Some of you may remember that I mentioned about derma rolling as a way to thicken your skin in an entry dated in June. The thing is, I’ve been hesitating if I should write about it because while derma rolling does induce collagen production and remove scars to a certain extent, the therapy isn’t for everybody. So do read my review and exercise discretion should you want to consider using this beauty tool.
What is derma rolling?
Derma rolling, also known as micro needling or skin needling is used to perform collagen induction therapy (CIT). It aims to stimulate the body’s own production of collagen by causing a minute injury to the dermis, which results in the start of the wound healing cascade – filling out depressed or pitted scars, reducing and smoothing stretch marks, and repairing wrinkles. To do this, you will need to use what is commonly known as a derma roller comprising a series of fine surgical steel micro-needles, which are used to puncture the skin and cause wounds and inflammation. If the procedure is done by a dermatologist, it is considered a minimally-invasive skin rejuvenation treatment because the roller used by doctors have longer needles, usually measuring 1.5mm in size that can penetrate the dermis layer. However, the same procedure can be done at home, using rollers with shorter needles, from 0.25mm to 0.5mm.
Why it interest me?
I’ve been interested in derma rolling since 2008 but was told by a dermatologist that I didn’t need it then. However, since having my acne breakout, I was grieved by the numerous scars on my face and it so happen that there was an opportunity for me to test it out for free at a workshop conducted by True Beauty. I’ll tell you that I actually took days to mull over the decision because whatever you might read on the Net, derma rolling is not a natural remedy. I mean, how can deliberately injuring your skin ever be natural right? But the scars were getting on my nerve and I decided to throw caution to the wind and went ahead to try it at the workshop.
What’s my first experience like?
So here’s me having my face rolled at the workshop with a derma roller that has 600 needles measuring 0.5mm. It’s not painful but it’s slightly uncomfortable as it felt like I had little ants biting my skin. The discomfort was more intense when the needles were being rolled on my forehead because of the thinner skin there. I had a mini facial prior to this because it was said that my face needed to be relaxed. After the rolling, I had a mask applied to my face and was told that I should apply a serum to help with the healing. My skin was slightly red after the session. I was also told not to apply any cream or oil but continue applying the serum for at least a day before resuming with my normal skin care routine. And because my skin would be quite raw and sensitive, it is important to apply sunscreen to my face too if I was out.
What’s the results for me like?
I was told that I should see visible improvement to my skin three days after the session and it was true. On the third day, my skin tone seemed better and I could feel that my skin looked more plumped up and by day five, my face actually looked quite radiant. The scars were still visible though and I didn’t see much improvement to them. However, my understanding is that it will likely take a few rolling sessions to improve them or get rid of them completely.
Why I decided to get myself a derma roller?
So bolstered by the positive results, I decided to get myself a derma roller. I was also encouraged by the reviews I read at the forum in Essential Day Spa. There’s a whole community of ladies rolling their faces, necks and even hands and they call themselves the dermarolling gals! And the truth is, it’s not that difficult to do it yourself really. All derma rollers come with specific instructions on how to divide your face into sub-divisions, for instance the forehead, nose, cheeks, mouth area, and neck area. You are to roll with the same amount of pressure on the skin throughout, vertically, horizontally and diagonally.
What derma roller did I get?
I combed the forums and found a few sources. Eventually, I purchased this MTS Skin Roller with 0.5mm needles and paid around S$150 for it excluding shipping. Unlike the one I tried at the workshop that comes with 600 needles, this one comes with 200 very fine stainless steel pins. However, it still works well for my face, but I had to rolled a bit more since it has lesser needles. If you want to seriously reduce your scars, I would say you’ll need a derma roller with longer needles. However, for home use, anything beyond 0.5mm is not encouraged, although the gals at Essential Day Spa seem to think otherwise.
What are the pros and cons?
But what I found best about derma rolling is that it allows maximum absorption of your skin care products. It is safe if you do it properly. The results are visible days later. However, the downside is that you have to be careful about what you apply to your face after rolling. I found that it’s best to apply serums that are in liquid form. Because your skin is punctured, applying a product that is oily or of thicker viscosity would mean your pores can easily get clogged. In addition, anything that is anti-inflammatory is considered counter productive to the healing process and would hinder the production of new skin cells. So products containing aloe vera for example, are not encouraged.
How does my skin look now?
