SkinPen, RF or SQT: which microneedling is right for you?

How microneedling works

Fine needles create thousands of tiny channels in the skin. Your skin treats these as small injuries and starts its natural repair process, which encourages new collagen and elastin over the following weeks. That's why microneedling suits acne scarring, uneven texture, enlarged-looking pores, fine lines and stretch marks. It's also why results are gradual, not instant.

It isn't used over active acne or broken skin, and numbing cream goes on first for the needle-based options.

SkinPen: precise and medical-grade

SkinPen Precision is a medical microneedling pen made by Crown Aesthetics. Each treatment uses a new, sealed cartridge, the depth is set for each area, and the needles move at a constant speed. In 2018 the US Food and Drug Administration authorised it as the first microneedling device to improve the appearance of facial acne scars in adults aged 22 and over.

Our practitioners find one SkinPen session often does the work of around three standard sessions. Most clients start with three treatments about four weeks apart, and more established acne scarring can benefit from a six-treatment plan. Expect your skin to look pink, like mild sunburn, for one to three days. SkinPen is available at our Chichester, Petersfield and Bognor Regis clinics.

Standard microneedling: a gentler starting point

Our standard microneedling, also called collagen induction therapy, works in the same way, with fine needles followed by calming serums. Redness usually lasts 24 to 48 hours. For general skin improvement, three to four sessions are typical, or four to six for scars, spaced four to six weeks apart.

RF microneedling: adding warmth for firmness

RF microneedling delivers radiofrequency energy through the needles into the deeper layer of the skin. The added warmth is designed to tighten as well as stimulate collagen, so it's often chosen for laxity on the face, jowls and neck, as well as for scarring and texture. It's suitable for a wide range of skin tones.

You'll feel more than with standard microneedling, even with numbing cream. Redness and swelling usually last two to three days, with small grid marks for a day or two. Most people have three sessions, four to six weeks apart, and results develop over four to eight weeks.

SQT: no metal needles, more peeling

SQT Bio-Microneedling uses natural spicules from sponges, massaged into the skin, instead of metal needles. They keep working for around 72 hours, so your skin feels prickly and then peels noticeably for three to five days. It's often chosen for acne-prone skin, the look of acne scars and pigmentation, though not while acne is actively inflamed. For acne and scarring, four to six sessions two to four weeks apart are typical.

Who should wait, and a rough guide to choosing

Before any of these, avoid retinol and active skincare for a week, and stay out of the sun. Please tell us at your consultation if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, have active acne, a cold sore or infection in the area, a history of keloid scarring, or have taken prescription acne medication in the last six months.

Your practitioner will make the final recommendation, but as a starting point:

• Scarring, texture or pores, with little time off: SkinPen or standard microneedling.
• Texture plus some firmness on the face or neck: RF microneedling.
• Acne-prone skin, if you can plan around peeling: SQT.
• Stretch marks: SkinPen, standard or RF microneedling, especially on newer marks.