Microneedling at Home – My 8 Treatments Spanning 16 Months
I started my microneedling journey at home in January 2019, at the age of 37. My goal was to tackle some fine lines and wrinkles and see if microneedling was really worth the effort. I wanted to see if it worked and if it would deliver noticeable results. Since microneedling at depths of 0.5mm or more should only be done once a month, I averaged a treatment every two months.
By late April 2020, I had completed my 8th microneedling session. While I didn’t plan on conducting this experiment for such a long time, I made sure to take before and after photos to track my progress. The only adjustments I made to the photos involved resizing to get them to a similar size and small adjustments to the lighting to try to make the lighting similar. Below, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions, share the full details of my microneedling journey, and provide the before-and-after photos and video.
The video below will provide some extra details that might be helpful for you, as well as my history and more photos. Also, please subscribe to me on my Life&DIY Youtube channel if you haven’t yet. Lastly, my thoughts on the results are in the video, as well as below on the bottom of this post.
Updates! Here you can see my 10 years of anti-aging skincare treatment results and before & afters. Check out all of my skincare posts.
Other Procedures
For full disclosure – I did one TCA peel that wasn’t my super strong one but it was a decent one, between my 5th and 6th MN treatment. I didn’t mean to mess with this experiment but I happened to do one peel at that time. I think it could have possibly had a slight impact on the results but I am not sure. I did post on Reddit and Youtube recently with before and afters and the whole process of me doing a much stronger TCA peel at home and that did produce quite strong results. That peel was done after this experiment was over, so it had no impact on these results. I have that TCA peel full process & before and afters documented here if you want to see that. Besides that, someone asked about Retin A use, and I did start to use it once a week only a couple of weeks prior to my very last (8th) microneedling session. I don’t think that played a part in the results. I have never consistently used it.
Microneedling Before and After Photos
Microneedling Before & Afters & Results Photos. Also, the reason my after photos were taken two full months after my last treatment session was because I wanted to see if my skin would maintain the results. If I would have taken images a week or two after the last session, it would show my skin looking extra nice – as that tends to happen around that time after a session. So, I waited so that the skin could return to normal in a way and then I could get the after photos.
This post may contain affiliate links & if you purchase through them I will earn a small commission. I only promote products I believe in.
My Microneedling Supplies
If you go to the Life & DIY Amazon Shop here, you'll be taken to my list of a few products that I use when microneedling. Amazon no longer allows vendors to sell microneedling pens because at-home microneedling devices are facing restrictions due to an ongoing FDA microneedling pen review.
Microneedling Supplies on Temu
Options are currently limited, so if you want to stock up on microneedling supplies on Temu, you can get 30% off with my link and code: “acn120083.” They have great prices.
(The link to Temu is an affiliate link, so if you purchase through it I will earn a small commission at no cost to you. It helps support my content creation. Thank you!)
My Microneedling Results – My Impressions & Thoughts
The before photos speak for themselves! I was so used to seeing my own face that my skin issues were normal and not a big deal to me at the time – not even noticeable. I didn’t realize until my skin was improved, that my skin beforehand needed some work. I was absolutely shocked that microneedling broke up so much pigment and helped get rid of a lot of sunspots and hyperpigmentation, leaving my skin looking more even and also less red at times. I do recall early on in the experiment that I realized I could just stop wearing the little bit of foundation that I was used to wearing. My skin had looked so clear that I didn’t feel the need to wear it. In the video, I go over every little detail of the results, so I hope you check it out. For those reading here, I feel like the microneedling got rid of a lot of lines on my forehead, that it lessened to some extent some other lines on my face and my eye area lines are also diminished quite a lot. But, I think the most dramatic change is when I just step back and look at the photos side-by-side and my skin just looks a lot healthier and more even.
Disclaimer
If you ever decide to try microneedling at home, please do your own research, be prepared and be safe. Whatever you do is at your own risk.
What are your thoughts? Please share any comments or questions below!
There is most definitely a difference, you’re going in right direction that’s for sure. You’re looking better every month.
Your skin looks beautiful. The pore size has a noticeable difference. I love watching your before and afters.
Hey Holly, how often can you microneedle? and also, can you reuse your cartridges? If so, what’s the proper way to disinfect them?
Wow, girl! I love the results!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! You were one of the first blogs I founds on this topic and thank you for sending me to Penny, as well. Her info has helped me so much as I explore the world of skin care during pandemic times lol.
I am now a week and half out from my first mn experience and I am liking what I see, though it is early in the process. :D
You are a beautiful model and you have beautiful skin. I can’t but notice some differences in your before and afters besides the difference in your skin. For example, the whites of your eyes are brighter and whiter in your after shots. Your brows are thicker as is your eyeliner in your afters and your lovely hair is always down. Your nostrils appear smaller in your after shots as well, as you tip your face up ever so slightly for your “before” photos and tilt it down for your after photos. In the last close up the flash is so… Read more »
Curious if you think it’s ok to use emu oil after a microneedling session? I know it’s important to allow the inflammatory response to run its course but I’m curious why you are to avoid good skin care after micro needling… But with nano needling it’s best to get the best quality products on your skin that you can right away as the pores close within 20 minutes? How long would you wait after micro needling before putting a good quality/healing serum on your skin?