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2025.07.03
Dermapen's effects aren't limited to acne scar treatment!
As an Assistant Professor, Associate Ward Director, and Chief of Dermatopathology at the university hospital dermatology department, I deepened my expertise through academic presentations and paper publications both domestically and internationally. I have handled a wide range of treatments, from birthmark therapy in children to adult pigmentation concerns, utilizing various lasers and injection therapies, while also contributing to community healthcare. Through encountering numerous cases, I strongly felt the potential and necessity of aesthetic medicine, resolving to pursue further expertise. Building upon my solid dermatological knowledge and meticulous diagnostic skills, I value treatments that gently support each individual's skin while bringing out its inherent beauty.
With new treatments constantly emerging, I've heard some say, "Isn't Dermapen ineffective?" So I thought I'd write about its usefulness.
I am Dr. Aya Hayama, a board-certified dermatologist.
Dermapen
The Dermapen 4, currently the fourth generation of Dermapen devices, is now available and in use at many clinics.
The Dermapen 4 uses 16 ultra-fine 33G needles to create micro-punctures in the skin at a speed of 1,920 per second, at depths ranging from 0.1mm to 3.0mm.
By intentionally creating micro-injuries in the skin's dermis, we harness the skin's wound-healing capacity—its natural healing power—to activate fibroblasts in the dermis. This promotes the production of collagen and elastin, accelerates skin turnover, and ultimately leads to skin regeneration.
A major advantage is that since no heat is applied, the resident bacteria are not destroyed, the bacterial flora remains normal, and pigmentation does not occur.
Potential drawbacks include minor bleeding for about a week and mild peeling for about a week.
InitiallyEffective for repairing acne scars, enlarged pores, and other scars.The edges of acne scars become smoother, so even relatively deep acne scars can be made less noticeable to some extent. For this reason, it is widely recognized as a treatment for acne scars.
However, as time passed, methods involving the combined use of various medications also began to emerge, so I will introduce them.
Velvet Skin
This is a skin treatment for radiant, beautiful skin that combines Massage Peel (Collagen Peel) with Dermapen 4.
The key feature of Velvet Skin is that it uses a Dermapen to deeply penetrate TCA (trichloroacetic acid), hydrogen peroxide, and kojic acid—ingredients found in the massage peel—into the dermal layer. This process leaves the skin after treatment feeling plush and smooth, with a velvety texture.
Velvet Skin, when combined with Dermapen, delivers maximum results by ensuring active ingredients penetrate more effectively than with a standard massage peel.
The treatment creates precise micro-channels in the skin, which stimulates cell turnover and collagen production as the channels (micro-injuries) heal. This process delivers significant rejuvenation benefits and helps tighten pores.
The soft, smooth texture of your skin immediately after treatment is addictive, making this a treatment with many repeat customers.
Manu Cafe Facial
This is a skin treatment combining Manuka Peel and Dermapen 4 to improve pores, dead skin cells, and wrinkles for beautiful skin.
The CLR Lotion (skin-improving serum) used for Manuka facials is Dermapen-certified for its moisturizing efficacy. This skin-improving lotion hydrates the skin, balances sebum secretion, and creates conditions less prone to acne. Additionally, ingredients like Manuka honey, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, and peptides provide moisturizing and exfoliating effects. This minimizes post-treatment downtime and discomfort, allowing you to feel a plump, supple texture immediately after the procedure.
Similarly, because the active ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin through the micro-channels created by the Dermapen, you can expect more significant skin-beautifying effects.
This treatment combines acne prevention and exfoliation with Dermapen 4, which is effective for enlarged pores, skin texture improvement, and acne scars.
The treatment involves mixing and applying the highly moisturizing base agent HylaActive.
Characteristics of the blended acids
・Lactic acid... Moisturizing effect achieved by increasing ceramide levels in the stratum corneum
・Glycolic acid... A type of fruit acid with acne-causing bacteria suppression and related bacterial proliferation inhibition effects.
