Dermapen
The Dermapen head is held flat against the skin and moved in overlapping passes. The needles move up and down inside the tip rather than dragging sideways.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Dermapen vs Microneedling
Dermapen is a brand of microneedling pen, not a separate treatment. Microneedling is the treatment. A clinic can do it with a Dermapen, a SkinPen or another pen, and the appointment is the same either way. So the real choice is not the brand. It is the needle depth, the cartridge and the person holding the pen.
At a glance
| The difference | Dermapen | Microneedling |
|---|---|---|
| What you actually do | The same appointment, with one brand of pen | A course of about 3 to 6 sessions |
| How deep it goes | 0.2 to 3.0 mm on a Dermapen 4 | Depends on the pen and the setting |
| What you can expect to see | Whatever the same depth gives on any pen | Shallower acne scars, smoother texture |
| What it will not do | The brand adds nothing on its own | Will not tighten or contour |
| The downside | The risks belong to the procedure | Red like a sunburn for 1 to 3 days |
Microneedling
The microneedling pen is held upright and stamped across the skin in rows. The needles go straight in and out, and the depth is set on the pen.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What you actually do
Dermapen
The same appointment, with one brand of pen
Dermapen performs microneedling. Comparing the two is comparing a brand with the procedure it carries out.
Microneedling
A course of about 3 to 6 sessions
Fine needles make thousands of tiny channels in the skin. No heat or energy is involved. Sessions are usually about four weeks apart.
How it works, illustrated
Microneedling
How deep it goes
Dermapen
0.2 to 3.0 mm on a Dermapen 4
The pen is adjustable. The number on the box is a range, not a setting.
Microneedling
Depends on the pen and the setting
SkinPen is adjustable from 0 to 2.5 mm.
What you can expect to see
Dermapen
Whatever the same depth gives on any pen
No published study has tested one pen brand against another.
Microneedling
Shallower acne scars, smoother texture
It is used for atrophic acne scars — the sunken, pitted kind. It is also used for texture, fine lines and the look of pores.
What it will not do
Dermapen
The brand adds nothing on its own
A pen does not make the treatment work better. The depth, the cartridge, the operator and the facility do.
Microneedling
Will not tighten or contour
It does not meaningfully tighten loose skin. It does not reach or heat the fat beneath, so it has no contouring effect. The whole effect is injury plus healing.
Related topic illustrations
Microneedling
Fractional CO2 laser
Strong evidence, and the most effective single option for indented acne scars. In exchange it brings a week of real downtime, higher cost, and a genuine risk of lasting pigment change, especially on deeper skin tones.
1 / 4→
RF microneedling
Moderate evidence. Adds heat at depth, which does more for laxity and can do more for scars, at the cost of more discomfort, more downtime, and a higher price. Still safer on deeper skin tones than ablative lasers.
←2 / 4→
Subcision
Strong evidence for one specific job. It cuts the fibrous bands tethering rolling scars downward, which needling cannot reach. Often done alongside microneedling rather than instead of it.
←3 / 4→
Chemical peel
Strong evidence for pores and brown marks, none for indented scars. Superficial peels work on the surface and cannot lift a scar floor.
←4 / 4
The downside
Dermapen
The risks belong to the procedure
Needles that enter skin should be sterile and used once. This is the part of microneedling with a real, documented hazard if it is done wrong.
Microneedling
Red like a sunburn for 1 to 3 days
Redness lasts roughly 24 to 72 hours. Mild swelling is common, and so is pinpoint bleeding on the day.
The at-home or drugstore version
Dermapen
Pens that look like a clinic pen
Battery pens are sold online for home use. The needles are shorter and blunt quickly, and a blunt needle does more damage than a sharp one. You are also the one setting the depth.
Microneedling
Rollers
A roller drags sideways across the skin instead of going straight in and out. It tears more than it punctures. It is not a cheaper version of the same treatment.
Who tends to be happy with it
Dermapen
- Best for — Nobody should be choosing a pen brand.
- Ask instead — What depth is planned, is the cartridge single-use and sterile, and who is performing it.
- The mindset — Judge the appointment, not the branding.
Microneedling
- Best for — Acne scars and texture, over a course rather than in one visit.
- The mindset — Several small controlled injuries, modest gains, no heat and no contouring.
What the evidence says about results
Microneedling
Microneedling does better when it is paired with something else. A 2024 review pooled 24 trials. They covered 1,546 people treated for acne scars. Adding a second treatment beat microneedling on its own. Pairing it with a chemical peel ranked best.
Conditions treated
Microneedling
Ice Pick Scars
Narrow and deep, like a puncture. A needle passing over the surface cannot reach the bottom of the tract. These need TCA CROSS, punch excision, or a laser.
1 / 10→
Stretch Marks
Fine needles make controlled micro-injuries that prompt new collagen in the scarred layer. Improvement is modest and needs a course of sessions, but it carries a lower risk of leaving dark marks than lasers do, which makes it the more sensible first device on deeper skin tones. It works on both red and white marks.
