Dermapen 4 Care Instructions

Dermapen 4 microneedling. Everything you need to know before and after your treatment.

Before your treatment

Good preparation is most of the result. Prime your skin for at least two weeks before treatment with the priming regimen your practitioner prescribes at consultation — it makes the treatment more comfortable and the outcome more even.

Two weeks before

  • Begin the priming regimen your practitioner prescribed. Every patient primes for at least two weeks.
  • Stop sun exposure, sunbeds and spray tanning.
  • No other resurfacing treatments — peels, laser, IPL or microdermabrasion.
  • Tell us if you have had any cosmetic tattooing.

One week before

  • Pause retinoids (tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene, retinol), AHAs and BHAs, benzoyl peroxide, hydroquinone and scrubs. We will confirm the exact timing for your skin.
  • No waxing, depilatory creams or electrolysis on the treatment area.
  • If you get cold sores, tell us now — we may prescribe antiviral cover before we treat.

Forty-eight hours before

  • No alcohol.
  • Pause supplements that thin the blood — fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo, high-dose ibuprofen. Never stop a prescribed medication without your physician's approval.
  • Reschedule with us if you have an active cold sore, rash or infection anywhere near the treatment area.

On the day

  • Arrive with clean skin and no makeup if you can.
  • Eat something beforehand.
  • Allow 60 to 90 minutes with us. The clinical treatment itself takes a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes; the rest is preparation, combination therapy and post-care.
  • Bring a tinted SPF for the drive home, or buy one here.

Please tell us before we begin

  • Active psoriasis
  • Active herpes simplex (cold sores)
  • Scleroderma
  • Open lesions
  • Skin cancer
  • Undiagnosed or unusual moles
  • Active lupus erythematosus
  • Active collagen vascular disease
  • Acne vulgaris stage IV
  • Warts
  • Bacterial or fungal infection
  • Undiagnosed solar keratosis
  • Haemophilia or other clotting disorders
  • Active vitiligo
  • History of keloid scars

Also tell us if you are pregnant or planning to be, have had cosmetic tattooing, have recently had a chronic illness, or are under major medical care. If you are unsure about any health condition or medication, speak to your physician. Every patient completes a consultation form before we treat.

Your treatment uses sterile, single-use consumables throughout. If anything feels uncomfortable during the procedure, tell your practitioner immediately — we will adjust.

Plan your downtime. Protect your skin and give it extra care for at least three to four days. Most patients look and feel mildly to moderately sunburned for 36 to 48 hours. Minor itching, hives, flaking or redness during healing is normal.

After your treatment

For two days, avoid

  • Direct UV — sun, solariums and sunbeds.
  • Intensive cardio, exercise or gym sessions.
  • Excessively hot showers, baths, spas or saunas.
  • Other aesthetic treatments — microdermabrasion, laser, IPL, chemical peels, muscle relaxant injections, dermal fillers.
  • Spray tanning and self-tanning.
  • Swimming, in chlorinated pools or the ocean.
  • Tattooing, including cosmetic tattooing.

For five days, avoid these actives

  • Mechanical exfoliants and scrubs.
  • Alpha hydroxy acids — glycolic, lactic, malic.
  • Beta hydroxy acid — salicylic acid.
  • Benzoyl peroxide.
  • Retinoids — tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene, retinol.
  • Hydroquinone and bleaching agents.
  • Alcohol-based products — isopropyl, denatured or rubbing alcohol.

Do not pick. Do not squeeze or agitate the skin while it heals either. Picking at healing skin is the most reliable way to leave a mark that outlasts the treatment.

Your post-treatment routine

Use the products we sent you home with. They are described here by what each one is, so you can match them if you run out.

  • Cleanse — a gentle, non-foaming cleanser
  • Serum — a plain hyaluronic acid serum
  • Repair — a bland barrier moisturiser
  • Protect — a mineral tinted SPF 30 or higher, reapplied 2–3 times a day

Depending on your concern we may also send you home with a skin-prep solution or a silicone scar gel. Your regimen may be adjusted to suit your skin — follow what your practitioner gave you.

If you had an enhancement

  • A peel — Expect more visible flaking around days three to five. Let it shed on its own — do not pull or peel it. Keep the actives pause going for a full seven days instead of five.
  • An exosome infusion, face or scalp — Leave the serum on your skin. Do not cleanse until the following morning so the exosomes stay in contact.
  • A hydrating sheet mask, or LED light therapy — No change to the routine above.

Call or text us right away if

  • redness, itching or hives persist beyond the expected healing window.
  • you develop blistering, spreading redness, pus, fever or pain that worsens rather than settles.
  • you are unsure whether an activity or product is safe — ask before you use it.

For any isolated adverse reaction, seek medical assistance.

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Aurora MD Aesthetics & Head Spa
21224 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(949) 998-5501 — call or text · hello@auroramdspa.com

Questions or concerns at any point in your recovery? Call or text us on (949) 998-5501 — we would always rather hear from you early.