Microneedling aftercare: the first 72 hours and beyond

What's normal, treatment by treatment

Some redness, warmth and tightness is expected after any microneedling. How long it lasts depends on your treatment:

• Microneedling: redness like sunburn for 24 to 48 hours, and skin may feel rough for two to three days.
• SkinPen: pink to red skin, like mild sunburn, for 24 to 72 hours, and it may feel tight or dry for a few days.
• RF microneedling: more redness and swelling, usually for two to three days, and small grid marks may show for a day or two.

The first 24 hours

The tiny channels in your skin are still closing, so keep it clean, calm and protected:

• Leave off make-up.
• Wash your hands before touching your face, and touch it as little as you can.
• Cleanse gently with lukewarm water or the product your practitioner gives you, and pat dry with a clean towel.
• Use only the calming products your practitioner recommends.
• Stay out of the sun. Your practitioner will tell you when to start using your own SPF.
• Avoid exercise that makes you sweat, hot baths, saunas, steam rooms and swimming.
• Sleep on a fresh pillowcase.

Days two and three

Most redness fades over these days. Your skin may feel dry, tight or a little rough, and light flaking is normal:

• Keep to a gentle cleanser and a plain, soothing moisturiser.
• Make-up can usually go back on after 24 hours. Use clean brushes or sponges.
• Wear SPF 30 or higher every morning once your practitioner has said it's fine, and keep out of strong sun for at least 72 hours.
• Let dry or flaking skin shed on its own. Don't pick, scrub or peel it.
• Ease back into exercise once the redness has settled, and wait until your skin has calmed before swimming, saunas or steam rooms.

The first two weeks, and between sessions

Once the redness has gone, your skin is still repairing underneath, and collagen builds over weeks, not days. In that time:

• Wait until your practitioner says your skin is ready before going back to retinol, exfoliating acids or scrubs, often around a week.
• Avoid other facial treatments, waxing and fake tan on the area until your skin has fully settled.
• Keep up daily SPF, all year round.
• Keep your next appointment at the interval your practitioner recommends, usually four to six weeks for microneedling and RF microneedling, and about four weeks for SkinPen.

When to contact us

Please contact your clinic if you notice any of these:

• Redness, swelling or pain that's getting worse after the second or third day, rather than better.
• Skin that feels hot and increasingly sore, or yellow crusts, pus or weeping in the treated area.
• Clusters of small blisters or a cold sore, especially if you've had cold sores before.
• A rash, itching or hives, which could be a reaction to a product.
• Patches of skin that look darker than before, in the weeks after treatment.

If you feel unwell, and before your next session

If the treated skin becomes painful, hot and swollen, or you feel unwell with a high temperature, ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111, then let us know. On brown or black skin, redness can be harder to see, so go by heat, pain and swelling. In an emergency, call 999.

At each appointment, tell us if anything has changed: a new medicine, a recent cold sore, a tan, or any reaction after your last session. Your practitioner may suggest finishing some sessions with LED light therapy, which has no downtime. If you take or have recently taken prescription skin medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have an infection or active breakouts in the area, or have a history of keloid scarring, your practitioner may ask you to wait.