Microneedling vs Microchanneling: All you need to know about these two popular treatments!

Aren’t microchanneling and microneedling the same thing? 

Yes, basically – they both mean puncturing the skin with tiny needles. It’s semantics that make them different. It’s probably easiest to think of microchanneling as a version of microneedling.

In the non-medical aesthetics world, aestheticians can only use the word “microchanneling” and not go beyond the epidermis with the needles. In the medical world, medical professionals have fought to keep the word “microneedling” to themselves and can go deeper with the needles to reach the epidermis and beyond.

Both microchanneling and microneedling share the goal of promoting collagen growth and improving the appearance of the skin. They use tiny needles to make micro-wounds in the skin. This creation of the wounds signals your skin to produce more collagen, the skin’s structural component. The whole process also creates new skin that is younger, brighter, and more even. It can improve the appearance of rosacea, melasma, fine lines, wrinkles, and acne scarring.

Then, technically, how are they different? (Fellow skin nerds, alert: You’ll love this part!) 

The microchanneling we perform uses a linear stamping technique with a device that vibrates at 4,500 rpm and creates approximately 200,000 - 1,00,000 tiny holes in the skin during a typical treatment. The company that we find to be the best on the market for microchanneling is called ProCell Therapies. They’ve been in the business for quite some time and re-engineered microchanneling.

The microneedling we perform at Med Spa @ Skin MPLS uses a pen-like device that operates at 7,000 rpm and glides along your skin, maintaining continuous contact. It has a reciprocating mechanism, which means it pushes the needles into the skin and pulls them out at the same rate to reduce the likelihood of scratching or tracking. The company we choose to work with is SkinPen. They created the first FDA-approved microneedling device on the market and worked with the FDA to develop the microneedling guidelines. The SkinPen device creates 1,600 microscopic holes per second, which means close to 3,000,000 holes in a typical 30-minute session. The SkinPen device also allows us to vary the needle depth during your treatment to target each section’s specific needs more specifically. 

Both microchanning and microneedling offer unique technology and different ways to solve the same problem.

What is recovery like?

With microchannelling, ProCell Therapies’ philosophy is that you don’t need to go very deep to generate collagen growth. So, with their microchanneling, there is little-to-no downtime because most of the pinkness fades after 90 minutes.

Avoid anything touching your face, and do not put anything on your face for 8 hours while the microchannels are open. After 8 hours, you may apply hydrating products and light moisturizer. Do not apply makeup or SPF for 24 hours, and avoid sweating, saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, swimming, and sun exposure.

You wouldn’t want to go to an event that night, but you should be fine by the next day (don’t plan on this your first time, though!). You should be able to work out the next day, and you may be outside a little by the next day with your usual sun protection. You will skip your active products and focus on applying hydration and peptides for about 3-5 days.

One of the best benefits of microchanneling, besides the price and no downtime, is that we can add the treatment to nearly any existing treatment you have scheduled for an added skin boost. You can still get light extractions, dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, an enzyme peel, and several other advanced modalities in the same session before your microchanneling. You can book it in advance (in studio or online) or just let us know the day of your treatment.

With microneedling, the goal of SkinPen’s treatment is to create “controlled inflammation,” which means that there are approximately 24-48 hours of downtime where you can expect your skin to be pink. You cannot apply any product other than the one we’ll send home for 24 hours. You will look red, blotchy, and possibly even a teeny bloody for the rest of the day.

Avoid anything touching your face for 8 hours while the microchannels are open. Do not apply makeup or SPF for 24 hours, and avoid sweating, saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, swimming, and sun exposure. You should be able to work out lightly after 24 hours, and you may be outside a little by then with your usual sun protection. You will skip your active products and focus on applying hydration and peptides for about 3-5 days.

Your face and neck may feel a little “raw” or tender for the next 48 hours, and drinking alcohol can irritate it further. Give yourself up to a week to heal if you have an event. Over the next few days, you will likely experience some dryness and flaking skin. Because of the extensive nature of the inflammation our microneedling creates, we do not combine this treatment with microdermabrasion, chemical peeling, or dermaplaning.  

Remember, with both treatments, you have active open micro-wounds on your skin, so it’s essential to practice good hygiene with towels, makeup, pillowcases, etc., to ensure no bacteria enter the skin.

Which one is better for aging? 

Since our microneedling creates far more channels and can go deeper where needed, it is likely to reverse aging more quickly. Additionally, we’ll always offer to perform microneedling on the neck, complementary, if you can tolerate it. SkinPen has been FDA-approved to treat wrinkles on the neck.

Our microchanneling is an excellent preventive aging measure and easy to add to your existing facial treatment, though. Both microchanneling and microneedling will often be done in combination with microcurrent and LED when time allows, to maximize results.

Which one is better for scarring?

Shallow scarring may respond best with microchanneling since those treatments can be combined with dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, and peels at a lower cost. 

For deeper indentations, microneedling is superior. SkinPen is FDA-approved to treat acne scarring. You may need several treatments either way, and scars respond differently from person to person.  

Which is better for active acne? 

We do not recommend microchanneling or microneedling if you have more than a few active acne lesions (depending on placement and severity). However, if you use all Skin MPLS-approved acne products and struggle with chronic acne, you can still likely add on microchanneling if your aesthetican feels it is in your skin's best interest. Also, microchanneling allows more time to focus on extractions and other acne-fighting modalities. 

Microneedling comes at a higher price point (though we've done everything we can to make it as approachable as possible and will pack in as much as we can into your treatment), and we do not want someone to invest in microneedling if they may still create new scarring. It is best to wait until your acne is under control and then start targeting the scarring.

Does it hurt? 

Microchanneling can be a little uncomfortable for some and we do not numb the skin. Some people find it relaxing, though; however, most report somewhere between a 2-5 out of 10 on the pain scale. Pain tolerances are very different. If you tolerate extractions well, you can handle microchanneling, and it gets less painful every time you do it as your skin gets thicker.

For microneedling, we numb the skin. You should mainly feel vibrations of the device and little-to-no pain, hopefully. However, we wouldn't say it feels pleasant. If you feel like you have a very low pain tolerance, either prepare yourself or hold off because the needling tips are one-time use, so once we have started the treatment, you will be charged.

How many treatments do I need?

Our advice is to start with one and see what you think. Most aesthetic and medical aesthetic professionals will always say that a series of 3-6 sessions is needed to see optimal results, but we believe that every session creates results – even if only incrementally. So, don't feel like if you can't afford to do three sessions in a row to start, it won't be worth it.

Every skincare-related thing you do to your skin continuously works to make your skin healthier and your collagen as abundant as possible – and you're doing great at it! But, since living does mean aging, we're always working against the loss of collagen and the other DNA-damaging things we do to our skin daily (like drinking alcohol, being under stress, and just generally living on planet Earth with gravity!).