r/DIYmicroneedling

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance for Dermalogica’s PRO Pen Microneedling System as a Class II medical device.

This authorization enables the company to market and distribute the PRO Pen in the United States beginning in 2026.

“I am excited to have led the team responsible for FDA 510K Clearance of Dermalogica’s new PRO Pen Microneedling System. The updated design represents a true milestone in Dermalogica’s expansion into Medical Spas and follows closely behind our highly successful Exobooster LactobacillusExosome Treatment Serum. I want to thank our scientific team and our clinical partners at our parent company, Unilever (UL) for their support and guidance,” says Robert J. Bianchini, PhD, Vice President of Technology and Development at Dermalogica, in a news release.

Their IG post:

>Meet the next evolution of microneedling.

Our new FDA cleared Pro Pen takes skin treatments further, enhancing precision to support skin renewal, refine texture, and visibly reduce acne scarring.

And another:

>A milestone for the industry ✨ The PRO Pen Microneedling System is here!

Advancing safety, quality, and professional confidence in microneedling procedures, we’re proud to bring the industry our newest FDA cleared PRO Pen device while staying true to who we are at our core. A company deeply committed to skin health and to empowering the power and expertise of the professional.

The PRO Pen Microneedling System is a microneedling device and accessories intended to be used as a treatment to improve the appearance of facial acne scars in adults aged 22 years and older. Please refer to the PRO Pen Instructions for full safety information, indications, contraindications, and device performance details.

Simple explanation of how a provider does it. Thought seeing it might be helpful.

There's always lots of discussion on the topic of molecular weight and HA. Figured I'd share some resources on medical literature on low-molecular weight HA.

The purpose of this review was to explore the current science and utility of LMW-HA in clinical dermatology and provide an update on its use.

A PubMed search from 2003–2023 on LMW-HA was conducted to evaluate LMW-HA’s utility in clinical dermatology.

>Key Points

1. This paper provides a comprehensive review of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMW-HA) and its emerging role in dermatology. While hyaluronic acid’s utility is well-established across various medical fields, LMW-HA’s unique properties, such as its antimicrobial effects and ability to penetrate the skin more effectively than its high molecular weight counterpart, present new avenues for clinical applications.

2. This scoping review synthesises a wide array of small but significant studies that highlight LMW-HA’s potential in treating conditions such as wound healing, post-procedural care, and ageing, as well as its promise in cosmetic dermatology.

3. By providing an up-to-date exploration of LMW-HA’s dermatologic uses, this paper serves as a foundation for future research and underscores the importance of continued investigation into the safety and efficacy of LMW-HA. As dermatologists seek novel treatments for common and challenging skin conditions, LMW-HA offers an exciting, well-tolerated option that may improve both medical and aesthetic outcomes in certain conditions.

>Results: Identified applications of LMW-HA in medical dermatology included treatment of acute and chronic wounds, rosacea, scars, and seborrhoeic dermatitis. Cosmetic applications of LMW and hybrid HA included treatment of skin ageing, enlarged pores, and skin laxity, as well as enhancement of skin hydration. Topical LMW-HA administration promoted healing after cosmetic procedures, chemical peels, and ingrown toenail surgery. Studies of topical and oral LMW-HA demonstrated adequate safety, and newer techniques of administration, such as needleless jet injection, are available.

>Conclusion: Exploration and understanding of the properties and benefits of LMW-HA are key to translating its usage in the clinical setting. Basic scientists and dermatologists have achieved substantial progress over the past two decades, and several applications of LMW-HA in dermatology were identified. Additional advantages of LMW-HA are worth exploring.

Disclosure: Schlesinger is a consultant and/or investigator for Abbvie, Allergan (an Abbvie company), Galderma, L’Oreal, Senté, and HTL Biotechnology, outside of the submitted work. The other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Get Glowing Skincare is running a Memorial Day Sale, starting today!

21% off with code SCIENCEPLS

This lasts through the 27th.

Video is from Meamo Labs

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>All Hollywood stars seem to be talking about one molecule right now - NAD+.

>Why? Because the decline of NAD+ is directly linked to the aging process. This molecule plays a crucial role in cellular energy production, DNA repair, and tissue regeneration.

As we age, NAD+ levels naturally drop - leading to fatigue, dull skin, and reduced firmness.

