Does microneedling hurt?

I don’t want to put you off this brilliant treatment but… yes, it’s not the most comfortable, though the amount it hurts depends on how it’s done. There are two ways of microneedling – you can either have a spiky roller, or a motorised pen with an oscillating tip which zings in and out about a hundred times a second – so fast that your practitioner can glide it across the face.

The machine pens put the needles in and out and make holes straight up and down. The roller, by contrast, creates more of a V-shaped rip because it goes in at a different angle to the one it comes out at. It sounds awful, but some practitioners actually prefer this because it creates a more definite wound. 

Why microneedling is worth a bit of discomfort

While microneedling does hurt, there is a reason behind this and why practitioners aren’t all considered crazy for suggesting a course of this treatment. Microneedling creates a wound-healing response in the skin, which floods it with growth factors, and this kicks the skin’s production of complexion-freshening, skin-tightening collagen up a notch. This is the skin’s natural response to controlled injury, and the high standards of hygiene that practitioners adhere to when carrying this procedure out mean that it’s perfectly safe to make all these tiny wounds. 

The amount that microneedling hurts also depends on your practitioner’s lightness of touch, and how many passes of the microneedling device they do. Another thing that affects your pain levels is if you’re having a sensitive skin day. Being tired, being on your period (or just about to have it), or having had a drink the night before all factor into this. You also might find it more painful if it’s the first time you’ve done something like this and are more afraid of it.

Because of the pain microneedling can cause, practitioners use a numbing anaesthetic cream – they tend to apply a serious amount of this. So despite the pain that it does cause, microneedling sounds more painful than it actually is.