Why do microneedling for hair loss?
Hair thinning is a common issue in middle age, after illness, and due to genetics. Starting early is always best. There are many routes to treat thinning hair, from topical products, nutraceuticals, oral prescription medications, and microneedling.
Microneedling is found to help stimulate hair growth on its own. It uses tiny needles to create microscopic injuries in the scalp. It is thought this leads to the wound healing cascade, which releases growth factors, hair follicle stem cells, and creates new vascularity.
What treatment protocol is best?
This is a new burgeoning area, so the “best practices” are not known yet. How long should the needles be? How deep should you go? How often should you do it? You can see needle range depth from 0.25mm to 2.5mm. Some people do microneedling treatments twice a week, others every month. The total number of sessions varies.
General thoughts in the literature so far:
- Be clean. You need a clean scalp. The microneedles need to be sterile.
- Deeper needles (>1.0 mm) require less frequent sessions
- It is important to allow the tissue to heal between sessions, likely around 4 – 6 weeks when done in a professional session.
- Most studies did an average of 9-10 sessions over the course of 20 weeks.
- Hair regrowth is slow, over the course of months.
- This is not effective for hair loss due to other issues, like nutrition, thyroid, etc.
Some people combine this with red light therapy caps (not studied).
What are side effects of microneedling hair?
This is something you want to do in a doctor’s office. It is so tempting to do this at home with an online set or microneedling roller, but please read my blog on why not to microneedle at home. The biggest key is to make a controlled injury to the tissue. If you create inflammation or infection, you will get scarring, which could cause hair loss.
Some side effects, most of which are mild and temporary:
- redness
- swelling
- mild irritation
- pinpoint bleeding
- short term hair shedding
- activation of acne or herpes
- bacterial infection
- At home microneedling uses shorter needles and if done improperly or too often can lead to infection or scarring.
What we are doing at Lauren Greenberg MD
We have started doing microneedling with minoxidil and Age Zero Exosomes at our office. Our protocol will evolve as the literature becomes clearer. Our microneedling pen has 16 medical grade fine needles. We use 5% Minoxidil and Age Zero Exosomes (stem cells) for a three-therapy combination.
For our exact protocol, costs, and what to expect, please contact our Menlo Park office. 650 617 9907. Our treatments are done by our nurse, Meghan Douglass, who has years of experience with microneedling.
Medical citations
Microneedling for hair loss, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
Microneedling and Its Use in Hair Loss Disorders: A Systematic Review, Dermatology and Therapy
The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider for any questions regarding your health or medical condition.