Scientists, including Dr. David Sinclair from Harvard, describe NAD+ as a key factor in longevity. That’s why many public figures and biohackers reportedly include NAD+ infusions or injections in their routines.

Wanted to share some regenerative medicine news.

The company has multiple avenues of bioregeneration as well in wound healing, aesthetics, oral health, 3d bioprinting, and animal health!

I found out about them through their aesthetics news. Conexeu or CXU is being developed as a collagen-based ECM scaffold intended to help restore the missing structure and support a more restorative environment for the tissue.

More info can be found at Conexeu.com. and The press release is here.

>Important Notices (from the site)
All cited studies [1]–[11] are preclinical findings generated from in-vitro models, animal models, or both, and [12] preclinical company data. Animal physiology differs from human physiology, and these findings are not predictive of clinical performance or safety in humans. None of the cited studies evaluated CXU™ specifically in breast tissue reconstruction; the breast reconstruction program represents the design-intent application of the underlying CXU™platform, and supporting evidence in breast-specific preclinical models is being developed by the Company.

>Conexeu’s BIO-REGENERATIVE ERGONOMICALLY ARCHITECTED SMART TISSUE™ (B.R.E.A.S.T.™) is an investigational medical device candidate. Safety and effectiveness have not been established. It has not been submitted to or reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Limited by U.S. federal law to investigational use.

>CXU™ is a medical device candidate in preclinical development and is not cleared or approved for marketing in the United States or any other jurisdiction.

>IMPORTANT NOTICES: CXU™ is a medical device candidate in preclinical development. It has not been submitted to or reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Safety and effectiveness have not been established. See Forward-Looking Cautionary Statement.Terms such as 'next-generation,' 'advanced,' 'innovative,' and 'bioregenerative' reflect the Company's assessment of its technology relative to existing approaches and are not intended as representations of regulatory status, clinical performance, or guaranteed commercial outcomes. CXU™ is an investigational medical device candidate. Safety and effectiveness have not been established. See Forward-Looking Cautionary Statement.

Meamo has a tiered sale on Meamo Labs products.

Cart total $100+ is 10% off
Cart total $200+ is 15% off
Cart total $500+ is 20% off

And an additional 15% off with the subs code.

Sale lasts May 19th - 27th Korean Time. Code is SCIENCEPLS

This is a small but intriguing case report (published in 2025) suggesting that microneedling with topical 3% salmon PDRN may improve facial hyperpigmentation. It is not strong enough to establish efficacy, but it gives a reasonable rationale for larger controlled studies.

Sample size is only 2 people and there's no control group. That means no reliable estimate of effectiveness, no subgroup insight, and no way to separate treatment effect from natural fluctuation, lighting, skincare changes, sunscreen use, or regression to the mean. And microneedling alone can improve texture and PIH in some patients, so I wouldn't use this as evidence, but rather an indication of where research is being targeted and will go. And also preliminary research is interesting for developing protocols.

Study Protocol
The necessary equipment and materials for the MN procedure included face wash soap, a MN tool (Dr. Pen®), a microneedle cartridge with 12 needles, topical anesthetic cream (EMLA®), sterile water, a 0.9% sodium chloride solution, topical antibiotic (gentamicin 0.1% ointment), medical gloves, and PDRN Salmon 3% in a 1cc syringe.

A full face microneedling (MN) treatment was performed, followed by the application of PDRN Salmon 3%.

The treatment consisted of two sessions spaced 21 days apart, with a post-treatment evaluation conducted at 6 weeks from the baseline (3 weeks after last treatment).

Study Technique
Deeply cleanse and disinfect the face to prepare a clean face for the treatment. Apply numbing cream for 30-40 minutes. Disinfect the entire face using alcohol swabs. Adjust the needle depth (between 0.5mm to 1.5mm) based on the target area. PDRN Salmon 3% was applied to the skin surface. Glide the pen across the skin to create controlled micro injuries and enhance serum absorption. During the PDRN application, pinpoint bleeding may still be visible on the skin surface. Afterward, use sterile gauze soaked in a sodium chloride solution to compress the patient’s face for 15 minutes, followed by cleaning with more sterile gauze. Note: this is verbatim from the study, not medical advice. Sharing for educational entertainment purposes only.

