Can you apply a serum after microneedling?

Only what your practitioner specifies. Right after microneedling the skin is not intact, and the choice of topical during and immediately after the procedure is the practitioner's. Acids, retinoids, fragrance and essential oils wait until the skin has closed and your practitioner clears them. Ordinary skincare returns after that, starting with the plainest formulas.

What changes in the skin

Microneedling makes many small punctures in the skin with fine needles. For a period afterwards the skin is broken skin: it is red, it feels warm and tight, and it reacts more readily to anything applied to it. How long that lasts depends on the procedure, the person and the aftercare.

A procedure changes the rules that apply to everyday products. Leave-on cosmetics, Vegalab's included, carry the direction not to apply them to broken skin or open lesions. While the skin is broken, that direction governs. What the procedure involves and how recovery runs: microneedling.

Who decides

The practitioner who performs the procedure chooses what goes on the skin during it and in the hours and days after. That choice sits with their training, their scope of practice and the procedure they performed.

The protocol is the treating professional's clinical decision.

If you had the procedure done, your aftercare instructions are the reference. If they are unclear, ask the practitioner before applying anything.

General principles

These are the principles most aftercare instructions share. Your own instructions come first.

Keep it plain until the skin is intact. Fewer products, fewer ingredients. Most practitioners specify a gentle cleanser and a simple product of their choosing for the first period.

Hold back the actives. Exfoliating acids such as alpha hydroxy acids and salicylic acid, retinoids, vitamin C at low pH and scrubs all wait until your practitioner clears them.

Avoid fragrance and essential oils. Scent-bearing ingredients are among the most common causes of skin reactions, and freshly treated skin is more reactive. See fragrance allergens.

Protect from the sun. Stay out of direct sun, and use the sun protection your practitioner recommends once they clear it. If acids are part of your routine later, see acids and sun sensitivity.

Skip makeup, heat and sweat until your practitioner says otherwise.

Know when to call. Pain that increases, swelling that spreads, pus, fever or redness that worsens after the first days are reasons to contact your practitioner or a physician promptly.

What sterility has to do with it

People often ask whether a serum used in microneedling has to be sterile. No regulation in the United States or Canada requires a topical used in microneedling to be sterile.

The rules that do exist are about who performs the procedure and how. Public-health guidance in Canada and state boards in the United States attach sterility to the needle and the cartridge. The one product-side rule is about dispensing: a fresh portion for each client, and nothing returned to the container.

The full answer: do serums used in microneedling have to be sterile? For practitioners choosing a supplier: choosing a serum for a microneedling practice. Other professional questions: professional FAQ.

At home

Home microneedling devices raise the same questions without a practitioner to answer them. The same principles apply: broken skin gets nothing beyond what a professional has advised, and actives wait. If you are unsure whether your skin has closed, treat it as broken and ask a professional.

How the format of a product affects how it is portioned and kept: ampoule vs serum vs essence.

Caring for skin once it is intact

Once your practitioner has cleared your normal routine and the skin is intact, everyday care returns. Start with plain, fragrance-free hydration and add actives back one at a time.

• The Hydrating NanoSerum sealed vial set is a fragrance-free hydrating serum built on a group of humectants.
• The Hyaluronic Skin Repair NanoSerum sealed vial set is a fragrance-free hydrating serum built on sodium hyaluronate.

Two formulas in the range contain actives that wait for your practitioner's clearance. The Brightening NanoSerum sealed vial set contains glycolic, mandelic and lactic acids, and carries a sun-sensitivity notice. The Clarifying NanoSerum sealed vial set contains salicylic acid and tea tree leaf oil.

More guides: Beauty Science knowledge.