Microneedling, or collagen induction therapy, uses a device with very fine sterile needles to create thousands of controlled micro-channels in the skin. Each channel is a small, deliberate injury.

The skin responds the way it responds to any injury: it repairs. That repair process lays down new collagen and elastin, and over the following weeks the treated area remodels itself. The result is firmer, smoother, more even skin, achieved by the skin rebuilding rather than by anything being added to it.

Depth is adjusted for the area and the concern. Fine work for tone and texture sits shallow; scar work goes deeper.

It has good evidence and consistent clinical results for acne scarring, rough or uneven texture, enlarged pores, fine lines, uneven tone and some pigmentation, and stretch marks. It is also used to support hair thinning.

What it does well is remodel skin structure. What it does not do is lift, add volume or shrink pores permanently. A pore is an opening, not a hole that closes; what improves is the surrounding collagen support, which makes the opening look smaller.

Deep static wrinkles caused by repeated muscle movement are not a microneedling problem to solve. Nor is significant laxity.

No, and this matters. Home rollers use fixed-length needles dragged across the skin at an angle, which tears rather than channels, blunt quickly, and cannot be sterilised properly between uses.

Clinical microneedling uses a motorised pen with a sterile single-use cartridge that stamps vertically at a controlled speed and adjustable depth, in a clinical environment, on skin that has been assessed first.

The difference in outcome is real, and so is the difference in risk. Home rolling is one of the more common causes of the scarring and pigmentation we are later asked to help with.

The mechanism is well established. Controlled micro-injury triggers a wound-healing cascade that includes new collagen and elastin deposition, and the effect has been measured in clinical studies.

Where marketing overreaches is in the timeline and the magnitude. One session produces a modest amount of change. The visible improvements people show off are the accumulated result of a course spaced properly, plus consistent sun protection.

Anyone promising dramatic change from a single session is selling something other than the treatment.

A sterile serum is used to allow the pen to glide and to support healing. What is used is chosen for the skin in front of us, and it is kept simple. The open channels created by the treatment mean anything applied has far greater access than usual, so this is not the moment for a complicated cocktail.

Products with fragrance, colour, or actives such as vitamin C or acids are not applied to freshly needled skin.

Skin assessment first: what you want changed, what your skin has been through, what you are currently using on it, and a realistic view of what a course can achieve.

Then photographs, taken in consistent lighting so that progress can be measured rather than guessed at.

Then a thorough cleanse, followed by topical numbing left on long enough to work properly.

Then treatment itself, area by area, with depth adjusted for each region of the face. Bone-adjacent areas such as the forehead and jaw feel different from the cheeks.

Finally a soothing post-treatment application, sun protection, and clear aftercare instructions. Your next session is planned before you leave.

With proper numbing, most clients describe it as very manageable: a vibration and a scratchy sensation rather than sharp pain.

Some areas are more sensitive than others. The forehead, the nose, the upper lip and anywhere the skin sits directly over bone are the parts people notice most. Deeper settings used for scar work are felt more than shallow tone work.

Afterwards the skin feels hot and tight, similar to mild sunburn, for the rest of the day.

Allow around an hour to ninety minutes for a full face. Numbing accounts for a good portion of that; the needling itself is comparatively quick.

Additional areas such as the neck, décolletage or a body site add time.

By concern and by area, not by a single setting for the whole face. Superficial depths suit tone, congestion and fine texture. Deeper settings are used for established acne scarring and stretch marks, where the point is to break down and remodel fibrous tissue.

The skin over the forehead, temples and around the eyes is thinner and is treated more conservatively than the cheeks.

Deeper is not better. Deeper than the skin needs simply means more downtime and more risk for the same result.

The needle cartridge is sterile, single-use and disposed of in front of you. Nothing that penetrates skin is ever reused between clients.

Disposable barriers are used on surfaces and equipment, the treatment room is prepared for one client at a time, and the serums applied to open skin are drawn from single-use or clinically appropriate sterile sources.

Each session sets off one cycle of collagen remodelling, and each cycle produces a modest amount of change. Sessions are spaced four to six weeks apart because that is broadly how long a cycle takes; treating sooner interrupts work already underway.

