Microneedling Shopping List

Azi says July 20, 2020 at 5:45 pm thanks for the at home options. i think i’ve finally decided on how i want to do this. that chart was super helpful. Reply Michaell says November 18, 2020 at 4:31 pm It’s amazing how effective home treatments can be, isn’t it? Reply ปั้มไลค์ says July 27, 2020 at 12:36 am Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article. Reply Michaell says November 18, 2020 at 4:30 pm You’re so welcome! Definitely try these at home options. Reply Anallese says December 19, 2020 at 6:54 am Please forgive my bad English. I have been reading out many of your articles and i can state nice stuff. I will make sure to bookmark your blog. Reply Michaell says March 29, 2021 at 10:55 pm So sweet of you. Thanks. 🙂 Reply Kathy says December 20, 2020 at 3:27 am This article is really good. thanks a lot for sharing. Reply Marcy says December 20, 2020 at 9:25 am Wow, this post is great, my sister is analyzing these tools right now. I’ll be sharing with her. Reply Michaell says October 2, 2022 at 4:50 pm So good! Please come back and tell us what you ended up doing. 🙂 Reply Meredith says December 22, 2020 at 5:19 am I constantly emailed this blog post page to all my friends. Thanks for putting this together. Reply Michaell says February 24, 2021 at 1:06 am TYVM. That’s the best compliment I could ask for. 🙂 Reply Melanie says December 31, 2020 at 11:39 am Hi, I didn’t see a range for neck and neck lines on the chart. Would it be considered deep wrinkles for the bands? Reply Michaell says December 31, 2020 at 4:13 pm Hi Melanie, the range I see is 0.5mm – 2.0mm for the neck. I personally don’t go deeper than 1.5mm unless it’s a very deep wrinkle. It might take a couple sessions (again, space out your sessions properly) but you’ll see improvement. I’m also starting to see results with my newest experiment: red light therapy. I’ll be writing about how I’m getting rid of 11 lines soon. Good luck and let us know how it goes! Reply Sabrina says January 13, 2021 at 9:41 am Wow this is crazy informative. Literally answered all my questions. Reply Michaell says February 24, 2021 at 1:02 am I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂 Reply Mindy says January 13, 2021 at 10:38 am Hi Michaell, you mentioned you put numbing cream on your face prior to the microneedling. Do you wash if off? How do you prep the skin with the numbing cream on?thanks! Reply Michaell says January 13, 2021 at 11:24 pm Hi Mindy, Personally, I start with a clean, makeup-free face BEFORE the numbing cream. AFTER the numbing cream has soaked in, I typically wash my face with face wash, then dry it with a paper towel dipped in 70% alcohol so my skin is as low bacteria as I can make it. Below is the doctor recommendation I found on the realself:https://www.realself.com/question/question-numbing-cream-microneedling Reply Madelon says January 13, 2021 at 8:13 pm thankyou for the post. very helpful. Reply Michaell says February 21, 2022 at 4:36 pm I’m so glad it helped! Reply filmi says January 16, 2021 at 6:29 pm Excellent article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our website. Keep up the great writing. Robina Peadar Darrin Reply Michaell says February 24, 2021 at 1:05 am Thanks! Reply Patrik says February 6, 2021 at 9:58 am What is your process after you finished needling? Do you rinse with water? Or is it necessary to also use some kind of disinfectant treatment? Reply Michaell says February 24, 2021 at 1:05 am Personally, I rinse with water afterwards, but I wait 1 hour so my skin has a minute to close back up. Again…I’m not a doctor. This is just what I do. If you are concerned, you could always use distilled water to rinse and then put your healing treatments on directly after. Reply Laura says February 23, 2021 at 3:26 pm Would you say your pox scars had gone completely? How long did it take for them to reduce?Thanks Reply Michaell says February 24, 2021 at 12:11 am Hi Laura, After writing this article I took a break from microneedling, so both marks are about the same as the photos, which took 3 treatments. Not completely gone, but significantly less. Stay tuned! I’m almost finished testing some things for 11 lines/frown lines (same area on my face as my scarring), which has evened out my skin tone on my scars as an added bonus. Should be up next month. Reply Laura says March 22, 2021 at 2:49 pm Thank you! Looking forward to it! x Reply Krissy says March 20, 2021 at 3:56 am Thank you so much for writing this. I have the same marks on me forehead and I hate them. I’m probably the only one that notices them but it’s like it’s the first thing I see in unfiltered pics. What depth did you use and did you do the whole area with the same depth or just on the scars? Reply Michaell says March 29, 2021 at 11:13 pm Me too! It’s the curse of social media and these extra great iPhone cameras. 