SkinPen Microneedling

How Microneedling Works

SkinPen Precision is the first microneedling device to receive FDA clearance and Health Canada licensing — a distinction that matters because it means the device has been through rigorous clinical testing for both safety and efficacy, not just marketed on promises.

The principle behind it is collagen induction therapy. SkinPen's 14 surgical-grade stainless steel needles oscillate at high speed, creating over 1,600 controlled micro-injuries per second as the device is guided across the skin. Each puncture penetrates the epidermis and reaches into the dermis — deep enough to trigger a genuine wound-healing response, but shallow enough to preserve the skin's overall architecture.

That healing response unfolds in three overlapping phases, the same three phases your body uses to heal a cut or scrape — just harnessed and directed at a clinical scale:

Ideal For...

• Uneven skin tone and pigmentation
• Fine lines and early signs of aging
• Acne scars and other textural irregularities
• Enlarged pores
• Dull or tired-looking skin
• Mild skin laxity and loss of firmness
• Stretch marks
• Overall skin quality and collagen renewal

Treatment Areas

• Surgical scars
• Acne scarring on the body
• Face
• Neck
• Décolletage
• Hands
• Abdomen
• Arms
• Back
• Thighs
• Knees
• Buttocks

The everyday analogy: think of aerating a lawn. You're creating small, controlled punctures across the surface, which stimulates stronger, healthier growth from the root system up. The lawn doesn't look great the afternoon you aerate it. But six weeks later, it's denser, greener, and more resilient than it was before because you triggered the biology that was already there, waiting to work.

Histological studies show that a series of microneedling treatments can increase collagen and elastin deposition by up to 400% over six months. That's not a topical serum sitting on the surface — that's structural change happening in the dermis.

Skin Rejuvenation

Skin Rejuvenation is SkinPen at its most versatile, a general treatment designed to improve overall skin quality, texture, tone, and firmness.

As skin ages, collagen production slows. By your mid-twenties, you're already losing roughly 1% of your dermal collagen per year. Over time, this manifests as fine lines, loss of firmness, enlarged pores, dull texture, and uneven tone. Sun exposure, environmental stress, and hormonal shifts accelerate the process.
A SkinPen rejuvenation treatment directly counteracts this decline by forcing the skin to produce new collagen and elastin in response to controlled micro-injuries. It's not masking the signs of aging with a topical product — it's rebuilding the structural scaffolding that gives skin its firmness from the inside out.
Most clients see visible improvements in skin texture and radiance within two to four weeks of their first treatment, with continued improvement over the following months as collagen remodelling progresses. For optimal results, we recommend a series of three treatments spaced four to six weeks apart, followed by maintenance sessions two to four times per year depending on your skin's needs and goals.
Best for: Fine lines and early wrinkles, dull or uneven skin texture, enlarged pores, loss of firmness and elasticity, general skin health maintenance, anyone looking for a non-thermal, collagen-building treatment.

Scar Reduction

Scarring, whether from acne, surgery, or injury, represents an area where the skin's healing process didn't produce collagen in the normal, organized pattern. Instead of the smooth, basket-weave arrangement of healthy collagen, scar tissue is laid down in dense, parallel bundles that create visible depressions (atrophic scars) or raised ridges (hypertrophic scars).

SkinPen addresses scarring at the structural level. The needles break through the disorganized scar tissue and trigger a fresh wound-healing cascade in the scarred area. As new collagen is deposited through the proliferation and remodelling phases, it gradually replaces the rigid, haphazard scar tissue with more normally organized collagen fibres. Atrophic scars fill in as new dermal tissue builds beneath them. Hypertrophic scars soften as the old, dense collagen is broken down and remodelled into a healthier architecture.

This is particularly relevant for acne scarring. The three main types of atrophic acne scars — rolling scars (broad, wave-like depressions), boxcar scars (wider depressions with defined edges), and ice pick scars (narrow, deep pits) — all respond to microneedling, though rolling and boxcar scars tend to show the most dramatic improvement. Clinical trials have reported that the majority of patients experience a measurable improvement in scar severity after a treatment series, with results continuing to improve for months afterward as collagen remodelling matures.

