Microneedling aftercare: the first days and weeks

With microneedling, the needling isn't really the treatment. The healing is. Your skin responds to thousands of tiny, controlled channels by producing fresh collagen, and how you look after it in the days afterwards helps that process along. Here's what to expect and what to do.

What's normal straight after microneedling

Your skin will look flushed, similar to mild sunburn. It may feel warm or tight. This usually settles within a day or two, and most people return to normal routines quickly. It's still worth planning your treatment around a quiet day rather than an event.

The first 24 hours

• Keep your skin clean, and use only the gentle products recommended at the clinic.
• Avoid make-up.
• Avoid exercise that makes you sweat, swimming and saunas.
• Try not to touch your face more than you need to.

The next few days

Your skin is still repairing, so keep your routine simple. Avoid strong active ingredients such as retinoids and acids for a few days, and go back to them only when your skin feels settled. If you're unsure when to restart a product, ask.

The weeks after: sun protection matters

Use a high-factor SPF every day for the following weeks, even when it's cloudy. Freshly treated skin is more sensitive, and protecting it is one of the simplest things you can do to look after your results.

Between sessions

A course of three treatments, spaced about a month apart, is the usual starting point, so each session builds on the collagen response from the last. Results build gradually and keep improving for several months after the course finishes. Good aftercare between sessions keeps your skin ready for the next one.

Why at-home rollers aren't the same

At-home rollers work at a much shallower level and can't be tailored to your skin in the same way. Medical microneedling is carried out in clinic, with your skin assessed first and the treatment adjusted at every session.

If something worries you

You'll leave the clinic with written aftercare instructions and a way to contact the clinic if anything worries you. Don't wait and wonder: get in touch. If you need urgent advice out of hours, contact NHS 111.

Microneedling in Mansfield

Every treatment at The Mansfield Park Clinic is planned and carried out by Lara Eastwood, a Registered Nurse with nineteen years in the NHS and twelve in aesthetics. Microneedling isn't carried out over active breakouts, infection or broken skin, or during pregnancy, and the clinic doesn't treat anyone under eighteen.

Read more about microneedling at The Mansfield Park Clinic, or book a consultation and Lara will assess your skin and tell you honestly what a course could do for it.