←2 / 10→
Acne Scarring
Fine needles injure the skin just enough to trigger new collagen. It does most for rolling and shallow boxcar scars, and very little for icepick ones. It is the gentlest of the resurfacing options, which also makes it the slowest — expect four to six sessions and judge it at a year, not at a month.
←3 / 10→
Male Pattern Hair Loss
Fine needles rolled or stamped into the scalp, used alongside minoxidil rather than instead of it. The small trials that exist favor the combination over minoxidil alone. Sessions are spaced weeks apart, and doing it too often or too deeply irritates the scalp without adding anything.
←4 / 10→
Wrinkles and Fine Lines
Fine needles make controlled injuries that prompt the skin to lay down collagen. Improvement in fine lines and texture is modest and builds over three to six sessions. Its advantage here is a lower risk of pigment problems on deeper skin tones than lasers or deep peels carry, which makes it a common first choice.
←5 / 10→
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
Fine needles make controlled channels that help topical treatments penetrate and encourage the skin to remodel. It is mainly a scarring treatment, and its effect on pigment alone is small. It is a reasonable choice when true scars and dark marks sit together, but it can inflame reactive skin, so conservative depths are used on deeper skin tones.
←6 / 10→
Melasma
Fine needles make temporary channels that help tranexamic acid or other treatments reach deeper, and that combination is where the evidence sits — not needling on its own. It has to be done gently. Aggressive needling inflames the skin, and inflamed skin with active pigment cells makes more pigment, not less.
←7 / 10→
Dark Circles Under the Eyes
Thickens the skin slightly over a course of sessions, which can make the vessels underneath a little less visible. The evidence around the eye is thin and the change is subtle. It will not fill a hollow, and on deeper skin tones it carries its own risk of leaving marks, so it is not a first choice here.
←8 / 10→
Rolling Scars
←9 / 10→
Boxcar Scars
←10 / 10
The fine print
Dermapen
Dermapen 4's own clearance is narrower than SkinPen's. The "DP4 microneedling device" was cleared as K221070 on 20 December 2022, for improving the appearance of facial acne scars in adults aged 22 or older. SkinPen's current wording also covers wrinkles of the neck, cleared as K202243 on 2 April 2021. Dermapen 4 has no neck indication, a real difference that clinic pages routinely blur.
Microneedling
Most radiofrequency microneedling devices name no cosmetic use at all. Their cleared wording covers electrocoagulation and hemostasis, which is surgical language for sealing tissue and stopping bleeding.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is Dermapen the same as microneedling?
Yes. Dermapen is a brand of motorised microneedling pen, so a Dermapen treatment is a microneedling treatment. The differences between appointments come from depth, cartridge, operator and whether anything else is added.
Is Dermapen better than SkinPen?
No published study compares them. Their FDA paperwork differs: Dermapen 4 is cleared for facial acne scars in Fitzpatrick skin types I to V, while SkinPen covers facial acne scars in all skin types and adds neck wrinkles in Fitzpatrick II to IV. That is a difference in what was reviewed, not a measured difference in results.
Can Dermapen treat my neck?
Its clearance does not name the neck. SkinPen's does, for Fitzpatrick skin types II to IV. Treating the neck with a pen that has no neck indication is off-label, which is legal and common - but it is worth knowing it is what is happening.
How many sessions do I need?
Microneedling is conventionally done as a course of about three to six sessions roughly four weeks apart. That is standard practice rather than a tested schedule, and the pooled trial evidence suggests results are better when microneedling is combined with something else, such as a chemical peel.
Does Dermapen hurt more than other pens?
No study has compared pain between pens. Discomfort tracks the depth setting and the area treated far more than the brand, and topical numbing is standard.
What should I ask before booking?
What depth is planned, whether the needle cartridge is sterile and single-use, whether the facility is licensed, who is performing the treatment, and what will be applied to the skin straight afterwards. Those five answers matter more than which pen is on the tray.
Does adding radiofrequency make it better?
It makes it a different treatment - the same channels plus heat at a chosen depth, aimed at laxity as well as texture. It also costs more and carries a different risk list, including burns and unwanted fat loss, which mechanical microneedling has no equivalent of.
Safety to keep in mind
SkinPen Precision is the regulatory anchor, and it is a different brand. It was authorised through a De Novo request, DEN160029, granted 1 March 2018. It was the first microneedling device authorised for marketing in the US, and it created the FDA category these devices sit in — 21 CFR 878.4430, product code QAI. Most other pens, including Dermapen, are ordinary 510(k) clearances that rest on being much the same as it.
Clearance is a finding of similarity, not proof that a treatment works. Treating outside those words is legal and routine. No published study compares Dermapen with SkinPen, so the difference in their paperwork is a difference in what was reviewed, not a measured difference in results.