I recently decided to hop on the skincare tool bandwagon by purchasing a microneedle roller! I first heard of this contraption about a decade ago when Michelle Phan, a beauty influencer pioneer, used it on her face and lips in a video. I’ll admit, ten-year-old me was kinda scared. I remember thinking to myself, “Why would she want to stab her face with a thousand little needles?!” Fast forward ten years later and there I was, willingly stabbing my face with a thousand little needles, and still kinda scared. But, to my delight, there was nothing scary about it and the results are pretty impressive!
So, what exactly is this face-stabbing device? It’s basically a mini paint roller with hundreds of little needles each at 0.25 millimeters depth, and you gently roll it over your skin. Sounds weird, I know. But, what makes this tool so appealing to people is the plethora of benefits it provides to the skin!
Here’s some of the science behind it. According to Harvard Medical School, microneedling punctures the skin just enough to create small “wounds”, which induces a healing reaction that triggers collagen and elastin production. This helps give the skin more strength, elasticity and smoothness; it even helps absorb products better! So many skin concerns can be treated with microneedling such as scarring, wrinkles, stretch marks, skin texture, and discoloration. You can even use microneedling on your body and your scalp as it stimulates hair growth as well! And the best part is that the needles are so tiny that the pain is little to none.
I decided to try out the ORA Facial Microneedle Roller System that I found at ULTA for no particular reason. I just wanted to see what it could do for my skin! I did have a few acne scars and some fine lines that I noticed on my face, so I chose to target those for this experiment. Almost every night for 2 weeks I used the microneedle roller on my face as part of my skincare routine.
First, I would wash my face and then disinfect the roller with alcohol. I went over my face and lips with the roller for the recommended amount but specifically focused on the few acne scars and areas with fine lines. Then, I followed with a gentle toner, serum, and moisturizer. I emphasize the word “gentle” because I used The Solution by Glossier, a chemical exfoliation toner, the first time I used the microneedle roller and boy, did that burn! It makes total sense though because you’re puncturing your skin thousands of times. I definitely didn’t think that one through!
After doing that for about 2 weeks, I gotta say my skin became a lot smoother and the acne scars are actually disappearing! As for the fine lines, I ought to give them a little more time. 2 weeks is a short timeframe, and like with any face product you can’t expect stellar results right away. But, I’m still really impressed with how my acne scars are fading. That being said, I’m very excited to continue using the microneedle roller and seeing how it could further improve my skin in the future!