😉 I followed the ‘forehead’ chart depth with the bigger pin cartridge. For the scars, I used a 1-pin cartridge and went as deep as the machine allowed. My scars were that deep. I would not advise this unless you aren’t making progress with the recommended depth and you have gained enough experience to feel confident (since we’re not dermatologists). Tag me your results with #livingplum on Instagram. I’d love to see! Good luck. 🙂 Reply Paris says March 22, 2021 at 7:28 am Really great improvement!!! What needle length shall I use on my temples? Reply Michaell says March 29, 2021 at 11:05 pm Oooofff. That’s a tough one! I personally count that as the delicate eye and forehead area on the chart above, but I think it would depend on what’s going on there. Keep in mind that’s a pressure point area. If you haven’t gone to a professional for this procedure before, perhaps try that first and ask them what depth they’re doing when they get to that area for your specific needs? Tag me your results with #livingplum on Instagram. I’d love to see! Good luck. 🙂 Reply Daryn says March 28, 2021 at 4:24 am Where can you buy the dermiantor 2 .. the website isn’t loading for me Reply Michaell says March 29, 2021 at 10:52 pm It’s a super old school site. You have to hit the button “web shop” in the top right hand corner. If it doesn’t load, the Dr. Pen looked pretty good too, I just didn’t use it since it didn’t have a 1-pin cartridge option for my deep chicken pox scars. Reply Pavan says May 3, 2021 at 7:08 pm Hi there! Just wondering how long your scar on your forehead was? I have acne scars on my cheeks and they’re over 10 years old 🙁I recently purchased the derminator 2 Reply Michaell says May 3, 2021 at 11:25 pm Hi Pavan, There’s definitely hope! My scars have been there since I had chicken pox at 5 years old. Reply Cleo says May 3, 2021 at 11:08 pm Hi there, do you use the same cartridge on your face and body parts? I am wanting to do my face and then my hands with the Dr Pen A6. Many thanks! 🙂 Reply Michaell says May 3, 2021 at 11:28 pm hi 🙂 It depends. If you aren’t trying to get a deep spot, like a pox mark where you need a single needle to get in there, it’s likely fine to use the same cartridge. Just make sure you are following safety guidelines and DO NOT use the same depth for everything. Again, not a doctor, just my own personal experience 😉 Thanks for commenting! Reply Angeline says May 6, 2021 at 6:06 am Hi I’ve had microneedling in the past I just purchased the pen for at home use. I’m really afraid to use it any other tips you can give me? It’s been years since I’ve had it done. It says to use a hydraulic based fluid I have some left how much should I use? I’m asking my doctor for a rx for the numbing. As of right now I’m trying the microblast it’s pretty expensive that’s why I’m opting for the pen. But I think I would have to wait and only do the areas she didn’t touch. Reply Angeline says May 6, 2021 at 6:19 am I want to do my hands first I’m going to go really easy on them since the skin there is very thin. I think I’m going to have to purchase more hydraulic acid what’s a good brand? Reply Michaell says May 21, 2021 at 12:17 am Hi Angeline,Yes! Great idea. Def consider practicing on your hand or leg or stretch marks or something first so you know what to expect on an area that no one sees. If you are still nervous after that, I would do in-office procedures for awhile until you know what to expect and feel confident.Microblasting is different from microneedling, so you’d use these for different reasons. Make sure you space apart your procedures accordingly.For HA’s, I use a lot of it. I have a quality and a cheaper HA in the house for different things. Reason is you are using HAs during the procedure for “slip.” Meaning, your tool glides/slides so it doesn’t get stuck or pull your skin. So you want to be generous and really make sure you’re able to slip and slide on your face while using the pen. I LOVE Skinmedica’s HA5 product, but The Ordinary has a cheap one for during the procedure that sometimes I use. I also have ordered HA’s straight from the microneedling companies for a more generic version. I always end with Skinmedica because I trust the brand so much to hydrate and not pull moisture from within my