The ESK blog

What are the benefits of microneedle patches?

17 August 2023

Dr Anne Thomson

Microneedling is a new-ish procedure in skincare using devices that contain hundreds, or even thousands, of tiny needles that puncture the skin, stimulating the growth of new skin cells, and boosting collagen and elastin production. The tiny channels created by the needles can also be used to more effectively deliver active ingredients to the deeper layers of the skin.

Originally used for skin rejuvenation, recent evidence has shown benefits for many other skin conditions including wrinkles and fine lines, hyperpigmentation, acne and even for reducing scars and stretch marks.

And in even better news, recent advances in technology have led to the development of patches that contain painless dissolving microneedles that can be applied in the comfort of your own home, without the need for trips to a clinic or mucking around with metal dermarollers at home!

Want to know more? We’ve got you covered!

What are microneedles and how do they work?

Just as the name suggests, they are tiny needles, usually less than 1mm in length, that puncture the skin causing “trauma” - when the skin starts to heal, it stimulates a cascade of growth factors, giving us fresh, new skin cells, and a boost of collagen and elastin. Hello rejuvenated, glowing skin!

The tiny punctures also create micro channels through the skin barrier (the stratum corneum), allowing the delivery of key ingredients into the deeper layers where they can be more effective.

What are they made of and are they painful?

In the beginning, all microneedles were made of metal. They were rolled over or stamped onto your skin, either in a clinic or at home, with skincare added on top to improve penetration.

Thanks to recent advances in technology, we now have dissolving microneedle patches. Applied as an adhesive patch and left on usually overnight, the microneedles are made from hyaluronic acid (HA) and are infused with other active ingredients that are released in an efficient and controlled way deep in the skin. The needles themselves completely dissolve in the process.

And it’s painless! The HA microneedles are 0.3 mm long – this is in the Goldilocks zone of being long enough to penetrate the stratum corneum (which is between 0.05-0.1 mm thick) but not long enough to hit the pain nerves (which sit around the 0.4-0.5 mm mark). Ju-ust right!

What are microneedles used for?

Microneedling has all sorts of proven therapeutic uses, from treating alopecia, scarring and even delivering medications and vaccines. To keep things brief (we could write all day on this stuff!), we’re sticking to the benefits of dissolving microneedle patches, based on the evidence of course!

Wrinkles and fine lines

Microneedle patches are great for treating wrinkles around the eyes (AKA crow’s feet) and lines around the lips and forehead, delivering actives to these often hard to reach places. And because the microneedles get through the stratum corneum, we can use higher molecular weight hyaluronic acid (try saying that a few times quickly!) with its proven antiaging properties. Then we encapsulate other age-busting ingredients into the tips, such as retinal, niacinamide, ferulic acid, resveratrol, and various peptides.

Hyperpigmentation

A common problem, pigmentation issues come in many forms and can often make skin look older than wrinkles or crow’s feet! Causes include exposure to UV radiation (sunspots), high estrogen/progesterone (melasma from pregnancy or the pill) and post-inflammation from things like acne or eczema or even after some clinical procedures.

Evidence based active ingredients such as vitamin C, retinal (vitamin A) and niacinamide (vitamin B3) have long been shown to be safe and effective at treating pigmentation especially when used in combination, as has 4 -n-butylresorcinol (4NB) which can actually block the enzyme that creates melanin.

Recent evidence is demonstrating that microneedles can be effective at treating hyperpigmentation, not just for delivering these active ingredients to the deeper layers, but by also increasing the skin’s protection against UVA radiation. This is a pretty exciting development, so watch this space…

Acne

Microneedles can help with acne scarring; adding acne-busting ingredients like salicylic acid, niacinamide, tea tree oil and green tea to the tips, reduces inflammation and bacterial levels. This makes them especially effective as a spot treatment on pimples.

There you have it, microneedle patches in a nutshell. Easy to use and with multiple benefits, we’re excited to see where the evidence takes us next!

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556180/

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00111

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jocd.12426

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.15242

https://www.morressier.com/o/event/595a63f3d462b80296c9f566/article/595a9c52d462b80296c9f85e

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5556180/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5382793/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4976400/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332218348091

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459344/