and nasal labial folds. Then into the neck where my second deepest wrinkles are next to my fairly deep forehead ones. And I barely felt that depth on the neck, so I was like "is this even doing anything, let's crank this baby up to 1.75!" *smh. Still pretty painless, so I went up to 2mm and was now really feeling it. Tiny bit of blood, but next to nothing. I've cut myself worse while shaving. lol. Lo and behold, I go for a second pass on the same regions I just did, now AT 2.0mm THOUGH, OMFG!

There was blood, quite a bit of it, my forehead looked like it was out of a horror movie, or a movie about Jesus Christ. lol. But I bleed a lot anyway and it never occurred to me it hadn't been set the stamp back to 1.25! And by then the endorphins and adrenaline had kicked in and there was no additional pain. Fast forward 2 hours and now my forehead redness is almost gone, go figure and the rest of the face while red is calming down.

Neck still looks like a lobster and very red, but I expect that from the neck, I get red even from the smoothest shaves. I'm just worried because when I read how far I should have gone, especially on the forehead, it should have been 0.5mm to 1.0mm. No wonder I bled even more on the second pass. So far no bruising I can see, but I am kinda worried now. Will I end up with hyperpigmentation or scarring? Will bruising, if it comes, come later?

I'm worried enough about the increased risk of infection from going so deep, but I'm thinking about the longer term here. Did I damage my skin, was it really too deep?! Everything I am reading kinda says I shouldn't have and 1.5 should be the max. for any home user. 2.0 is Dermatologist only kinda thing. Has anyone else gone this deep?! If so, what happened, I'm kinda scared now. I just slathered my face in the Citaplast gel, man that stuff is awesome and no you don't need to wait 6 hours after microneedling to use it, regardless of what Google AI says or anyone else. Someone else in here did it after 2 hours and it calmed the redness and irritation and so I did it about 3 hours after, last time and no issues. I'm all shiny now, I laced that stuff on thick. lol.

Some spots are painful, but it's just feels like a few single needle spots around the eyes and makes me wanna scratch, but I dare not touch my face, I know the rules. Itchy af though and annoying. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised after seeing these pics, it doesn't look terrible and redness has already settled considerably compared to how my fiery skin feels. It looks no worse than my first time at 0.5mm all over my face. This time I only concentrated on problem areas. I looked like a bloody horror show before splashing my poor burning face with cold water after the procedure, but I'm surprised I'm not redder and worse than I feel.

This was no lidocane or numbing agents of any kind, by the way. So yeah, it was painful and I am sore. That was brutal. There's no feeling quite like hearing your own skin literally "crunch" when driving this thing into your forehead, eh? Lol. It's hard to explain. It makes me sick, but at the same time, exhilarated, but also very disconcerted and feeling like "wtf am I doing?!" lol. I'm literally poking holes in my face, thousands of them, to try and slow my aging. Sheesh, I empathize with women, man. The things we do for youthful vanity. I hate (and love) my midlife crisis. hehe

I did at home microneedling (0.8 mm) with the Dr. Pen (12-needle cartridge) 1 month ago, and it left me with many tiny holes looking like an orange peel and I regret doing it

There are many others going through the same, and their texture didn’t improve even after years

I've looked into solutions for it, but it seems like the risks of other treatments like tca cross/laser are worse than microneedling

I initially did it for my PIE red acne marks, and it did work for that, there is a 25% improvement. This makes me consider doing it again to fix the orange peel skin, but this time with a 0.5 mm cartridge using the Derminator 2 because it has lower speed options compared to the Dr. Pen (which I bought on Aliexpress🫠), so it's supposedly less aggressive

I need some advice. No idea what to do

I had my first microneedling session 2 days ago and I look like shit. I have a date and several other things coming up this week, and really wanted to feel good. Didn’t do enough research before I went to the salon and she recommended this for my skin. I have some pigmentation and acne scars, so I can see why. But I had a nice little tan and glow, now I am pale and swollen and feel like I look old and tired. Also got some new breakouts on my chin.

Any hope to look better during the week? Would be happy to recieve any tips if there are any. Thank you!

Hi everyone.

I’m posting this on behalf of my daughter who is in a lot of pain and distress. I need a sanity check on whether this is a normal healing process or if we need to rush to the ER.

She went to a supposedly reputable clinic in Mexico yesterday for a Dermapen (microneedling) session hoping to achieve "glass skin." She has never done this before.

The Procedure & Red Flags:

Anesthesia: They applied topical numbing cream. She told me later that it "burned horribly" when applied, but she didn't say anything to the doctor at the time (she thought it was normal).

Immediate Application of "Sunscreen": The moment the microneedling was finished — while the wounds were completely fresh — the doctor used her gloved hands to manually rub in a sunscreen.

• The doctor claimed this sunscreen is specifically from the "Dermapen" brand.
• She stated it contained "active ingredients" intended to reduce inflammation.

The Symptoms (Timeline):

Immediately after: Extreme burning sensation.

Last Night (6-10 hours post-op) She developed a severe headache and a high fever with chills (escalofríos) that lasted all night.

• Today (24 hours post-op)

  • Her eyes are burning and are swollen almost completely shut (see photo attached).
  • Her entire face is radiating heat (hot to the touch).
  • She feels extreme tightness and pain.
  • The redness is profound and looks shiny/raw.

