The Derma Rolling at Home debate

Back in 2014, my mom had me try derma rolling (a.k.a. micro needling) in an esthetician office in San Gabriel, California. The name of the place escapes me, but I remember them saying that my deep acne scars required 1.5mm needles for their Bio Roller, which is what they called it back then. I tried it a few times with good results, but my skin is still not as smooth as I’d like.

Since then, derma rollers are everywhere and they are actually not expensive even for the stainless steel ones that are recommended for hygiene and sharpness. The titanium needles seem to be more widely used, but I think I will go with the hygienic option now that I know better.

Beauty By Earth, Microneedle Derma Roller, 0.25 MM Titanium Needles, 1 Roller

Earlier this year, I was asked to purchase a few items by Beauty By Earth to help promote the brand and one of them was this derma roller. It’s been a long time since I had derma rolling done professionally, and since then I’d tried microdermabrasion with okay results. Consistency is key in addressing my scars, which resulted from bad cystic acne through high school and college.

I’ve been a little hesitant to use my new derma roller, but seeing how many people have had great results from at home derma rolling has made me more interested in doing it regularly. So this week, I’ve started using it every other day and if I see positive results – I might go for the longer needles or even the stamp, which seems to be the more modern technology.

I had purchased a few less than sanitary home derma rollers from Marshalls and Amazon, but didn’t really get into using them due to laziness. Fortunately, I’ve done more research since then and now know that I should probably only use the ones that are pre-wrapped/sanitized or maybe the GloPro with red LED technology to stimulate collagen growth.

Some professionals still seem to think most people are too irresponsible or lazy to properly sterilize their equipment, which I admit was me with the previous products I’d picked up. However, after really exploring how successful results people have had specifically with acne scars, I felt it was worth researching and trying again.

I’ve tried derma rolling several times this week with the .25mm roller, and I know it’s not instant but it’s also not that painful. I’ve seen most websites say not to go over .5 or 1mm for the needle length of rollers, but very few have mentioned Derma Stamping, which I feel is what should be discussed. I watched a few videos comparing them and most said stamping was the way to go.

YouTube for derma rolling info!

However, some videos were disturbingly bloody and I would probably need the special numbing cream if I dared going for even a 1mm needle. Actually, not being a trained esthetician, I definitely want to avoid going over even .5mm. The 0.25mm roller is sort of a test to see if I can tolerate it and if I can get some good results.

One thing I know I don’t want to try is Derma Pen, which is like an automated stamp that definitely seems to cause bleeding and skin damage. Beauty can be painful, but it really shouldn’t be bloody, especially done at home. I would leave the blood letting to professionals and stick to safe needle lengths and manual tools.

My Conclusion: Do your research

Though there are inherent risks to microneedling your own skin, I think it’s actually not as bad or dangerous as some professionals might think. They profit from doing the work in office, so their financial gain is your loss and vice versa. I found one video of a dermatologist showing how to do derma rolling at home (though he was in his office) and it was refreshing to have a professional try to show people how to do it right than just assuming everyone has the money to have it done.