I am pretty nervous about posting this blog post, actually very hesitant to share these pictures. I changed my mind about sharing the pictures about 50 times and settled with not sharing them. But I had to remind myself that this was my point of starting a blog, sharing honest progress photos along with skincare products I test. Whether it be to be helpful to people with acne scars, ladies who suffer from PCOS, anyone who has lived with blemish prone skin or beauties who want to know more about certain skincare products before splashing the cash that was my vision for starting this blog.
These are my up close & personal before, after and the morning after of my Derminator treatment. These pictures leave no flaw hidden. Actually, I have left them untouched other than bringing up the brightness. Yes I have horrible skin and it’s very problematic, it’s work in the progress. Yes, I have facial hair, lots of it actually, that really I should’ve thought about removing before I took these pictures but this is something I struggle with because of my PCOS. I could’ve photoshopped my facial hair out but I wanted to leave these as untouched as possible so you can see my real and true results.
For the longest time, I was in two minds about purchasing an at home derma needling tool. I had seen, read and heard of the amazing results people have had by doing derma needling but when it comes to anything that may make me bleed I don’t trust myself not to faint at the sight of a red blood dot.
That and the fact that if I use the derma needling in a wrong way I could 1. cause some permanent damage to my skin; 2. spend loads on going to a specialist to try to fix my mistakes or; 3. decide it’s too painful and never use it again. Option three is more likely since it’s a bit of my MO and my husband is extremely familiar with this. Being the amazing man he is, he never reminds me of those times, he’s always like cool let me check out what you’ve done.
When I make up my mind to do something I tend to go all in, there is no in between it’s either I jump in with both feet or nothing at all. It makes no sense but that’s how I roll. Come to think of it, that may also explain the reasons for my skincare stash.
So why did I decide to go for an electronic device rather than a handheld version I could control more manually and be able to take breaks if needed? Well, that answer has a lot to do with me going all in. With the electronic version, I can’t chicken out as quickly. Plus this was highly recommended by some beauties on Instagram. Instagram is my go to place for information, there are ladies and gentlemen that are way more knowledgeable than I am and share their personal experiences.
Before I got started my procedure I did a gentle double cleanse to make sure all the gunk was gone before I started to needling my face. For the first cleanse I used Neogen’s Calendula Cleansing water and then followed it up with Natio’s Gentle Foaming Cleanser, no Forero or Clarisonic use. I didn’t use a towel to dry my skin, I gently patted my face and let air dry as I set everything up.
Worth noting, I didn’t use any acids or any heavy hitting skincare products for about 5 days before.
My skin was pretty red and felt a little warm after, but I did not have any bleeding, which I was expecting. Now, I didn’t use any numbing cream, I have heard of people using a numbing cream before doing a derma needling session. Maybe in future I will but I’m nowhere near that stage yet.
The areas I avoided were my nose, my lip line and below my jawline. Maybe after using it another few times I may try to go a little lower since I do have some scarring below my jawline from past cystic acne.
I had a small cluster of breakouts on my left cheek area so I avoided going directly into that area and instead went around it. If memory serves me right, I believe I might have read somewhere not to derma needle any breakout spots.
After I completed my session I rinsed my face with warm water and again let it air dry to avoid any cross contamination from a towel or washcloth.
Once my skin was dry I spread a layer of Infadolan (pictured below) on my face. This product is an ointment that helps accelerate wound healing, You can find more information about this from OwnDoc’s website.
After the Infadolan was applied it felt really soothing on my skin, I left it on for about 30 minutes before applying the Elions Cosmeceuticals Copper Peptide Intensive Mask (sheet mask).
This mask felt so incredibly nice on my skin after the derma needling session. My skin felt a little warm but after applying this sheet mask it felt cooling and refreshing on my face.
The mask was soaked in essence and had loads left in the pouch to apply after you remove the mask. It didn’t have a scent and the material is very soft and fits beautifully on my huge face!
