Introduction:

In previous Mask of Vanity posts, I have discussed a dangerous skin care trend called, microneedling or dermarolling. Microneedling has gained popularity as a cosmetic treatment because consumers have been misled to believe it can improve skin texture, reduce wrinkles, and promote collagen production. This study, specifically found the opposite of the to be true: Microneedling worsened skin texture, caused inflammation, collagen breakdown and gave an aged and severely damaged appearance to human skin samples. 

Materials and Methods:

Human skin tissue samples of phototype II from a 38 year old female donor were obtained and divided into three groups: microneedled, water-treated control, and OUMERE-treated. The microneedling group was subjected to one microneedling treatment daily for seven days, while the water-treated control group was treated with water once per day. The OUMERE-treated group received a full regimen of No. 9 for exfoliation, UVR Concentrate Serum, The Advancement Serum Bioluminelle, and Eye Serum once per day. All samples were incubated at 42 degrees Celsius in tissue growth medium to keep them viable. After seven days, the tissue samples were fixed in bouins solution, dehydrated, and embedded in epoxy resin. The samples were then sectioned and observed under a microscope.

Results:

The microneedled samples showed severe damage to the tissue, including cellular damage and aging.  The samples also appeared inflamed and puffy, with a lack of firm shape. In contrast, the  OUMERE-treated sample had a good firm shape and showed no signs of damage.

The damage to the microneedled sample was so severe that I was not able to complete the experiment because the samples fell apart and would not embed for microscopy. The tissue samples decayed rapidly after one week indicating significant cellular death. 

Conclusion:

My findings show the severe aging and skin destructive effects of microneedling on the skin. In contrast to claims made by manufacturers and purveyors of microneedling, I found that microneedling caused a worsening of skin texture, inflammation, a loss of conformation in the skin which could indicate sagging in real-world applications and premature death of the skin, which represents rapid aging.

In previous Mask of Vanity articles, I have discussed that the concern with microneedling is the physical, mechanical force it imposes on the skin, specifically the puncturing into the skin cell, which tears down the collagen and elastin fibers and kills the nuclei of the cell. The result, I hypothesized previously, and supported with the above is a thinning, sagging of skin, rapid aging and skin disease. My findings show that microneedling is not a safe skin procedure, it is a highly dangerous one and should be avoided. Instead, it is best to use natural skin care to improve the skin and anti-age your appearance.