・Salicylic acid... Softens and dissolves keratin to enhance the penetration of lactic acid and glycolic acid.
skin Botox
This is a skin treatment that combines Botox and Dermapen 4 to suppress sebum secretion and achieve beautiful skin.
Using the Dermapen 4, we create micro-channels on the face and neck, then apply Botox.
Skin Botox uses a Dermapen to deliver fine injections of Botox into the skin's superficial layers rather than the muscles. This treatment effectively addresses shallow wrinkles and, in particular, helps suppress sebum production.
Exosome Facial
This is a skin rejuvenation treatment combining exosomes and Dermapen 4 for beautiful skin.
Exosomes are capsule-like substances secreted by stem cells, also known as inter-organ messenger substances, and are released by every cell throughout the body. It is estimated that over 100 trillion exosomes circulate within our bodies.
Exosomes are being investigated for therapeutic applications in various diseases such as stroke, cirrhosis, cancer, lymphedema, and joint disorders due to their anti-inflammatory effects—the primary mechanism of their anti-aging function—and their ability to promote tissue repair. These exosomes also play a crucial role in stem cell-based cosmetic treatments, known as regenerative medicine.
The Exosome Facial involves directly applying skin-regenerating stem cell exosomes to the skin after creating micro-channels with a Dermapen. By creating micro-injuries in the skin, this regenerative therapy leverages the body's natural healing response to repair the damage. This process stimulates increased collagen production within the body, improving various skin concerns such as wrinkles, sagging, enlarged pores, acne scars, and stretch marks that develop with age.
Exosome Facial | Japan's Leading Clinic for Beauty and Health Regenerative Medicine | BIANCAGINZA
Vampire Facial
This treatment promotes skin regeneration by combining Dermapen 4 with high-concentration PRP (platelet-rich plasma) generated from the patient's own blood.
Your blood is separated using a centrifuge to extract platelets, which are then mixed with a serum and applied directly to the skin after micro-needling with a Dermapen. Because it's made from your own blood, it integrates well with your skin, offering enhanced benefits for regeneration and recovery.
The Vampire Facial is a treatment that gained significant attention in 2014 after Kim Kardashian posted about it on social media.
Not only Hollywood celebrities, but also famous people in Korea, the beauty powerhouse, seem to be flocking to cosmetic dermatology clinics.
Post-treatment progress reference↓
Case History
Wouldn't it be amazing if your skin got this radiant!?
Vampire Facial | Japan's Leading Clinic for Aesthetic and Regenerative Medicine | BIANCAGINZA
Exosome facials and vampire facials penetrate deep into the skin layers, so bleeding, redness, roughness, and peeling may occur for about a week. However, once you get past this, the smooth, silky feel of your skin after the downtime is addictive, making these popular treatments.
After the procedure, redness and stinging may occur. During the downtime, makeup should be avoided as it may accentuate redness and roughness.
Makeup can be applied 24 hours later.
Additionally, peeling may begin around three days after the treatment, and some people report noticing a reduction in the number of pores at the same time.
This is an aggressive treatment, but with repeated sessions, further improvement in pores and acne scars can be expected.
Here's a personal musing from me, a dermatologist...
I too belong to a generation that didn't have insurance coverage for acne treatment, so I have numerous acne scars.
That's why I've relied on the Dermapen so many times... By carefully utilizing the depth settings and experimenting with various combinations of treatments, I believe I've seen significant improvement. As a bonus, my pores and overall skin texture have also improved. Of course, other treatments and skincare products are important too, but I highly recommend giving this a try as one of your options.
In addition to these, we also recommend the Dermapen company-approved Uber Peel, combinations with retinol, and combinations with the Milan Peel!!
For those with stubborn acne scars, we also highly recommend considering Tri-Fill and Potenza as approaches that target the skin from within rather than just the surface.
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