The sheet mask has the eye covers that you can apply over your eyes for an extra treatment. I didn’t apply them because I was reading a book while I had this on, but none the less it’s there if you want that extra care.
Happy Skincare Over The Moon moisturiser (if you’d like to read my review about the Happy Skincare line you can click here.
As you can see the morning after my skin was still fairly red and looking a little sunburnt. I made sure to plan my session on a Friday night and I didn’t leave the house or go outside for a few days. When I did go out later in the week I made sure to apply SPF every single place I could.
My skincare steps consisted of the same thing from the night before minus the sheet mask. I did apply the Infadolan ointment one more time and that’s the last time I’ve used it for that session.
If you’d like to read my detailed review on The Derminator you can click here. I’m releasing both of these blog posts at the same time so you can read both if you’re interested. I will warn you it’s a long post, so you may want to do a double mask session.
I liked this, I feel my skincare has been extra productive since doing this treatment. Whether that is because my skin is repairing itself from the session, the skincare products are penetrating deeper into my skin or a combination of both; I feel like my skin has really benefited from this session.
I’m planning to use this every 6 weeks with a rotating plan of at home peels, derma stamping and my PMD.
Have you tried any type of derma needling procedures in the past? Are you thinking of trying a derma needling tool? I’d love to hear any information you’d like to share.
Don’t rinse your Face after Treatment. Leave it for a few hours. Blood and Cellliquids contain PRP.
Oh really? Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into it for my next session, which is due in a couple of weeks.
I just bought the derminator. I am 59 years old with no real skin issues other than I am aging. My son has acne scars and in a way I was testing the machine out to see if this might be a good fit for him. It was painful, not terrible, but certainly got my attention at .5 needle length. How are you doing with the machine. Have you seen a reduction in your acne scars?
Hi Madeline, I’m curious to see how the Derminator has been treating you! Are you a fan or not so much?
I need to do another session next weekend because I was getting such great results but it’s been a few months since I’ve used it last.
Hi there, I have been using the Derminator sporadically for the last 7 months and have seen a huge difference in the quality and refinement of my skin. I am 40 and suffered from cystic acne since age 12. I have / had severe scarring and tried multiple laser, chemical, and (64) punch excisions, Accutane 4 times, nothing works as well as the Derminator and Retin-A. Good luck!!
And using the suction device from the Owndoc site. I read a study where maximum needling results were achieved by doing suction every day from day 3-10.
WOW! You are into a great routine to work on your skin concerns! I’d love to know about your progress pictures and the amount of time it’s taken you to get the different results. I love hearing and learning from others!
I started using the Derminator in about June 2017. I have learned a ton! For instance my skin sees the greatest improvements if I hit the same scar from multiple angles using a single needle. I’ve also experimented with going different depths like 1.75 and .50 immediately afterward.
Hi Lisa, I am a laser victim and got some indents from the laser so I also plan to use Derminator and single needling for the scars. May I know further about ‘multiple angles using a single needle’. By Multiple angles, do you point the needle vertically straight or forming 45 degrees angle? Do you single needle on top of the scar or leave the derminator for it because I also plan to do longer single needle then followed by 0.5 derminator all over the scars. Lastly, do you single needle from the outer area of the scar then the edge of the scar? Sorry for the many questions but it’s really devastating when your once not so problematic skin got more scars from a laser procedure.
Can you explain how you do your own subcision? Where do you buy your needles and what are the steps? Do you have pictures? Thank you!
Hi Soph, thanks so much for your review with pictures. It’s very relieving to get some recent reviews of the Derminator. How are you going? Have you got into the next treatment?
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for your comment 🙂 I was going to do a new Derminator treatment last week but I received my Foreo UFO device so I’ve been testing that little baby out!
I’ll be doing a new treatment and video soon because I want to try to use some of my hyaluronic acid serum to see if it the Derminator glides easier on my skin and try to make the depth a bit deeper. Fingers crossed I can handle going into a deeper depth!