skin, but from the moisture/air around me.Hope that helps!XXX Reply David says July 9, 2021 at 2:59 am Hi! I would like to know your technique by using a single needle cartridge, do you use the same technique by making small circles as 9 or 12 pins cartridges or you need other techniques ? Btw Thank you very much this is very helpful. Reply Michaell says July 15, 2021 at 11:32 pm Hmmmm…Personally, I only used the single needle cartridge on my chicken pox scars. Therefore the pattern wasn’t really a certain direction or circle motion, just a back and forth until I thought I got it all + the edges around the scars. From my experience, I think getting the depth right matters more than the direction. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for letting me know this information helped you! Reply Sunny says July 24, 2021 at 8:20 pm Hi there, Your article really gives me hope. I couldn’t really find any video for microneedling that demonstrate how to use the single needle on face what I found is only this one… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnIlaD6AZPQ&ab_channel=SarahVaughterIf I want to use the single needle on my whole face what should I do? just follow what she did on the video ? and finally can I use copper peptides as growth factor ? thank you very much. Reply Michaell says February 21, 2022 at 4:39 pm Hi Sunny, Personally I wouldn’t do a single needle on your entire face. The single needle is really great for scars/craters in the skin. But doing the whole face like that would like take a long time.Since I haven’t used copper peptides before I did a little research. Though I don’t think it’s the same as a growth factor, it looks like a great mineral option! Here’s the study I found:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25690343/ Reply Chloe says August 27, 2021 at 11:51 pm Hi, I have a scar very similar to the one on your forehead, I am hoping to get results as good as yours! How far apart were your 3 treatments? How long until you started seeing results?Thanks! 🙂 Reply Michaell says August 31, 2021 at 9:18 pm Hi Chloe,I started to see results after the 2nd time. The scars are still there, just much more shallow. It’s a process! I just keep working on them. I had to stop after 3 sessions due to some sensitivity issues–I didn’t want to chance an infection. I almost have my skin barrier in good shape again. 🙂For how far apart: I did 1.5 months to make sure I was completely healed and didn’t do any other invasive treatments in between. When I’ve looked online, dermatology offices seem to recommend 3-5 appointments every 4-6 weeks.Tag me your befores/afters with #livingplum on Instagram. I’d love to see! Good luck. 🙂 Reply Jennifer says February 1, 2022 at 9:15 am Hello, I’m wondering if you have any updated photos of this scar after working on it for so long. I have a similar scar I’m dying to get rid of. Please let me know!! Reply Michaell says February 21, 2022 at 4:47 pm I need to update pictures for sure! Until then, here’s the update:I haven’t done microneedling in about 1.5 years and I’m noticing that the color is less even now that I’ve gone through summer. The one thing I’m learning is to protect protect protect! Scars in the sun are really bad for the color. I talked to a nurse about that and she said you have to keep scars covered in the sun. My scars are about half the depth they were when I started, so I’m still definitely seeing progress, but I’m not done working on them either. Reply Fred says April 1, 2022 at 5:07 am Hi, great post. I also have scarring on my forehead and am curious what depth you chose for that area? Since the chart has conflicting info saying 0.5-1.0 mm for the forehead but 1.5-2.0 mm for acne scars Reply Michaell says April 1, 2022 at 2:14 pm Hi Fred — First off gotta do the disclaimer…I’m not a doctor. For your forehead, you would follow the regular forehead depth and in your scar, you’d go the acne depth. Personally, I go as deep as I can with my scars because I’m trying to break up the scar tissue so it’s not so deep. If you’ve never done microneedling before I always think its a good idea to go to a professional before trying on your own. That way you can see how long the professionals focus on an area (not very long) etc. Good luck! Reply Michele says August 14, 2022 at 6:54 am Great instructional post!! However, it’s missing a shopping list and an instructional “how to” print out. Both of those would’ve made it super easy for me to follow your regimen and purchase the exact products you recommend. Is there anyway you can update the post