Intrigued By At-Home Microneedling? Alice Tries 6 Leading Brands & Gives Her Verdict

The trend for microneedling at home shows no signs of going away and for those of you who’ve been curious to try it but haven’t been able to face the needles in clinic just yet, there’s now a bunch of kits and devices ‘inspired by microneedling’ for at-home use too. And when L’Oreal picks up on the trend (here with its Lancome Renergie device), you know it’s here to stay. Alice put six leading brands to the test. Here’s her verdict…

Firstly, a quick recap: what are at-home microneedling devices?

At-home microneedling is essentially the do-it-yourelf cousin of the in-clinic treatment. Instead of a practitioner wielding the kit, it’s you, your bathroom mirror and a small gadget studded with teeny-tiny needles. The idea is that these create very small, controlled micro-pricks in the skin, which sounds intense, but is designed to wake your skin up and kickstart its natural repair process.

As your skin recovers, it can start producing more collagen and elastin, which is why people use microneedling to help with glow, texture, fine lines and even making their skincare work a bit harder (as products tend to sink in better afterwards).

Because this is something you’re doing at home, the needles are much shorter than those used in clinic. That’s hopefully reassuring, but also means your expectations should be realistic. Think of it as a skin maintenance rather than a full-on resurfacing moment (that’s definitely one for the professionals).

So what’s Alice’s verdict on whether it really works at home? It depends a little on the device you choose (more on that below!), but when used gently and hygienically, at-home microneedling really can be a helpful little boost to your routine. Just remember, go too hard, skip the cleaning step or get a bit over-enthusiastic, and you risk irritation, sensitivity and general barrier disruption — and nobody wants that.

TRIED AND TESTED AT-HOME MICRONEEDLING

1. Vita Vitae Micro-Needling System, £142

What’s in the set?

This needling device has 20 gold-plated microneedles, 0.5mm long, and two syringes of serum – one a HA Glowing and Plumping Booster, and one an HA Lifting and Rejuvenating Booster, both with peptides, exosomes and polynucleotides, so lots of goodies instead.

How do you use it?

You inject the serum into the vial of the stumpy little microneedling device, screw on the top and let it stand upside down for a couple of minutes so the serum finds its way through to the needles. Start with a clean dry face and wipe over or spritz it with a hypochlorus solution (eg Clinisept) and let this dry. Then, starting from the centre of your forehead, take a deep breath and press it into the skin. Work outwards in rows until you’ve covered the whole area, then do your cheeks, and carry on until you’ve covered the whole face and used up all the serum.

What does it feel like?

Prickly by not painful. You’ll feel the tiny needles piercing the skin, and releasing the serum at the same time, but honestly it’s not bad. Well. They don’t advise using it on your lips, but I tried, just to see what it was like. (It hurt. Maybe avoid).

Will it work?

It will definitely do something – the microneedling alone has benefits as the skin repairs itself, and the micro-punctures mean the serums are much better absorbed – 100x better, says the brand – than if you just put them on top of the skin. And they’re nicely formulated serums, too.

Alice’s verdict

It sounds madly masochistic to say so, but this is satisfyingly spiky to use. So if you’re up for stabbing your skin in the name of beautification, you too may enjoy it.

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2. Celf Microvibration Therapy, £39 for a 3-month supply of serum and treatment head

What’s in the set?

A neat little treatment head with silicone ‘bristles’ that pops onto an Oral-B iO toothbrush, turning it into a skincare tool. (Although be warned, you do actually need to buy or already own an Oral-B iO to use it).

How do you use it?

You put a few drops of the Celf Glide serum (which contains hydrating hyaluronic acid and soothing aloe vera) onto a clean face then switch on the toothbrush and glide the treatment head very gently in circles to cover the cheeks and forehead, which takes around two minutes.

What does it feel like?

The bristles don’t actually penetrate the skin surface but they do stir it up a bit and the microvibrations mean the serum gets absorbed much more deeply than usual. It’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds, though if like me you ad-lib and start using it on the receding hairline at your temples (I use the Calecim hair system serum for that bit) it feels very intense and prickly.

Will it work?

Yes! The brand has independent clinical trials and many enthusiastic user-reviews that talk of glowing, healthier, more radiant skin after a couple of months’ use.

Alice’s verdict

I love this too. It’s small, simple and portable and you can use it with whatever serum you fancy, but you do need the right sort of toothbrush!

