Dermapen vs RF microneedling for acne spots and scars: what do you recommend?

A combination approach will give the most improvement. These types of scars need a combination of microneedling/prp with lasers, Cosmelan, subcision and fillers. It may take a series of treatments and may need some treatments to maintain. I recommend getting a formal evaluation with an acne scarring expert. Best, Dr. Emer

You can see improvement with acne scars with Microneedling with a pen like the Dermapen and also with Microneedling/RF combination like Vivace. In my office we have seen the best improvement when we use PRP with the procedures. A proper skin care regimen at home is also necessary using topicals that support collagen stimulation and fade hyperpigmenation. 

Dermapen is a reasonable opening level treatment for acne scarring.  It all depends on your scar types, down time and obviously costs.  RF microneedling is basically what I describe as "dermapen on steroids" and the technology, especially with the industry leading devices such as Endymed Intensif or Lutronic Infini can provide significantly greater results if you are able to afford slightly more downtime.  Seek an experienced practitioner.  Best wishes, Shobhan.

Acne scar revision is a sub-specialised field. For the best results, one should target the acne scar type with ideal treatments and not just one device. The web reference below will take you to a resource to help you understand acne scar revision at a specialist level. I embedded all the videos in one page to help. If you have PIE or red spots, this is best treated with vascular lasers, or even simple IPL. Derma pen or microneedling is best for mixed scars, rolling scars, tethered and atrophic scar types. 
For example deep ice pick scars, and narrow box car scars can be treated with TCA CROSS peels, mixed scars, rolling, and atrophic scars treated with fractional devices such as Fraxel, fractional lasers, PRP and INFINI radiofrequency. Atrophic scars (depressions) can be treated with either fat grafts, or with HA dermal fillers. Tethered and anchored scars are best treated with surgical techniques such as subcision. Other surgical techniques that we use include punch elevation, surgical elevation, punch excision and traditional excision of focal scars.
The majority of patients will have a collection of different scar types, and hence a tailored treatment METHOD will be best. Careful examination, especially under angled lighting with scar mapping will give you an understanding of what are the best options for your scars. In the majority of patients its finding the correct combination that give you best results, and everyone is unique! All the best,
Dr Davin Lim. Acne scar dermatologist specialist. Brisbane, Australia.