I thought I’ll just show you all a before and after picture. All in all, I’ve rolled five times on my own. I’ve stopped rolling for over a month now and have just been relying on my skin care products instead. The reason I stopped is because while there is no downtime, I found it quite troublesome because I had to stop using my normal skin care products for a day or two. In addition, my face itched whenever I perspire so it’s actually best to stay indoors for at least a day after the rolling. My skin texture did improve and I have to say, I love it for helping my products penetrate better into the deeper skin layer. However, once I was not careful and used it on a new scar and actually caused a bit more problem to the scar.
Would I recommend?
If you ask me, I can’t say if I will recommend derma rolling. Susan of True Beauty offers it as a treatment to only some select customers with poor skin conditions and I would say the same. This is probably good for those with pitted acne marks and scars. If you want your scars to disappear quicker, the best is to get a qualified dermatologist to do the job. If you purchase a derma roller like me, it will take quite a while to see results. Even now, my scars are still there, just that they are not as visible.
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About Sesame Blog editor of Viva Woman, Sesame is a skin care addict who is fond of using natural & organic beauty products. She also enjoys ogling at handmade jewelry & cute stationery.
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This is new to me. I only heard of Gua Sha & the slimming roller for face.
Good that it is effective but i will never dare to do such rolling on my face. I got active pimples & i don think it is good to roll needles over that will spread the bacteria from tose pimples.
I am actually using Bio-brightening serum from Suki to help wif my acne scars problems..And it does help to fade them in a safe & natural way..
You’ll still need products to aid the healing process. So the active ingredients penetrate better and that’s why the healing is faster. I don’t think products can help my marks go away so quickly alone. But yes, you’re right too…that it shouldn’t be used on active pimples. I did it once, accidentally and it slight a slight mark,
i tend to be more paranoid about using such machines at home because although it’s not considered invasive compared to botox and fillers, you do afterall insert needles into the skin and i’m concerned about hygiene or whether i’ll be too heavy handed or whether i roll too often too hard over the same patch. if i were to do this, i prefer to leave it to the hands of professionals and dermatologists.
I had the same thoughts as you…leave it to the professionals but after having my face rolled once, I felt confident to do it myself. Even the one who did it for me actually said so too. It’s okay but you need to make sure everything is clean and sterilized. But like I said, it’s not for everyone. I was so surprised to read at the forums that the ladies are using 1.0mm to 1.5mm on their own!
whoa I’m really glad that you’ve had got results! Kinda envious but I’m still pretty scared! How do you sterilize and store after each session anyway?
I wash with clean water and sterilize with alcohol after each use. Sterilize the box as well. So each time, just make sure I wash my face clean before using. Some gals sterilize their faces even…I can’t bring myself to wipe alcohol on my skin!
I think it’s something like laser peel… basically remove the upper layer and induce new skin formation. But yes, there is definitely results there. =)
It does shed off dead skin cells on the upper layers but the inner healing is quite amazing as it “tricks” the skin into thinking it has been injured and stimulates the skin to produce more collagen.
Gosh the needles look painful to be rolled on the face.
Nah, not painful. Just slightly uncomfortable. It’s like being prick with fine pins. But the longer ones are supposedly quite painful and cause the skin to bleed in some instances.
Does it helps in lightening stretchmarks then? If it does, I want to buyand roll on my tummy
You might want to go on to the link I provided on Essential Day Spa forum to take a look at what the others are saying. My understanding is that for stretch marks, you need one with longer needles.
I would love to improve my pock marks and pimple scars, but I have a mental block to using that on my face. However short the needle is! Plus, I still have active pimple growth as well in sporadic places, so I think it’d just be aggravated.
The concept sounds good (i.e. tricking the skin) but it’s really the tool that I balk at… plus the fact that I’d be harming my skin.
I wouldn’t say harming your skin…but yes, it’s deliberating injuring it and then get it to heal. I would say the healing process is quite amazing. I noticed that my skin tone actually improved and some pigmentation marks lightened too. But it’s not a natural process so I am two minds about it.
If you have active pimples, I wouldn’t recommend. You’re right that it’ll aggravate.
Does it help in reducing pore size?
Yes, to an extent, from the collagen growth. That’s also why the pitted scars can close up more.
