Microneedling Preparation: 5 Must-Dos Before Your Microneedling Treatment
You’ve just got a new microneedling pen and a new cartridge, and now you are ready for your first microneedling session. Or, you plan to restart your microneedling routine after a long time because your skin needs that little TLC.
Chances are, you will need a handy guide to help you with what to do before you begin the microneedling session.
When doing microneedling there are a few important things to be paid attention to. This is to ensure the safety of your treatment, maximise microneedling’s benefits and its effectiveness.
If this sounds like you, you can make the most out of your microneedling treatment by following the microneedling preparation to-do list below.
- Prepare your skin for microneedling treatment
Before your microneedling treatment, you must prepare your skin and make sure that it's in the most optimal state. Being in the “most optimal state” means that your skin is ready for the microneedling treatment.
Avoid certain skincare products
Microneedling treatment creates tiny punctures in the skin, so you may need to stop the use of certain skincare products such as; retinoids, acid-based skincare, and topical exfoliants from three days to a week before the microneedling session. This is to avoid skin irritation, inflammation, overdrying skin, and to reduce sensitivity.
Avoid sun exposure & hair removal treatments
Avoid any direct sun exposure to the skin for at least 24 hours prior – or where sun exposure is unavoidable wear a highly effective sunscreen. Prolonged sun exposure may cause skin irritation during treatment. If you are treating your body area, avoid shaving, waxing, or laser hair removal treatment on the areas of concern in the week leading up to your microneedling treatment.
Guidance on blood-thinning medications
The use of microneedles causes injuries that trigger the body's healing response to inflammation. Taking anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen and Advil can impact this natural process by keeping the body in an anti-inflammatory state. For microneedling and skin rejuvenation, inflammation is a necessary and important response that ultimately leads to rejuvenated skin. It's recommended to refrain from taking these medications for at least three days prior to your treatment. However, please seek professional guidance from a healthcare professional before stopping medication.
Microneedling contraindications
It’s important to avoid microneedling if you have active acne, skin infection, or breakout. This also includes hives, cold sores, psoriasis, or eczema. Otherwise, you risk spreading infections or causing further inflammatory responses to the area of treatment.
- Prepare all the equipment needed
Prepare your Dr. Pen Microneedling device, and ensure it’s fully charged. Prepare the microneedling cartridge of choice to treat your current skin concerns.
Do not forget to bring accessories such as gloves, hair ties, containers, numbing cream (optional), 70% or above isopropyl alcohol solution, serum and clean towel(s) are available.
Choose a suitable and clean workstation to do your microneedling treatment. Sanitise your workstation prior to avoid dust and dirt going into your device and area of treatment during microneedling.
- Make sure the microneedling tool is sterilised
Take extra precautions to start the microneedling session. Prepare an alcohol solution to sterilise your microneedling cartridge. Let the microneedling cartridge soak in the isopropyl alcohol solution or spray the alcohol solution on the needle head for a couple of minutes before you begin. Give a couple of minutes to let it air dry before use. This step is to ensure maximum safety and prevent infection from cross-contamination. Read our Dr. Pen guide on how to sterilise your microneedling cartridge correctly.
- Double cleanse before the treatment
When microneedling, not only should you have a clean, sterile device, but your skin needs to be clean too. Double-cleanse with a gentle pH-based cleanser and a gentle silicone brush <link> to avoid irritating your skin. Don’t forget to use a hair tie or headband to get your hair out of the way as well.
Alternatively, if you choose to use numbing cream for your microneedling treatment. You can apply the numbing cream after you double cleanse. Leave on the cream for 20 minutes then thoroughly remove the cream. Once you’ve removed the cream, cleanse the skin again using 60% alcohol and purified water.
- Use Hyaluronic Acid Serum
Before you start needling your skin, apply enough hydrating serum on the area of concern. This is to help lubricate the skin and ensure the pen glides across the skin while maximising the benefit of microneedling treatment.
Use serums such as Hyaluronic Acid serum, peptides, ceramides, or EGF for microneedling. For example, Femvy Hyaluronic Acid serum is loved by many Dr. Pen's users, due to the formula and its high molecular weight.
Do not use a serum with active ingredients for microneedling, such as vitamin c serum.
With the ‘preparation before microneedling to-do list’ above, you are now one treatment away from achieving smoother, firmer skin.
While you may feel and see results with just one session, doing microneedling consistently is still key to achieving your skin goals. When microneedling, we recommend waiting 4-6 weeks between sessions to allow your skin/dermis to heal fully and reap the microneedling benefits.
If you don’t have a microneedling pen yet and you are here tempted looking at how microneedling can be done at home, you can browse our Dr. Pen microneedling pen collection at drpen.com.au. Need to stock up on microneedling cartridges? Head to Dr. Pen microneedling cartridges collection.