Study After Care
After the procedure, the patient was advised to apply gentamicin 0.1% ointment twice daily for three days and apply SPF 50 PA ++++ sunscreen each morning. Additionally, the patient received maintenance instructions for facial hygiene, avoiding face rubbing during washing, refraining from using night cream, and protecting against direct sun exposure during outdoor activities (e.g., using an umbrella or hat).

Link to pdf is here.

NCTF ® 135 and NCTF ® 135 HA are injectable medical devices which bear the CE Mark (CE0297). This brand has decades of clinical research and published data behind them.

Each box contains: 5 x 3ml vials of NCTF® 135 HA

Hyaluronic acid concentration 5mg/ml.

Heyya

Posted months and months ago here about my database (2y old) and as its been a while a lot has changed what hasn't change is that it is still free, still no ads, still no monetization (AI tools require login and have limits) only to prevent abuse.

What's new: - 3 independent reviewers signed on (Marinov MD/PhD, Hakim MD at UTHealth Houston, Gdula-Argasinska PhD/DSc at Jagiellonian) to review compounds. Names + dates appear on the pages they reviewed and its ongoing (it will take time to do review of all compounds)

DopCheck - interaction checker. Add up to 4 compounds, get severity (severe / moderate / monitor / low) + mechanism + sources for each pair. Built specifically because going down the rabbit hole to figure out if a stack collides with an SSRI or addy was killing me too. lmao

New design - "Living Index" homepage with filters (category, evidence grade, sentiment, expert-reviewed-only). Easier to browse 500+ compounds without drowning. It also shows more studies, it tracks sentiment from users over time, its regularly updated, etc.

and other new tools...

Open to feedback lmk what feels missing, anything you want me to do next or overall any feedback/encourgment ❤️

https://www.dopamine.club/

Although this is a microneedling sub, I think skin health, aging, aesthetics, and regenerative medicine are all part of a larger picture. And the best results come from combined modalities. I will continue to share all things and everything microneedling, but wanted to also share parallel topics and related studies.

The paper says retinoic acid, the active retinoid signal, caused reversible changes in mouse skin. It decreased the fast-cycling epidermal compartment and expanded the slow-cycling compartment. It also says both stem cell populations were pushed toward differentiation, and some remaining fast-cycling clones biased toward the slow-cycling lineage. When the retinoid was discontinued, the skin reset to what it otherwise would have been. 

This video is from dr.beibei.dermatology on IG.

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>Stem cell or stem cell adjacent tech are all the rage in skincare, but actual skin stem cell research tells us that one of the most potent modulators of stem cell biology within bathroom cabinets is tretinoin (retinoic acid or ATRA). This study published in this months JIDJournal demonstrates how this works using lineage tracing experiments. Although this is not a human study, it provides key data regarding mammalian stem cell biology that informs our understanding of human skin.

I am almost 4 years out from having my second child and still have loose/crepey skin on my stomach which bothers me. I work out 5 days a week and in good shape but the skin on my stomach just continues to look like this. Will Morpheus or microneedling resolve this skin texture/laxity issue or is my only hope a surgical intervention? I'm not sure surgery would be worth it.

Sharing another guide from Dr. Pen. This is a microneedling depth guide from them.

Imo this is a fairly conservative guide. Most facial areas are kept at 0.25 – 0.5 mm, only the fuller cheek area goes up to 0.5 – 1.0 mm and the sensitive/high risk zones (eyes, nose, lips) stay very shallow. These depths appear designed for minimizing injury risk, reducing downtime, supporting mild collagen induction, and are safer use for a wide range of skin types.

The correct depth also depends heavily on needle sharpness/cartridge quality, speed/stamp technique, skin thickness, technique, treatment goal (collagen induction vs acne scars), etc. This is for educational content only and is not medical advice.

I'd imagine they are purposely being conservative because of the at home vs professional device territory. The FDA does not publish approved depth for home use, but the key cutoff from cosmetic to medical is over 0.3 mm. Over that becomes medical depths and professional territory. The FDA has also explicitly stated it has not authorized any microneedling medical devices for over the counter sale so they probably need to be cautious in marketing. Recommending higher depths that could be interpreted for personal use could raise flags on their product distribution.