How to Micro Needle Your Face

Micro-needling is the process of pushing tiny little needles into your skin. You can do this on any part of your body. It's most effective for tightening the skin and improving the appearance of scars and cellulite. It might also improve sun damage over time. I had a small sun spot on my forehead that is almost gone now. It has taken almost a year of derma-rolling to rid myself of it, and I never intended this. It was just an added bonus.

The method is called derma-rolling. You can either visit a salon or do it yourself at home. If you are intending to try it yourself then be sure to do so with care. Don't start with the longest needle length. I advise a 0.5mm until your skin becomes used to the procedure.

Your skin will be red and sore for around 24 hrs after a derma-rolling session. Don't be alarmed, it will look better soon. If you can avoid using make-up for a while afterwards, then all the better. I usually derma-roll at night about 2 hours before I go to bed.

It's important that you change direction. Don't go over the same area more than 6 times in the same direction. Go in short vertical strokes, diagonal and the horizontal (in one area) this way, you are not puncturing the same bit of skin over and over in the same place.

Yes you can derma-roll your lips. It's a great way of encouraging new collagen to be made. You'll get a natural looking fuller lip without the injectables.

Don't rub anything other than a mild moisturiser into your lips after using your derma-roller in this area as the lips are very sensitive and prone to irritation, flaking and sores when treated too aggressively.

Don't freak out if this happens. It's best to start with a 0.5mm needle until you get used to the process. Move up to a 1mm after three months. With these lengths you will not be likely to draw blood and if you don then you are probably pressing too hard. You don't need to use too much force. All you want to do is to open up little channels so that your skin care products can be easily absorbed. Blood spots however, will not be visible the next day.

By causing minimal damage to your skin, you are forcing it to make collagen. As we age, our bodies do not make so much of it, hence the lack of elasticity.

Over time, your skin will become tighter and fine lines will be reduced. It stands to reason that tighter skin has less lines.

Micro-needling is an exceptionally effective treatment for stretch marks, which in effect are scar tissue. Use with exactly the technique on all areas of your body.

Again, the derma-roller is a great accessory for getting rid of this unsightly lumpy skin. I have it, lots of it!

A word of caution here: I am unable to use it on my legs and for some reason the skin here reacts very badly to trauma and it gets incredibly itchy and sore. I have tried twice but have since decided it's not worth all of the scratching!

When you have finished micro-needling you can apply your favourite skin care products. I am hard-core so I use my retin-a right after. This is not something I advise you do unless you have been using vitamin A for some time. My skin is used to it and it doesn't get irritated.

It's important to keep your skin moisturised if you are going to be using a derma-roller regularly. I say this because as the skin heals, it will flake and you might peel.

I don't mind this too much as I like seeing new skin appearing underneath. As I use my Retin-A after rolling I am almost guaranteed to peel. Make sure you exfoliate regularly to get rid of the dead skin cells and then use a very rich creamy moisturiser on derma-rolling days or nights.