Is numbing cream supposed to be wiped off for microneedling?

Hello, every office is different! We typically leave the numbing cream on a little longer to ensure the skin is nice and numb before the treatment. I'm sorry you went through that amount of pain!

Hello and thanks for your question.  Numbing cream should be wiped and your face should be cleansed with saline/alcohol  prior to the procedure.  The numbing cream should be left on for at least 30-40 minutes to make sure it is well absorbed into the skin.    We use HA5 hydrating cream during the procedure on the skin. This allows the pen to glide across the skin easily and allows the HA product to really penetrate the skin.  As far as downtime, there should be very little. You may be a little "puffy" and red the next day, but should be gone w/in 48 hours. The needle sizes vary depending on why you are doing the treatment.   It is hard to say why you were in pain, could be the type of numbing cream the office uses, or maybe the cream needs to sit a longer.  Definitely talk to your provider about your concerns.  I hope this helps, good luck!

Topical anesthetic cream should be wiped out before the microneedling and the area cleansed properly before doing the procedure. The depth of the needle punctures would depend on the goal of treatment. The deeper the needle punctures and the more needles per pass,  the more potential of producing pain during the microneedling procedures. It is best to discuss with your provider about your concern. A stronger topical (triple) anesthetic cream and keeping the cream longer might help.

Great question, thank you!  While every office is different, most places will remove the numbing cream prior to your microneedling procedure.  Often times the topical numbing cream will be applied and then left on your skin for 30-45 minutes.  This will then be removed and your face cleansed again to ensure that your skin is clean prior to microneedling as the goal of the procedure is to puncture tiny holes into your skin.  It may have hurt more due to more needles and the depth of the procedure.  I would return to your provider and discuss your concerns with him/her.  You may need to leave the numbing cream on for a longer period of time prior to your treatment.  Thanks again for your question.  Best wishes, Dr. Lindsay J Sturm

Thank you for your message! Every office does things differently! Typically we apply a topical numbing agent to the area about 30-45 minutes prior to the procedure. We then clean the face thoroughly given needles will be used to create tiny punctures in the skin. I would recommend following up with your injector to see if you are able to leave the numbing cream on for longer, use a different product, or start the numbing process at home even. Hope this helps!

Because of the enhanced penetration of any topically applied product with microneedling, numbing creams should always be wiped off before treatment and the skin properly cleaned. Also, studies have shown that shorter needle lengths are more effective than longer needle lengths for creating channels that allow better penetration of topical serums and medications. For my patients, we routinely use needle lengths of 0.25 to 0.5 mm and we are seeing better results with much less discomfortand practically no "down time". Longer needles create more tissue damage, swelling and bleeding which can adversely affect penetration of these serums. A published scientific study showed a significantly greater penetration of serum applied after microneedling with 0.5 mm needles vs 1.5 mm needles.In my office, we use the ProCell Therapies system which combines motorized micro-needling with concentrated human growth factor serums made from human stem cells. We typically use needle lengths of 0.25 to 0.5 mm.  Now you can also do these treatments safely and painlessly at home using a new microneedling kit from Célage Bioscience.