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3. Lancome Renergie Nano-Resurfacer 400 Booster device, £250

What’s in it?

The super-sleek resurfacing device is rechargeable and comes with 12 refill cartridges. But, it is sold separately to the serum that it is designed to be used with, so don’t be caught out by that! You can purchase the Renérgie H.C.F Triple Serum for £105.

How do you use it?

Charge up the device, fix on one of the treatment heads, spread some serum on your skin and off you go. Each cartridge is topped with 484 tiny nano-tips, only 80 microns long, which create invisible channels on the skin’s surface so the serum can penetrate better.

What does it feel like?

This feels really smooth as it buzzes and glides over the skin, so you get decent absorption of the product without damaging the skin barrier. I can believe the claim that there’s no downtime even for sensitive skin.

Will it work?

Certainly! Those 80-micron nano-tips may be six times shorter than a 0.5mm needle, but they appear to be enough to get the serum into the skin. The brand’s testing shows impressive results – of up to 53% reduction in forehead wrinkles.

Alice’s verdict

I loved this (I’m as much of a sucker for a slick and glossy gadget as anyone) and I do think this would deliver results with consistent use (I’d be tempted to try it with other products, too, say peptide serums). But it’s an investment – and those treatment heads are single use – additional packs cost £50 for six.

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4. Shiseido Microclick Concentrate, £195

What’s in it?

The presentation box is done up like an advent calender, inside which you find a headband, a slim wand of the micro-click concentrate and six single-use no-needle treatment heads.

How do you use it?

You fix the treatment head onto the syringe-like wand of serum, place it on your clean skin and press the button on the end to pump the serum through the ‘micropoints” in the head. The idea is that the ‘mechano-stimulation’ delivers the niacinamide-based serum to the ideal depth in the skin to trigger regeneration.

What does it feel like?

These ‘micropoints’ aren’t needles so they don’t break the skin, so they’re perfectly comfortable to use.

Will it work?

Very much ‘inspired by’ cosmetic procedures rather than doing anything startling like breaking the skin. Still, the brand has data to show that using the kit every other day for 12 days visibly reduces wrinkles, ‘lifts up’ skin & minimise pores.

Alice’s verdict

Clever, luxurious but I didn’t particularly like this, especially for the price…

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5. Seranova Microneedling Infusion Kit, £75, currently discounted to £59

What’s in it?

You get two treatment vials with needling heads topped with ultra fine, cosmetic-grade ‘touchpoints’ (that’s needles to you and me) and two vials of serum containing hyaluronic acid and five collagen-boosting peptides.

How do you use it?

As with the Vita Vitae device, you load the treatment vial with serum, then get needling – carefully, methodically, on a scrupulously clean face that you’ve spritzed with hypochlorus spray — until you have covered your face and used up the serum.

What does it feel like?

There’s no getting away from the fact that these little needles are…. prickly, though once you get into the swing of it, it’s quite addictive. I found this serum went a long way so I worked it down my neck as well.

Will it work?

Yes it should – careful, thorough self-needling with this serum should show results after two or three treatments – and you have the collagen-stimulating benefits of the microneedle punctures, too.

Alice’s verdict

Great if you, like me, are up for jamming tiny needles into your face. You’ll know if it’s for you by your response to that image…

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6. Face Gym Youthful Active Roller, £66

What’s in it?

In the pack you’ll find a handle and two rollers made of ‘crystallised microneedles’ infused with phyto-retinol, niacinamide and green tea.

How do you use it?

Wet your skin then start working over it with the roller (there are instructions for a proper ‘face workout’ on a QR code). The skincare ingredients moulded into those tiny microneedles start to dissolve and slip into the skin through the tiny punctures created by the mini-microneedles.

What does it feel like?

This feels so smooth on the skin – especially compared to everything else here. It’s hard to believe there are any ‘needles’ here at all, so it’s easy and comfortable to use.

Will it work?

Maybe. The brand suggests you can expect firmer, visibly younger-looking skin, though this information came from 19 people who self-assessed their skin after using the device twice a week for a month, rather than a clinical study.

Alice’s verdict

It’s a clever idea to reinterpret the microneedling at home concept into something like this, but I’d be surprised if you get the claimed results from it. Also, after all that rolling, the resulting stuff that had melted onto my face didn’t absorb, but dried into scaly patches… that I had to cleanse off.

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Interested in more at-home skincare solutions? Discover more advice over on The Guide.