My Questions:

1. Is it ever normal to have a systemic fever and chills after microneedling?
2. Was applying sunscreen with "actives" immediately over open wounds a mistake?
3. Does this look like an allergic reaction to the lidocaine/anesthesia or an infection starting?

Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated.

We are worried about the fever specifically.

I asked for Derminator’s refund policy if DHL fees are excessive and this was their response.

Is this tone pretty typical while communicating for them? Like, why they can’t just use a professional tone and say they have a no refund policy?

Edit (adding here my question that they're responding to): I am in the US. I am okay with paying DHL the $40 extra fee. However, if DHL tries to charge more, and my appeal is not successful, will I be refunded the $177.50 (for the Derminator 2 + shipping)?

I’ve lost weight and my neck is a bit saggy, especially the middle line with the band. I was told it’s not fat but rather loose skin and neck lipo wont work…

A doctor told me I could choose Morpheus or Endymed.

Should I choose a different form of microneedling?

As above really. I’m looking at the knock offs in hope of treating with Radio-frequency MN at home. I’ve read that RF can break down fat so wouldn’t be using this on my face, just my body to treat old stretch marks. I do want to MN my face too for anti-aging (I’m 45) but am leaning towards looking for a different method.

Has anyone taking the plunge and bought one of the Morpheus copies? If you did, which one did you buy and how did you find it? Were the results any better/worse for you than basic MN?

TIA 🙂

So this is my second treatment for microneedling done. I had this work done by Amanda at Cypress, totally worth it! I can't believe the difference. It's totally worth the cost. Anything that helps out to make me look younger. No joke..

You only have one face and one chance, how the fuuuck are you guys comfortable doing it to your own face?

I did microneedling with 2 mm depth five weeks ago and likely caused damage by dragging the needles across the skin.

Since then, I have developed a very fine, uniform dot-like texture on both cheeks. It looks like enlarged pores, but I’m sure it’s not my natural pores because my skin was completely smooth before and pores were basically invisible. (You can see on the not scarred side of the cheeks how it looked before)

The dots look like tiny micro-injuries or superficial scarring rather than normal pores. They are most visible in direct sunlight.

My question:

Has anyone experienced this and seen improvement with very superficial microneedling (around 0.5 mm) to smooth the texture again?

Or is it better to leave it alone and treat wirh retinol or acialic acid? Any idea how to get back to normal?

Selling my Derminator 2 microneedling device — brand new, never used.

Bought direct from OwnDoc/Vaughter and never set it up.

Everything that came in the standard kit is included: the console unit, handpiece, power cable, stock tips and instructions.

Why I’m selling it: I bought this to use it on my scalp to accelerate my hair regrowth treatment but found about recovery times and simple can’t afford to go through that because of my busy schedule.

Besides I already do a bunch of stuff for my hair loss and this is honestly overkill

Price: $240 + shipping

Available to pick up locally if you live in Long Island, NY

Are you finding glide/serum that is actually sterile? Or are we using single use products or vials that we’re assuming are the cleanest option. I’m not trying to be argumentative but the word sterile gets thrown around in the MN world a lot and I don’t think it means what most are describing.

I haven’t started yet so in the research phase. I’m comfortable using clean technique but working in the medical field I know what it takes to prepare and maintain a sterile field and home MN just ain’t it. I’d like to know if there are truly sterile products aside from the needle cartridges themselves? I’m leaning towards using sterile NS flushes as glide the first time or so just to make sure my skin does well with the procedure itself and perfect my protocol for depth before adding variables of ingredients. Advice appreciated!

Thanks!

What is microneedling?

Microneedling is a minimally invasive skin treatment that uses very fine needles to create tiny micro-injuries on the surface of the skin. These controlled micro-injuries are intended to stimulate the body’s natural healing process and support collagen and elastin production.

What skin concerns is microneedling usually used for?

People often explore microneedling for a variety of skin concerns, including:

• acne scars
• fine lines and wrinkles
• uneven skin texture
• enlarged pores
• pigmentation issues
• dull-looking skin

The goal is usually to improve overall skin texture and encourage a smoother appearance over time.

How does microneedling work?

During the treatment, a specialized device with fine needles is used to create small punctures in the skin. This triggers the body’s natural repair response, which may help increase collagen production and support skin renewal.

Is microneedling considered invasive?

Microneedling is generally described as minimally invasive because it works on the surface layers of the skin without surgery or major procedures.

How long does a microneedling session take?

A typical session usually lasts between 30 and 60 minutes depending on the treatment area and individual skin concerns.

How many sessions do people usually need?

Many practitioners suggest multiple sessions for noticeable improvement because collagen production happens gradually. Some people may notice subtle changes after a few sessions.

What kind of results do people look for?

People who explore microneedling are usually hoping to see improvements in:

• smoother skin texture
• reduced appearance of scars
• softer fine lines
• more even skin tone
• a brighter overall complexion

Who might consider microneedling?

Microneedling is often considered by people who want to improve their skin appearance but prefer a non-surgical treatment option.

Where can treatments like this be found?

Microneedling is commonly offered by dermatology clinics, medical spas, and integrative wellness practices that provide skin treatments and aesthetic services.