Thank you for sharing i never heard of this before. I use manuka essential oil to get rid of acne scars with a great success, however this derma roller can provide double benefit for my skin reducing acne scars and pore size. I want to give it a try!
Yes, it helps with product penetration very much. My only gripe is that you need to be careful what you use immediately afterwards so as not to get the pores clogged. So I try not to step out for a day as otherwise, I still need to use a sunscreen.
Btw, I’m so sorry I never responded to your email. I’m going to reply you soon.
wow such and improvement …umm i was just wondering did u put on anything after ? do u think its okay 2 put jojoba oil on my skin after ?
Immediately after, I only use a hydrating toner and a vitamin C serum that is water based. Don’t use any form of oil because that would clog the pores. I tried that and I had whiteheads afterwards.
Wow! That’s very daring of you to try this! Some online doc recommend this to me last year but I cant bring my guts to try. It only help to improve the scars, right? Bet can’t use while there’s still active pimples on the face.
Actually there is a host of other benefits…it can help with product penetration, skin pigmentation and even reduction of wrinkles. Not good to use when you have active pimples though.
Hie! I just recently started using the roller at home too.. M using 1mm for some pitted scars.. It’s great to know ur seeing improvements! I’m still unsure about how often we should roll.. What do u think? I roll pretty gently, no bleeding or anything.. And I use a vitamin e and hyaluronic acid cream..
Once a week and then when there is improvement, you probably can cut to twice a month and then once a month. You need time for the skin to heal in between so should not roll too often.
But I have no guts to try anything longer than 0.5mm.
oh by the way what toner and vitamin c serum do you use, if i may ask.. is it true vitamin c is not entirely safe?
I use an in-house range from a facial salon True Beauty. Why is vitamin C not safe? I know it’s not stable if not the formulation is not good enough and storage is poor as vitamin C will oxidize.
Yea something about it not being stable or the pH or something.. I’m not too sure, just read yours.. I have scars that are pretty similar to yours.. Slightly pitted.. Really hope i see some improvements..
I guess it depends on your skin type but from exoerience, vitamin C is the best when it comes to building collagen, minimizing scars and reducing pigmentation.
Is this something that needs to be done on the whole face equally or can you just concentrate on problem areas?
Also, could you say what sort of alcohol you use to clean the roller, anything in particular?
Thank you.
My understanding is that it’s best to roll the whole face so that the results would be more even. However, I concentrate a bit more rolling on the problem area…but not overdo it.
I use isopropyl alcohol to clean the roller. For me, I just rinse it with distill bottled water and then pour the alcohol over before leaving it to dry. For some pple I know, they actually soak the derma roller in the alcohol for about 5 mins or so. I don’t want to do that cos my case is not build to do that and I don’t like the idea of the roller coming into contact with a hard surface as that might damage the needles.
yeap I know vit c is key helping build collagen.. I just ordered a cream with vitamin e & c.. and a 0.5mm dermaroller, which I intend to use more frequently compared to the 1mm that I use once in 2 weeks.. if my scars can improve like yours, even just a little improvement.. i’d be really happy!
I’m curious though…what sort of results do you get with the 1mm one? I thought that would be better? When I visited the forum at Essential Day Spa, it seems the ladies are all talking about getting good results from using the 1mm or even 1.5mm ones.
I initially used the 1mm roller twice a week.. Coz I got the scientia dermaroller and its stated on their website you can use it up to 3 times a week.. But I felt my skin became kinda more uneven in a way when I use makeup, I guess coz it became very dry.. So I’ve been using it now about once or twice in 2 weeks.. And it’s been less than 2 months since I’ve been using it.. So I’m not sure that I see any results as yet.. i just feel I havent quite fit into a regime that suits my skin.. And i’ve been reading up alot and many ppl say they use the 0.25 or 0.5 up to 5 times a week.. and use 1 or 1.5 every month.. and they’ve seen really good results.. so im planning to try that now..
I read some of the comments from Essential Day Spa and from the pple at the workshop, it’s not good to roll too often. Maybe every 5 days is good or once a week cos our skin needs time to heal. Usually my face becomes red and slightly raw looking the 1st 2 days but looks normal by day 3. I usually notice it look radiant by day 5.
I personally feel it’s also the products you use afterwards. But this is the tricky part cos we’re not supposed to use stuff like aloe vera which are anti-inflammatory. So using active ingredients like vit C is good but they also shouldn’t be cream based cos it may cause pore clogging. That was why I stopped after rolling 6 times. At first I used some oil (being stubborn) but realized I did develop some whiteheads.