Importantly, because SkinPen works mechanically rather than with heat or light, it's a strong option for scar treatment in darker skin types where laser-based approaches carry a risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation — a concern that can sometimes make the scarring look worse rather than better. Microneedling carries a very low risk of pigmentation changes, which is why it's increasingly used as a first-line treatment for acne scars across all skin types.

For deeper or more established scars, we may recommend adding PRP (platelet-rich plasma) to the treatment to amplify the healing response — more on that below.

Series recommendation: Three to six treatments spaced four to six weeks apart, depending on scar depth and type. Deeper scarring typically requires more sessions at greater needle depth.

Best for: Acne scars (rolling, boxcar, shallow ice pick), surgical scars, post-traumatic scars, textural irregularities from past skin conditions.

Melasma Treatment

Melasma is one of the most stubborn pigmentation conditions in dermatology. It appears as irregular, brown-to-grey patches - most commonly across the forehead, cheeks, upper lip, and bridge of the nose - and it's driven by a complex mix of hormonal influence, UV exposure, and structural changes in the dermis that make the skin more susceptible to producing excess melanin.

What makes melasma so difficult to manage is that many of the treatments that work well for other pigmentation concerns - IPL, BBL, and certain lasers - can actually trigger a flare in melasma.

The heat energy that breaks up pigment in sun spots can stimulate melanocytes in melasma-prone skin to produce even more pigment, creating a frustrating cycle where the treatment makes the problem worse.

This is where microneedling offers a meaningful advantage.

SkinPen works mechanically, not thermally. There's no heat, no light energy, and no risk of stimulating melanocytes through thermal exposure. Instead, microneedling improves melasma through two pathways.

First, the micro-injuries trigger a remodelling response in the dermis — the deeper layer where much of melasma's underlying pathology lives. Research suggests that melasma isn't just an epidermal pigment problem; it involves structural changes in the dermis including increased vascularity, solar elastosis (sun-damaged elastic tissue), and altered interactions between dermal cells and the melanocytes above them. By stimulating dermal remodelling and new collagen formation, microneedling addresses the condition at a deeper level than surface-focused treatments.

Second, the microchannels created during treatment dramatically improve the penetration and absorption of topical depigmenting agents. Products like tranexamic acid, vitamin C, and other brightening actives that would normally sit on the stratum corneum can be delivered directly into the epidermis and upper dermis where melanocyte activity is occurring — increasing their effectiveness substantially.

Systematic reviews of microneedling for melasma have found that the treatment is both effective and well-tolerated, with a notably low risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation compared to energy-based alternatives. The best results are typically seen when microneedling is combined with a comprehensive approach that includes medical-grade topicals and rigorous sun protection.

If you've been told to avoid BBL or IPL because of melasma, SkinPen microneedling gives us a safe, effective way to treat your pigmentation without the risk of heat-triggered flares.

Series recommendation: Three to five treatments spaced four to six weeks apart, combined with a medical-grade brightening protocol and daily SPF. Maintenance sessions may be recommended seasonally.

Best for: Melasma (epidermal, dermal, and mixed types), hormone-related pigmentation, clients who cannot use IPL or BBL for pigmentation treatment, stubborn hyperpigmentation that hasn't responded to topical-only approaches.

Hair Restoration

Hair thinning and loss affect both men and women and can be one of the most emotionally distressing aesthetic concerns clients bring to us. While the causes are varied - genetics, hormonal shifts, stress, nutritional deficiencies, aging - the underlying mechanism often comes down to the same thing: hair follicles are shrinking, spending less time in the active growth phase (anagen), and producing thinner, weaker strands until they eventually stop producing visible hair altogether.

