Hi folks,

I am someone who is yet to try skin needling for my indented acne scars and have spent a lot of time reading various topics on this forum and other internet sites over the past few days to try and educate myself on the subject.

It seems that some people have yielded some really good results from either derma rolling or derma stamping skin needling, if you will.

Now, it would seem to me that in order to maximise the results that you can achieve you should do other things in accordance with the skin needling process itself.

For example, the application of topicals, taking supplements, eating a diet rich in beneficial vitamins and nutrients etc.

So, I would like to call upon your experiences to find out what worked for you and what you would recommend. In other words, I am trying to separate the sound advice from all the misinformation that exists online as best I can.

I have come up with the following questions and have attempted to answer them myself based on what I have researched and read rather than my own experience. I would really appreciate your feedback as well as your own answers to the queries. Here we go:

1) What is your preferred weapon of choice? Derma roller or derma stamp?
From what I can make out, both essentially do the same thing but it seems to be a matter of preference. One isn't necessarily more effective than the other, although I have read that a dermastamp seems to be considered the safer of the two options with the downside that it can be more time consuming to use. (assuming you are treating large or multiple areas)

Is there is a specific model/brand that you particularly recommend?

2) How many times do you stamp/roll and how much pressure do you apply?
This is something I'm not too clear on. Using derma rolling as an example, I have read that you should go vertically, horizontally, and diagonally in both directions 5 times and yet on the box for the derma roller that I have it says you should do this 10 times. Not only that, I read on OwnDoc that you should NOT go horizontally, just vertically and horizontally and to make sure that you lift so that you dont end up putting the needles in the same holes over and over again. I can understand the logic of this, and am guessing that this is a good guide to follow. http://dermaroller.owndoc.com/dermaroller-instructions.pdf

As for how much pressure, I guess you can only penetrate as deep as what the needle length happens to be but I dont think we should be applying brute force should we? I read a recommendation somewhere of using medium pressure whatever that might be. I would interpret that as meaning dont be overly aggressive nor overly cautious. Some people probably think that if they dont see any blood then they cant be going deep enough but I dont think people should be reading too much into how much blood is on show. Some people will bleed (to varying degrees) and some people wont. From what I can gather, it isn't an indicator of how much gain you will get out of it. The bigger the needle, the bigger the likelihood of drawing blood however of course.

3) Has anyone had any experience of using a Dermapen?
My knowledge of this is sketchy but I understand it to be similar to a dermastamp but easier to use? Its more expensive I think but is it capable of substantially better results?

4) Are there substantial benefits of having the treatment done professionally rather than at home?
Assuming that anyone has had a procedure done in a clinic, can you attest to it yielding significantly better results than the DIY approach? Clearly it would be cheaper for us to perform it ourselves, but if you can afford a professional treatment or a series of them will it definitely be worth the money?

5)What should you apply to the skin immediately after needling? (if anything)
Anything you apply to you skin for x amount of time after you perform skin needling will be able to penetrate that much deeper than it usually would. For that reason, what do you recommend using during this window of opportunity?

The only thing I had in mind was the Vitamin C serum which seems to be recommended for application in accordance with skin needling. However, I am not sure that this is something that should be done right away or not. Indeed, I believe I read somewhere that you should use Vitamin C serum in the days leading up to skin needling and then wait at least a couple of days after needling before you resume daily application. Is this correct?

If so, is there anything at all that is recommended to be applied either in the direct aftermath or a few minutes/hours later? Or is it just about wiping away any blood and gently cleansing the treated area?

6) What is your daily skin care regime?
I am curious to know what peoples daily skin care regime is, and whether it is altered in any way based on any needling procedures you may perform on yourself.

This may or may not have a big impact on the results you can gain from skin needling but I am nevertheless interested to know which products people use and how often.

7) What is your diet?
What do you recommend eating/drinking and why? Please state the benefits. E.g. vitamin C content, Omega 3, anti-inflammatory properties etc. Do you strictly rule out certain foods or just make sure that you eat enough of the right stuff? Presumably known inflammatory foods should be avoided entirely or at least restricted to the very rare occasion.

8) Which supplements (if any) to you take?
Vitamin C tablets? Zinc? MSM? Things like that

9) How long should you wait between skin needling sessions?
The answer to this question is dependent on the length of the needles you use, I know but despite my best efforts I have come across a lot of contrasting information.

OwnDoc specifies the following recommendations, which they describe as conservative guidelines:

• 0.2 or 0.25 mm long needles can be used every second day on the same skin area
• 0.5 mm long needles can be used once or twice or three times a week on the same skin area
• 1.0 mm can be used every 10 to 14 days on the same skin area
• 1.5 mm can only be used once every three to four weeks on the same skin area
• 2.0 mm can only be used once every five weeks on the same skin area, and only if you have the knowledge to judge which part of the skin is thick enough to safely use this needle length

However, as someone who is contemplating going for a 1.5 mm needle length, I have read a recommended period of 4-6 weeks if not 8 weeks between treatments. For that reason, Id appreciate your input on recommended time-frames.

What I do know however, from what I've read on here and other places on the web way too many people are guilty of carrying out skin needling far too regularly. Skin needling sets off a process which needs to be allowed to run its course without interruption in order to have the desired effect. The micro-swelling that brings about a visible improved appearance in the immediate aftermath encourages people to roll/stamp more often. However, youre not doing yourself any good in the long-term by constantly resetting the process you have initiated.

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Thanks for reading this turned out a bit longer than I wanted but your feedback on any of the above will be much appreciated!

I will take on board your advice and apply it to my own protocol over the coming weeks and months and will keep you updated on my progress.

Many thanks,

Paul