Free guide
Microneedling aftercare, day by day
What your skin does after microneedling and what to do about it, from the first hour to the end of the first week. Follow the instructions Jake gave you at your visit if they differ from this page.
The first 24 hours
Expect redness like a sunburn, tightness and tiny pinpoint marks. This is the treatment working.
- Hands off. No touching, picking or rubbing.
- No makeup, no active ingredients, nothing but the post-procedure serum and moisturizer you were sent home with.
- Rinse with cool water and the gentle cleanser from your visit once the skin has calmed, usually after six to eight hours.
- No workouts, saunas, hot showers on the face, or swimming. Sweat and heat sting and can carry bacteria into open skin.
- Sleep on a clean pillowcase, ideally on your back.
Days two and three
Redness settles to pink. Some tightness and light flaking is normal.
- Cleanse gently twice a day and keep the skin hydrated with the products you were given.
- Mineral sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher, every morning from day two. No direct sun this week.
- Mineral makeup is fine from day two or three, with clean brushes.
- Still no exfoliants, retinoids, vitamin C, AHAs or BHAs.
Days four to seven
Dryness and flaking peak, then clear. Let it happen.
- Do not peel or scrub the flakes off; moisturize instead.
- Vitamin C can usually come back around day four or five if your skin feels calm.
- Retinoids and exfoliants wait until after day seven, or until Jake tells you.
Week two and beyond
The glow shows up as the skin finishes healing, and collagen keeps building for four to six weeks. Results compound with a series spaced four to six weeks apart. Daily sunscreen protects what you paid for.
Call or text if
- Redness spreads or gets worse after day two instead of better.
- You see pus, crusting, or feel heat and swelling that keeps increasing.
- A cold sore starts. Tell us before your next session so it can be prevented.
- You have a fever or feel unwell.