SkinPen microneedling on the scalp works through the same wound-healing mechanism it uses on the face, but targeted at follicle biology. The controlled micro-injuries stimulate blood flow and growth factor release directly around the hair follicles. This improved nutrient and oxygen delivery, combined with the cascade of cytokines and growth factors triggered by the healing response, can reactivate follicles that have shifted into the resting phase (telogen) and encourage them back into active growth.

For scalp treatments, we combine microneedling with:

1) PRP (platelet rich plasma from your own blood) OR

2) Topical exosomes 

Early clinical evidence is encouraging. Studies show that microneedling combined with growth factor therapies can increase terminal hair count, improve hair density and thickness, and reduce shedding. Results typically become visible within three to six months, as the hair cycle is a slow biological process — new growth needs time to emerge and mature.

Series recommendation: Three treatments spaced four to six weeks apart, with results assessed at three and six months. Maintenance sessions may be recommended every three to six months depending on the underlying cause and progression of hair loss.

Best for: Early-stage male and female pattern hair thinning, diffuse hair thinning, thinning related to hormonal changes or stress, anyone looking for a non-surgical approach to hair restoration.

SkinPen microneedling is effective on its own, but for clients who want to amplify their results, we offer three powerful biological add-ons..

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

PRP is exactly what it sounds like — a concentrated preparation of your own platelets, separated from a small blood sample drawn at the beginning of your appointment.

Here's how it works: we draw a small vial of blood, place it in a centrifuge, and spin it at high speed to separate the blood into its component layers. The platelet-rich layer — which contains a concentrated dose of growth factors, cytokines, and healing proteins — is extracted and applied to the skin immediately after microneedling. The microchannels created by SkinPen allow the PRP to penetrate deep into the dermis, where its growth factors go to work accelerating the healing response that microneedling has already initiated.

The key growth factors in PRP include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), which stimulates cell replication and tissue repair; transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), which drives collagen production; and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes new blood vessel formation. Together, these create a concentrated healing signal that amplifies every phase of the wound-healing cascade.

The analogy: microneedling plants the seeds. PRP is the fertilizer — it doesn't change what's being grown, but it accelerates and strengthens the process considerably.
Because PRP is derived from your own blood, there's virtually no risk of allergic reaction or rejection. It's your body's own healing biology, concentrated and redirected to where it can do the most good.

PRP is available as an add-on for: Hair restoration, skin rejuvenation, scar reduction, and melasma treatment.

Exosomes

Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles — tiny biological packets secreted by stem cells — that carry growth factors, signaling proteins, peptides, amino acids, and anti-inflammatory molecules. They function as cellular messengers, delivering regenerative instructions from one cell to another.

When applied to the skin or scalp, exosomes signal dormant cells to activate, instruct fibroblasts to produce collagen, reduce inflammation, and promote cellular turnover. In the scalp, they send signals that can shift hair follicles from the resting phase back into active growth.

Where PRP relies on the growth factors in your own blood (which naturally decline with age), exosomes provide a consistent, potent concentration of regenerative signals regardless of your age or health status. This makes them a particularly attractive option for clients over 40 or those whose healing capacity may be reduced.

Exosomes are available for: Hair restoration treatments, skin rejuvenation and scar reduction.

Every SkinPen treatment at our clinic is performed under medical oversight by trained professionals using the genuine SkinPen Precision device with single-use sterile cartridges. We don't use knock-off devices or reusable needle heads.

Your treatment plan begins with a thorough consultation, and if appropriate, a Visia Skin Analysis to establish your baseline and identify the specific concerns we're targeting. Every session is documented in your secure client chart so we can track your progress objectively and adjust your protocol as your skin responds.

Whether you're here for skin rejuvenation, scar reduction, melasma management, or hair restoration, the goal is the same: trigger your body's own repair mechanisms with precision, safety, and a clear plan for lasting results.

Ready to find out what SkinPen can do for your skin? Book a consultation and session and let's build your treatment plan.