Hair loss can be a frustrating experience, especially when the options for hair regrowth don't quite meet your expectations. When you're covering your scalp with serums and medications, you want to make sure they're effective.
As it turns out, research suggests that dermarolling—a form of microneedling—can enhance the effects of your hair growth treatments.[1] Let's explore the science behind dermarolling, how to use a dermaroller properly, and whether it's right for your hair regrowth journey.
What is Dermarolling?
Dermarolling uses a small, handheld roller covered in fine needles to create tiny microchannels on the scalp. These easily controlled injuries kick your body's repair mechanisms into action.[2] While this treatment was initially designed for dermatological concerns like wrinkles or scarring, research suggests that the same mechanisms that support skin health can be used to stimulate hair growth:
- Induction of Growth Factors: When your body detects the controlled micro-injuries from dermarolling, it stimulates blood flow to the area. This brings platelets to the affected area, where they can release critical growth factors—like PDGF, EGF, FGF, and TGF-β—that drive cellular proliferation and initiation of follicular growth cycles.[2]
- Enhanced Follicular Blood Flow: The increased blood flow caused by dermarolling also increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients going to the scalp, fueling hair growth.[2]
- Stem Cell Activation: Research suggests dermarolling can reactivate dormant stem cells in the follicle’s root zone. This may push hair back into its growth phase and encourage new strands to grow.[2]
- Upregulation of Regenerative Genes: Dermarolling may also modulate gene expression associated with angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) and cellular regeneration.[2]
- Improves Topical Delivery: Typically dermarolling is followed up with a serum, medication, or similar treatment to take advantage of the microchannels created in the upper layers of the skin.[3] This lets powerful treatments (like OS-01 HAIR) and treatments that may find it hard to pass through the skin barrier (like growth factors) go deeper—making them far more effective.[3][4][5]
The efficacy of your treatment largely depends on the type of needle you are using. While a longer needle (0.5mm–1.5mm) is often used to induce deeper micro-injuries for stem cell activation, and may provide greater results if used correctly, it can also extend recovery times between treatments and carries more risk of injury and contamination, especially if done at home.[6][7]
When OneSkin was designing our dermaroller, we chose 0.25mm needles. The shorter length enhances the penetration of your topical treatments while allowing your skin to heal rapidly after each treatment and minimizing risk for at-home use.
How Do You Properly Dermaroll?
Getting great results from your dermaroller starts with using the proper technique. Here’s what you need to know:
- Start With a Clean Scalp: Your scalp is covered in beneficial bacteria that, while integral to scalp health, shouldn't find their way into your skin. When performed on a dirty scalp, dermarolling can introduce this bacteria into your skin, potentially causing infection or unwanted side effects. Always wash your hair thoroughly with a non-irritating shampoo and wait for it to dry completely before dermarolling.[8][9]
- Roll Like a Pro: After sterilizing your roller, gently move the roller evenly across the problem areas of hair thinning or loss, like your temples, with light pressure. After each pass, pick up the dermaroller and return to the starting position. Continue a few times in each direction—up and down, side to side, and diagonally—so every area gets attention.[9] Getting to the scalp might be more difficult if you have longer hair. Focusing on parting the hair to expose your scalp can help.
- Post-Care Protocol: Your skin heals quickly, so the micro injuries caused by your dermaroller will have closed relatively soon after dermarolling. However, you may experience some redness and irritation. During those first 24-48 hours, avoid washing the scalp or using harsh and irritating products.[9] However, don't immediately return to microneedling after it appears healed. Dermarolling too frequently can cause unnecessary damage and even reverse positive results. Once a week is usually the sweet spot, as it boosts your results while letting your skin heal. You can work up to once daily if tolerated. Not everyone's skin will respond to dermarolling in the same way—pay attention to how your skin handles the treatment and let that guide how frequently you dermaroll.
- Take Care Of Your Roller: Properly caring for your dermaroller can help prevent unwanted side effects and extend the roller's lifespan. After every use, sterilize the needles with alcohol and store the roller properly in its container. Also, keep track of how frequently you use your Dermaroller. With every use, the needles on your roller will become slightly duller and bent, potentially causing damage instead of a smooth microchannel. After 2-3 months of frequent use, you should replace the roller with a new one to avoid these issues.[8]
Is Dermarolling Right For Your Skin?
Dermarolling can be a powerful addition to any hair regrowth strategy, but like any biohacking technique, you need to determine whether your scalp is prepared to benefit from it. Those with certain inflammatory skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, a history of easy scarring, and immunocompromised patients should likely avoid this treatment.[10][11] You should always discuss your options with a dermatologist if you fall into one of these categories.
Although dermarolling is considered safe for all skin types and ages, aged skin is known to have reduced repair function.[12] If your skin is fragile and has difficulty repairing after injury, consider choosing smaller needle depths (.25-.5mm) and spacing out your treatments to give your skin additional time to heal. We recommend starting small and focusing on any trouble areas of hair loss or thinning until you can determine how well your skin responds.
How to Use OS-01 HAIR and OneSkin’s Dermaroller Together
Taking advantage of the benefits of dermarolling, our 30 clinical study participants used a dermaroller once daily and applied OS-01 HAIR 2x daily to experience the following results:[4]
- Thicker hair (shown in 73.33% of participants after 3 months)
- Increased hair density (shown in 70% of participants after 3 months)
- Reactivated hair growth cycle with significantly more hairs in the anagen (growth) phase (shown in 83.33% of participants after 3 months)
We also conducted a beta test (brand-led consumer perception study) with 22 participants who used OS-01 HAIR 1-2x daily and no dermaroller. Within three months, they noticed the following benefits:[4]
- 89.47% agree they were able to style hair like usual
- 85% agree the product is lightweight
- 81.82% noticed new hair growth after 12 weeks
- 72.73% saw visibly denser hair (more hairs on their heads) after 12 weeks
- 80.95% agree their scalp was more hydrated after 8 weeks
As you can see from the clinical study results and beta test results, OS-01 HAIR can benefit from dermarolling, but it is not necessary to see benefits from OS-01 HAIR. Combining OS-01 HAIR with dermarolling and other hair loss treatments may optimize results and improve the health and appearance of your hair when compared to OS-01 HAIR alone.[4]
Key Takeaways
- Dermarolling creates controlled micro-injuries that trigger natural healing, boosts hair growth, and enhances serum absorption.
- For best results, choose the needle length that is right for you, and always start with a clean scalp and sterilized roller.
- Focusing on areas of hair loss, roll your dermaroller gently in multiple directions—vertical, horizontal, diagonal—for full coverage. Lift between each pass.
- Let your scalp heal fully between dermarolling sessions and avoid washing for 24-48 hours.
- For optimal results, combine OS-01 HAIR and dermarolling to get the most out of your peptides
References
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34714971/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3746236/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9830423/
- Based on data from clinical studies and/or lab studies conducted on human skin samples, 3D skin models, and skin or hair cells in the OneSkin lab. Explore more at oneskin.co/claims
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8423195/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32897622/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8776974/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9830423/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2918341/
- https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/microneedling-devices-getting-point-benefits-risks-and-safety
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459344/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9784880/
