What Are The Differences Between Dermapen & Derma Rollers?
Ever Wished you Made a Different Decision?
Have you ever heard of some disaster stories about ‘do it yourself’ at home Derma Roller treatments? Well, you’re not alone!
I can picture it now, rolling the Derma Roller over your face, cringing at every stroke not knowing if you’re actually doing it right. Did I clean my face properly? Is the needle depth appropriate for all areas of my face? What do I do about the bleeding? Is this reaction normal? What should I put on my face before and after? All these thoughts and apprehensions run through your mind as you take a second look after each stroke.
Skin needling has been a hot topic in the last ten years, however, did you know skin needling has been around since the Shang Dynasty (1600-110BCE) with traditional Chinese medicine practice of acupuncture?
The same principles apply now – Puncturing the skin to break down collagen cells to promote an immune response to quickly replace and rejuvenate fresh new collagen.
In choosing your micro needling method, cheaper isn’t necessarily better. A cheaper version such as salon Derma Roller or a take home Derma Roller is always an option but not one I would recommend as in some cases it may put your health at serious risk! Sounds dramatic I know, but the moment you pierce the skin it opens the door for opportunistic bacteria to get in and potentially can make you very ill.
Unsterilised items can expose you to all sorts of blood-borne diseases (e.g.Hep C, AIDS) and other nasties such as or Golden Staph (staphylococcus aureus). Trying to control a strong and successful pathogen such as Golden Staph is no easy feat, ask anyone who works in a hospital and they will tell you what a nightmare it is keeping it in check, it’s a daily battle.
So before any needling takes place, check the item is either disposable (single use) or they have a medical grade autoclave that is regularly tested by government health authorities. Simply washing the head of the Derma Roll is just not good enough and falls well short of acceptable hygienic clinical practices. The innovation of Dermapen® disposable needles has eliminated any contamination risk as one needle cartridge is used per client.
If you mention “autoclave” and the person gives you a vague look or if the disposable item is not unwrapped in front of you, or they work without disposable dressing packs & gloves, cancel your appointment and simply walk out. If you prefer to DIY, boiling the item is the only way to properly sterilise it, so check the recommendations from the manufacturing company.
Just because you do it at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow hygienic practices as most people carry Golden Staph in their nose and on their skin, a scary thought when you realise 200-400 Golden Staph deaths in Australia could be avoided each year from better practices. Skin needling is relatively safe but you can’t break these rules, they are in place for very good reasons.
Now that we have covered the importance of hygienic practices there are other things to consider…..
The pressure of the roller stoke requires considerable attention, too hard and you can rip your skin, too soft and your treatment outcome will be minimal. The Dermapen® technology uses 12 fine needles which vibrate at around 40 times per second cleanly gliding across the skin surface area without any risk of tearing.
Compared to Dermapen®, a Dermal Roller is quite painful, and any post-needling erythema and/or oedema tend to last about four days, creating unwanted (if somewhat minimal) downtime. The character of the micro-wounds seen with the Dermal Roller is much more traumatic to the skin; instead of a rapid vertical needle insertion and withdrawal, Dermal Rollers dig into the skin and create more of a tearing wound, and may be responsible for the longer downtime and a higher risk of infections.
The Dermapen® technology allows for consistent needle depth and speed, whereas the Derma Rollers requires the operator to apply pressure while using the roller, resulting in different treatment outcomes every time. No matter how experienced the clinician claim they are, they can never deliver the exact same pressure every time.
Hard to reach spots such as around the nose, eyes or upper lip can be treated with precision and correct needling depth with the Dermapen®. In comparison, the Derma Roller having a larger head with manual pressure application is no match.
So, when choosing your skin micro needling clinician, be sure to ask the right questions and make sure they tick all the boxes!
At Brunswick Health, not only do we use the world renowned technology of the Dermapen®, we only use organic products to further enhance your skin’s ability to repair and produce collagen, naturally. Applying synthetic and potentially toxic products directly into the puncture holes produced by skin needling is quite honestly not something we would do. We would prefer to not offer this treatment at all than offer it in a manner we consider substandard.
At your initial consultation, we do not just start needling like some other skin needling clinics who just want to make a quick dollar. We ensure your suitability to skin needling, screen for potential skin reactions by introducing a “spot check”, provide an honest evaluation of your skin and give you realistic expectations. We also advise on how to prepare for your skin type before your first treatment and offer ongoing aftercare support so you continue to benefit for many years.
We are so confident you will be delighted with our approach, we guarantee improvement to your skin after the first treatment. We will not take you on as a patient if we feel we can’t realistically achieve this. In some cases, skin needling is contraindicated or not appropriate at this particular time, so correct vetting on a case by case basis is critical for successful outcomes. You can be assured we say what we mean and we mean what we say!