with both of these? Reply Michaell says October 2, 2022 at 4:32 pm Hi Michele! What a great idea! I added a shopping list, however, an instructional video still makes me a little nervous. Watch professionals do this procedure and follow the motions they do…I put a couple videos within the shopping list for watching. Reply Nienke says November 8, 2022 at 8:24 am Thank you so much for this article!I am an MD (surgical trainee) and my friend who is also an MD are considering buying the Dermapen 4 and doing the treatments on each other.After getting the treatment done professionally I know my skin reacts really well to it.Great to read that it’s not a problem to do this.Why did you decide against the derma pen 4? I see it’s used in many salons. Also; why did you stop the process? I understood 6 sessions with 2 weeks in between give best results.Thanks! Reply Michaell says November 8, 2022 at 9:40 pm Hi Nienke, You’re welcome. 🙂 If it’s the pen I think you’re talking about, it’s expensive and not readily available in the USA unless you’re licensed. Every pen that I found would not go deep enough for my particular scarring depth aside from the one I used. Can you provide a link for the derma pen 4 that people can buy in the US? I’d love for people to have more options. Reply Nienke says November 30, 2022 at 5:21 am Hi There!So I googled on derma pen and landed on a website in the Netherlands where you can buy it.You have to have a company registration for it though i think. https://dermapenbenelux.nl/dermapen-microneedling-pen/They do provide free courses when you buy it and it’s quite advanced technology, however expensive indeed.Curious if you did a dermal or epidermal treatment and which treatment scheme you chose? Reply Michaell says December 1, 2022 at 1:24 am Hi Nienke,This is great info. Thank you! If you’re asking how deep I went, I followed the chart I included in this post for each area. Reply Harj says February 5, 2023 at 7:00 pm Hi There. I have a derminator and a similar forehead scar. I’ve noticed that after going deep on my forehead – up to 2.5 mm, it has caused some hyperpigmentation. I was wondering if you noticed any hyperpigmentation? Reply Michaell says February 5, 2023 at 7:59 pm Hi Harj,Oh no! Sounds like your situation is a good example of why this is typically an in-office procedure. I have not personally had any hyperpigmentation, but I am very careful to space out my treatments and I watch the products I use before/during/after treatments. Basically my whole routine changes when I do microneedling. So far I’ve done 4 treatments and I’ve been taking a break ever since because I’ve been having some hormonal breakouts and extra sensitive skin. If you could share so we can figure out what happened…Can you share what your skin type and coloring is? For example, I know that dark skin can react quite differently than my pale/olive/dry skin. Also, what products/medications were you using before/during/after? How far apart were you doing your treatments? How many did you do? Were you doing the 2.5mm depth everywhere? or just inside the scar area? It’s possible you were going too deep in areas that didn’t need it. Was the hyperpigmentation within the scar? or elsewhere?Again, I can’t advise since I’m not a doctor, but I can give you my opinion on what may have happened. This is definitely a medical procedure so you have to be pretty careful…no retinols or peels will mix well while your skin is healing. Reply Harj says March 17, 2023 at 9:17 pm Hi Michaell, I have indian skin, so I believe that is why I had hyperpigmentation. It has lightened up a bit since I did my session. I wasn’t taking any specific medication/products during this time outside of general skincare. My treatments were definitely months apart, so I do not believe that was a factor. I’ve done 2 treatments so far, but about 4-5 months apart, maybe more? I tried to do the 2.5 mm depth just on the scar with the single needle, but I went just beyond the scar above as I had a bit of a dog-ear scar (the scar is from stitches so I was hoping going deep on the bumpy dog-ear would breakup the scar below). Anyways, I remain hopeful now that the hyperpigmentation has significantly decreased. I will try again with the single needle, but maybe just keep it to the scar area only with the deepest setting. For your scar did you go 2.5mm for the forehead chicken pox scar? Ironically, my stitch scar was from a chicken pox scar removal – the plastic surgeon thought the best way to treat it was to cut it out. I wish I knew about microneedling back then. 🙂 Reply