One ingredient that is good is beta glucan if you can get your hands on that. It contains EGF to promote healing and collagen growth. The pple at the workshop applied a serum containing that on me. But that stuff is also tricky cos some girls at EDS mentioned they developed bad whiteheads when they used over time. So I think it might be good to use it on the first two days after rolling.
i also bought this derma roller, but the color is in gold not like the one here. i bought it because i want to get rid of my flat scars on my buttokcs when i was infested with scabies when i was a kid, as in about 30 years ago. i was willing to be patient because i was so dying to get rid of these flat scars. unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. i have to stop using it because my buttocks got really itchy even after applying the lotion that came with the roller. i couldn’t stop myself from scratching. i tried several times, like i will wait a week before doing it again but the result is the same, very itchy skin.
The skin might be too thick and you may need a roller with longer needles. But you’ll also need to roll more frequently. The itching is normal as part of the healing process.
I was just wondering if I was using mine too often and what would happen if I did… I bought my dermaroller from Dr.Roller and got it about a week and a half ago. I purchased a 1.5. The instructions said I could roll up to 5X’s a week if I was not rolling aggressively. (1ce a week if you were.) I also bought their lotion which has C & E in it. So far I’ve been happy with it, but now I’m worried after reading some things that I’m doing it too often. I have been doing it every other day, and a couple times I did it the day after if my skin was not too irritated. My skin gets red when I do it, but usually the next day its much less red and a couple times it felt a little rough but nothing too bad. So have I done something that’s gonna do damage or is OK to use it that often? I am confused. (also – has anyone else had experience with that E & C lotion they sell? I don’t want to put it on if it is going to clog my pores – but it seems like a pretty awesome product so far.)
It’s best not to roll too frequently cos you need to let the skin heal. Suggesting to roll 5x is too much…I still think once a week is good enough and since yours is a 1.5, I actually think you might need to space out for a longer period.
The products to apply afterwards is tricky and that’s why I’ve stopped rolling for now.
Any idea if the dr-roller.com is a reliable website? I’m considering to buy from this site. Thanks
Any idea if http://www.dr-roller-shop is reliable to shop from? Their prices are not too low but they are the lowest I found for Dr.Roller rollers. Thanks.
No idea…some of these are reliable one time and then not the next…really can’t tell now.
Great post! Very thorough and informative. I’m a roller fan as well, and I believe that it’s one of the few at-home treatments that can make a truly make a visible, long-lasting difference in the skin. The coolest part is that it uses the body’s OWN mechanisms to create results. Gotta love it.
Yeah, I like the effects but I find the after care rather troublesome as you can’t use creams and oils. It’ll be good to take some time to rest at home for a few days.
H, glad that it works for you. I would also like to purchase the roller. May I check with you where and how much you bought the roller?
I got it from a local source in Singapore.
I would like to purchase one too but not sure where to buy one. Could you send me the address for it? (via email wld be fine too.)
Thanks!
Are you located in Singapore?
yes. I could only find them online but not sure if they are safe. Did you bought it from stores?
I did not get why we should not use Aloe vera after derma rolling?!
Would you please explain a little more?
thanks
Okay, this has been awhile…if I remember correctly, it’s cos rolling is supposed to trigger inflammation but aloe vera will reduce that effect so the results may not be as good as it should be.
Derma do work. For Home use it is normally 0.5m.
There is many ranges like 0.5mm 1mm 1.5mm and 2mm.
For serious old scars you 1.5mm or 2mm to do the job. Normal pimple scar like your 0.5mm would do the job. Your skins from the photo already show visible improvement. You could improve your treatment result wjen used with FIORE EGF SERUM. I got mine derma roller 0.5mm from them at S$50 only.
$50? Woah, that’s cheap!
I get it from the above website. It is same as the MTS roller.
I’ve been using olive oil as home remedy of acne scars. It really works and very comfortable especially night. It is safe and affordable. But I will try Derma roller during day because I feel excitement to have that.
Canjie last post is: exercising to get rid of stretch marks
Well, if your skin isn’t too bad, then the olive oil is a safer bet.
http://cheapestdermaroller.blogspot.com/
it is the same as the MTS roller .