At home dermal rolling question

[pink butterfly 1,511]

I currently use a 0.2mm dermal roller on my face, neck, décolletage, tummy and arms once a week. Then once a month I use a 0.5mm dermal roller on these areas. I have been doing this for the past 4 months and I have noticed a reasonable difference in my skin..........bearing in mind I use Retinol A cream on my face at night. I am in my early forties.

My question is would it be safe for me to use a 0.75 mm dermal roller on these areas once a month? I am not from the beauty industry nor have any formal training. The last thing I wish to do is scar my skin.

[Elle Anderson 45]

Hi Pink Butterfly,

Paula Begoun is a leading expert on skin and has been in the skincare industry for over 35 years. Her website is my go-to for skincare advice, I trust her because she references actual scientific studies when writing about an ingredient or cosmetic procedure. Paula has formulated her own line of skincare (Paula's Choice), but she also talks about and recommends other brands. She has even written entire books devoted to reviewing other brands and discussing which ingredients are helpful to the skin and which are harmful.

I used to derma roll until I read about her ideas on derma rolling at home, basically it could do more harm than good:

"The major question we’re asked is whether or not at-home microneedling devices actually work. There’s just very little unbiased research showing positive results and the risk is what happens when you overuse the device, which is so easy to do. Repeatedly injuring the skin is a bad thing, even though you might not see it because it is below the skin surface, and the tendency with devices like this is if a little bit is good, then more must be better."

https://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/skincare-advice/basic-skin-care-tips/what-is-microneedling.html

On the Paula's Choice Facebook page:

"...there is no research proving that dermal rollers produce results better than lasers or what’s possible from using a well-formulated skin-care routine"

https://www.facebook.com/PaulasChoice.Inc/posts/10150910643454004

In another interview she gets a bit more heated on the subject:

"It’s damaging. Repeatedly wounding the skin does not generate collagen. It generates scar tissue. If you use it once a month, it may not give you an issue, but a lot of people are using it on a regular basis, using at-home kits. Over time, it ends up stiffening the skin. It does not give you supple, pliable, beautiful skin and it damages elastin. And elastin doesn’t rebuild. It is very hard, if not impossible, to rebuild elastin. Dermal rollers are terrible. They are physiologically bad for skin."

https://www.carolinehirons.com/2015/05/meeting-paula-begoun.html

I tend to take her word as gospel, but I recommend you do your own research too xx

 

[pink butterfly 1,511]

Thanks so much Elle.

[vlinder 603]

I also use her as my bible.