Are You Still Using a Dermaroller? You Might Regret it!
What is a dermaroller?
A dermaroller is an at home microneedling tool that is advertised to create tiny punctures within the skin to stimulate collagen production and skin repair. It is also said to help serums reach deeper layers of your skin. When using this tool you are supposed to roll it over your entire face, until you feel a tingling sensation or your skin becomes red. Once this is complete, you can apply your serums. The serums are supposed to reach deeper layers of your skin because the dermaroller created pathways in the epidermis. Sounds great right? Maybe at first glance, but let’s look a little deeper…
What is the downside to using a dermaroller?
What they don’t tell you is that this tool can actually have the opposite effect on your skin; decreasing collagen production and damaging the epidermis. This is because rather than creating precise punctures directly into the epidermis and dermis(as seen on the right), the dermaroller creates a hole into the dermis and makes an elongated tear in the dermis and epidermis (as seen
on the left). There is not much control when using a dermaroller because you are going over the same sections of your skin multiple times. This results in overlapping tears. These epidermal tears can create scar tissue.
Is scar tissue formation bad?
Part of scar tissue formation includes collagen being laid down in the dermal layers at an accelerated rate. This might sound good at first, but the scar tissue interferes with the scaffolding in which collagen adheres in the extracellular matrix. So, even though you are stimulating collagen, the microscopic scar tissue makes it almost impossible to adhere. Therefore, the collagen will simply be metabolized by your body and reduced significantly.
Other risks:
If the degradation of collagen and other essential proteins is not enough, this tool also poses the risk of bacterial and yeast infections. If the tool is not sterilized properly, it can harbor bacteria which can trigger breakouts and infections. However, even if the tool is sterilized before use, the tears can become infected if not closely cared for.
Is all microneedling detrimental?
No! Microneedling can have great benefits if the correct tool is used. Unfortunately, this is not an at home tool. If you want to receive this treatment without the damage, we recommend seeking a medical professional (Medical Spa, Physicians Office). Medical professionals will use a proper tool such as a dermapen, which punctures the dermal layer precisely to stimulate collagen production and smooth out skin texture. When this is paired with PRP, you will see more drastic changes in your skin. The PRP will boost collagen and elastin production even more in your skin.