Do’s and Don’ts in Using Dermarollers: Practical Tips that you Should Know

Microneedling advice

Dermarolling therapy is now one of the most popular treatments used for skin rejuvenation, for anti-aging, removal of post-acne scarring, stretch marks and other skin condition. In just a short time, it has gained increased popularity and acceptance because it is safe, cheap, simple and effective technique. [1] A lot of celebrity fans have equated the younger looking skin of their favorite celebrity to dermarolling therapy. Thus, it is not surprising that it has become a household name.

When using dermarolling therapy, there are some dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind. This will serve as a guide for you to know how to properly use the device and to avoid any complications.

Generally, dermarollers are safe to use. Among the different treatment modality, dermarollers has the least number of side-effect and it has minimal downtime. But just like other treatment, you cannot do away with side-effects considering that every individual has different response when it comes to treatment.

Do visit your doctor for dermaroller treatment

Medical professionals are trained on how to properly use a dermarolling treatment. To avoid any complications, it is best to consult them first before having any treatment. They will assess if your skin is healthy enough to undergo the treatment.

There are certain skin conditions where a dermarolling treatment is contraindicated or not allowed to do so such as presence of:

Active Skin Infection
Open wounds
Rashes
Skin cancer

More so, you will be given advice on how to properly take care of your skin before and after the treatment. Your doctor will also prescribe you some antibiotic cream to prevent any infection. However, there are some people who want to have a do-it-yourself dermaroller treatment. If you want to do it by yourself, make sure that you know how to properly use it, how to sanitize the device, and you should not have any other contraindications in using the device.

Do follow your doctor’s advice

After the dermarolling therapy, you will be given instructions on how to take care of your skin. Your doctors will usually advice you to:

Use sunscreen or sun protector
Apply antibiotic cream on the treated area for three to four days
Avoid sun exposure
Avoid outdoor activities on the first 24 hours of treatment

Anyhow, you may return to your daily activities, a day after the treatment.

Do use it together with other serums for a more enhance effects

For best results, you may use dermarollers together with Vitamin C serum, collagen serum, anti-aging serum and many other topical agents for the skin. Dermarollers are ideal device to effectively deliver the serum deep into the skin layers for a more enhance effect.

Do observe proper sanitizing when using homecare dermarollers

If you opt to do-it-yourself, you should make sure that you sanitize the dermarollers every after use. You should clean it with a hot tap water and then shake it gently to dry.1 You may also use isopropyl alcohol to disinfect the device. Proper sanitizing is needed to ensure that your device will not be contaminated with any harmful bacteria.

Do not perform dermarolling therapy on open sores, on acne and any active skin infection

To keep yourself protected against the spread of infection, it is best not to perform dermarolling therapy if you have open sores, wounds, warts, herpes labialis, and other bacterial skin infection. It is best to wait for the skin lesion to heal, before undergoing therapy. By doing so, you are protecting yourself against the possible inflammatory response caused by the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms.

Dermarolling therapy is also contraindicated in the following conditions:

Active acne
Moderate to severe chronic eczema and psoriasis
Patients undergoing anticoagulant therapy
Blood dyscrasias
Extreme tendency for keloids
Patient undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy1

Don’t overdo the treatment

For you to get the most benefit from dermarolling therapy, you should allow your skin to heal completely. You should not overdo the treatment because the skin’s natural healing process doesn’t happen overnight. It usually takes weeks before you can see the visible result.

It also depends on your skin condition. More often than not, you have to have several dermarolling sessions before you can actually see the progress. On the positive side, the effect of dermarollers is long-term.

Remember, you should not use dermarollers on a daily basis. Wait for the redness to heal completely. Although, the micro holes closed immediately after the microneedling, you should still give your skin ample time to heal.

Don’t buy substandard dermarollers

When you are using homecare dermarollers make sure that you select good quality dermarollers. Like any other product, there are substandard classes of dermarollers. Make sure that you know what kind of brand is of made of quality material.

More so, substandard dermarollers may have brittle microneedles that may have the tendency to break when used. It is best to read journals and consult your dermatologist to know which brand is made of high quality materials. If you don’t want to have this trouble, you may opt to visit a dermatologist to perform this for you. They use medical dermarollers which are only used once for every treatment.

Following the dos and don’ts of dermarolling therapy will save you from trouble and other potential side-effect of the treatment. But generally, there are some individuals who do not experience any of the side effects mentioned here. It is a case to case basis.