As a general guide, tone and texture commonly respond within three to four sessions. Pores and fine lines typically need four to six. Acne scarring and stretch marks are the slowest, often six or more.

These are ranges, not promises. Age, general health, smoking, sun history and how consistently you use SPF all affect what each session returns, which is why two people with the same concern can need different courses.

There is an early glow within a week of the first session, which is largely surface renewal and hydration rather than collagen.

Real structural change becomes visible from around the four to six week mark and continues building for up to three months after each session. That is why the final assessment of a course happens months after the last treatment rather than immediately.

Photographs taken at the start are worth more than memory here. Gradual change is very easy to underestimate when you see your own face daily.

The collagen built is your own, so the improvement is durable. What it does not do is stop the ageing process or undo continued sun exposure.

Once a course is complete, many clients move to occasional maintenance, commonly a session every few months. Others stop entirely and keep the improvement they gained. Neither is wrong.

Improvement rather than erasure is the honest expectation. Rolling and boxcar scars generally respond well over a course. Deep ice-pick scars respond least, because the fibrous tract runs deeper than needling reaches, and are often better addressed with a combination approach.

A meaningful reduction in depth and shadowing, with smoother surrounding texture, is a realistic target. Perfectly smooth skin is not, and any clinic promising it should be treated with caution.

It can, and it is one of the few treatments with reasonable evidence for them, but expectations need to be set carefully. Older, white, mature stretch marks respond more slowly than newer red ones, and body skin heals more slowly than facial skin.

Courses for stretch marks are longer, often six sessions or more, and improvement is measured in reduced texture and better blending rather than disappearance.

Yes, and they complement each other well because they do different jobs. Microneedling remodels texture and scarring across an area; plasma pen tightens and contracts skin at specific points such as hooded eyelids or fine lines around the mouth.

They are not done on the same area on the same day. Plasma pen has a longer healing course, so sequencing is planned so that one area is fully healed before the other is treated.

Yes, if it is done over them. Needling directly across tattooed brows, lips or eyeliner will break up pigment and fade the work considerably faster.

Treatment is planned to avoid tattooed areas, and if you have brows or lips booked we will sequence the two so neither compromises the other. Always tell your therapist what cosmetic tattoo you have before a session.

Leave time either side. Common practice is to allow around two weeks after anti-wrinkle injections or dermal filler before microneedling, and to let needled skin settle before having injectables.

Follow the timing your injector gives you, and tell us what you have had and when.

Simple, consistent and sun-protective. A gentle cleanser, a moisturiser your skin tolerates, and a daily broad-spectrum sunscreen do most of the work.

Actives such as retinoids and vitamin C support the result between sessions, but they come out of the routine in the days around each treatment. Specific timing is given to you based on what you are using.

The single biggest thing you can do to protect a course of microneedling is wear sunscreen every day, including in a Perth winter.

Book online through our booking system, or contact the clinic if you would rather discuss your skin first. If you are unsure whether microneedling is the right treatment for your concern, book a skin consultation and decide afterwards.

Book your microneedling appointment online, or reach us on 1300 216 456.

A skin assessment is built into the start of every treatment appointment. A separate consultation is worth booking if you have a complex history, active acne, melasma, a keloid tendency, or if you are weighing microneedling against other options.

In the week before: stop retinoids, acids and exfoliants, and avoid waxing, peels and laser in the treatment area. Do not arrive with a tan or sunburn.

On the day: arrive with clean skin and no makeup if possible. Allow extra time for numbing. Bring sunscreen and a hat for the trip home.

Avoid alcohol the night before, and do not take aspirin or ibuprofen beforehand unless prescribed.

Let us know as early as you can. Cancellation terms are shown at the time of booking.

If you arrive with an active cold sore, a breakout in the treatment area, sunburn or a fresh tan, the session will be postponed. That is a clinical call rather than a preference.

Microneedling at ELKA CLINIC is performed by Maryam, our Senior Skin Therapist, who also performs plasma pen fibroblast treatments.