Surely so many rollers out there, someone would know the answer?

Firstly, I don't advocate the use of rollers at home that are longer than 0.2mm in length but yes, the full length of the needle should enter your skin. How many needles does your roller have? More than 192? If so then I'd throw it in the bin. Too many needles means that you have to put extra force into rolling in order to get the needles to penetrate your skin. Think of a bed of nails; the more nails you lie on the less likely you are to be impaled by your weight.

Needles that are longer than 0.5mm cause pain and so your face should be completely numb before you treat yourself. You need to create a wound-healing response in your skin and you won't get that unless those needles penetrate to the depth required. Also, you should see blood and lots of it. Then for a few days after you should be red and your skin should feel a bit rough. All part of what is required to promote collagen.

I can't imagine ever attempting to treat myself at home. I see a trained professional who uses the genuine Dermaroller and not a copy product. I'm only sprouting this because I think it's so very important to do the right thing by our skin. We've suffered enough through acne and now the scars that we shouldn't take short-cuts. Consider having professional treatments instead but if you insist on doing it yourself please take care, if you use too much force you can cause more scarring. The lady I see for my treatments has had many people come to her to treat scarring caused by using inferior needling devices at home and/or needle lengths that were incorrect.

I wish you all the best. xx

Thanks for the advice, it's great to see another member from Australia. Do you mind recommending your dermatologist?

what you are describing with your dermaroller is normal. I buy mine from owndoc.com. I think the cheap or expensive ones listed are good.

I disagree with tricia, it isn't normal. The redness and the swelling is normal yes, but the needles should penetrate completely as 1.5mm is the depth you need to get to in order to stimulate collagen regrowth and to break up scars. If only the tip is penetrating then you might as well be rolling with a 0.5mm roller. You need to see blood, and you'll be hard pressed doing that with a 1.5mm roller without using numbing cream, because it's painful.

Home rollers should be no longer than 0.5mm in length and are only for product penetration and not collagen remodelling. Anything longer than 0.5mm needs to be done in sterile conditions by someone qualified. Don't take the gamble on your skin by using cheap, plastic rollers with inferior needles. They may look okay, but I'd never let one touch my skin.

Vincent, which state do you live in? I'm from NSW and would be happy to refer you to who I see. I have had three professional Dermarolling sessions and I am starting to get really excited about my results. It's been two weeks since my last treatment and my next treatment is in another 4 weeks. At this stage I'm looking at a total of 6 treatments but I'll see how I go.

i think the needles don't penetrate complately, max penetrate for 1 mm roller is .7mm ,and for 1.5mm is 1.3mm,so it depend on your pressure for roller,you must be careful, and if you want be aggressive, i think single needles more safer,sometimes i lost my hope with roller but after seeing results like that,i am feeling it's deserves attempt http://forums.owndoc.com/dermarolling-microneedling/6-month-update/

Pursuit, valid point, thank you. However if Vincent is rolling with 1.5mm and not generating pain/blood then he is unfortunately not going to see the results he's after.

In your opinion what makes single needles more safer? Would be interesting to hear your side.

I'm in VIC actually. Do you mind telling me how much it costs anyhow so I have an idea?

Well I hardly draw any blood, only occasional pin point bleeding. It is strange because there are also a lot of people who say dermarolling should not cause bleeding as well which causes some confusion to me. Although I think it is more common for bleeding to occur when done professionally.

Pin point bleeding is good. The reason you want to see blood is that it promotes collagen formation. Every time I have a Dermarolling session my technician is after more blood. The first session we didn't see much blood because the blood flow to my skin was so bad, the third session saw the most blood as my skin is becoming more healthy. When I say bleeding I am referring to pin point bleeding. It completely stops after about 10 minutes and then my skin is just red.

Having said that though, excessive bleeding is bad, and so is putting more pressure on your skin just to generate bleeding. This is why I will only trust my technician to do the treatment as they know exactly how much force to use. It is also why using needles longer than 0.5mm at home is so risky. My technician has been treating patients lately who have got scars that look like track marks; from attempting treatments at home.

I'm not saying that those who roll at home do not know what they're doing. But I am trying to stress the importance of knowing all the facts.

My sessions are not cheap, I won't lie. It is $800 a session but I can honestly say that it is money well spent. I'd say prices will differ. If you're interested in finding a trained technician then check out this link: http://genuinedermaroller.com.au/ Go to "Find a Clinic" and you can pop in your postcode to see what's close.

Thanks Fox! Yeah $800 seems a bit pricey but my scarring isn't too bad I think. Hopefully I just need a few treatments. I am still considering trying home rolling first though. How long is your downtime i.e. redness to the extent that everyone would think something happened to your face?

Although I get bleeding I am really just talking about 2-3 spots here and there (during my first treatment) but perhaps there will be more like you say in later treatments. The idea that the entire length (or close to) of the needle needs to penetrate the skin does freak me out a bit but I guess that's how it works!

Hehe, yeah it is a bit scary when you think about all those needles. For me, $800 is a bargain. I say that because in the past I have been treating my skin with Fraxel Re:Store sessions... at $1,700 per treatment!

In terms of downtime with the Dermaroller. Days 1 & 2 I'm very red but then my skin seems to heal really quickly after that. I have been having my treatments on a Friday and going back to work Monday with make-up on and nobody has ever asked me what attacked my face. Even when my face was red it wasn't a monster red... more like a sunburn. So I wasn't really worried about people seeing me anyway. There is a little bit of swelling but nothing really noticeable. With Fraxel my face was crusty and swollen and so very red, for two weeks!

If you have your heart set on home treatments then I wish you the best with it! You're more game than I am. Just two things though, how many needles are on your roller? Some people seem to think that more needles are better. This isn't the case. Just be careful if you're using a roller with more than 192 needles as more needles means you need to push harder to get the device to penetrate your skin. This is what my technician said was the cause of the track-mark scarring she's been seeing. Also, what products are you applying to your skin after rolling?

Keep us posted on your journey! xx