Dermapen 4 microneedling is medical microneedling using the Dermapen 4 device, which is cleared by the US FDA for facial acne scars (510(k) K221070, 2022). A sterile cartridge of 16 ultra-fine needles stamps vertically at 80–110 times a second, making up to 1,920 controlled, microscopic channels a second in the skin. The skin treats each channel as a tiny injury and repairs it by producing new collagen and elastin. Over a course of sessions that renewal smooths acne scars, tightens enlarged pores, refines texture, softens fine lines and evens tone, using only your skin’s own response. There is no heat, no chemical and nothing injected. The needle depth is adjustable from 0.2 mm to 3.0 mm, and at Medisha Clinic the depth for each zone of your face is planned by Dr Nish Shah MD and delivered by a trained aesthetic nurse to his plan.

At Medisha Clinic in Mayfair, Dermapen 4 is priced per session and per course, with course prices confirmed at your consultation. Every session uses a new sterile Dermapen 4 cartridge, opened in front of you, and is delivered by a trained aesthetic nurse to the depth plan Dr Nish Shah MD writes for you at consultation. A typical face course is 3 sessions for texture, pores and fine lines, and up to 6 sessions for acne scarring, 4 weeks apart. Consultation with Dr Nish is £50, redeemed in full against treatment. The clinic is at 58 South Molton Street, Mayfair, London W1K 5SL, 3 minutes from Bond Street station.

Dermapen 4 differs from most microneedling in 3 ways: medical clearance, sterility and depth. Clearance: it is cleared by the US FDA for facial acne scars in adults 22 and over (510(k) K221070), on clinical studies in which 70–85% of patients were rated improved, and it carries a CE Declaration of Conformity; most microneedling pens carry no medical clearance at all. Sterility: every patient gets a new sealed 16-needle cartridge with a chip that stops it ever being used again, and retention valves stop fluid flowing back into the handpiece, so cross-contamination, the real risk with reused or poorly cleaned pens, is designed out. Depth: 0.2 mm to 3.0 mm, with depth accuracy tested as part of the clearance and a dedicated scar setting at full depth. The device is only half the story. At Medisha the depth for each part of your face is chosen and adjusted by a medically trained doctor with over 30,000 non-surgical treatments, and delivered by a trained nurse to that plan.

Yes, and this is one of its real advantages. Many lasers and chemical peels work with heat or acid, which can trigger dark marks (post-inflammatory pigmentation) in darker skin. Dermapen 4 works mechanically, without heat. In a randomised trial comparing microneedling with a fractional laser for acne scars, no microneedling patient developed post-inflammatory pigmentation, against 13.6% of laser patients. The FDA clearance covers Fitzpatrick skin types I to V; Dr Nish Shah MD assesses the deepest skin tones individually, as he does every patient’s history of pigmentation, at consultation. Strict sun protection after treatment is the other half of keeping darker skin safe, and it is part of your aftercare at Medisha Clinic.

A numbing cream is applied for 20–30 minutes first. Most patients then describe Dermapen 4 as a light, vibrating scratch, most noticeable over the forehead and around the nose where the skin is thin; because the 16 needles stamp vertically rather than drag, the device glides. Afterwards the skin is pink to red like mild sunburn, warm and tight, for 24–48 hours, with light flaking sometimes on days 2–4. You can return to work the next day and wear make-up after 24 hours. Pinpoint bruising is uncommon. For 3–5 days you avoid retinoids, acids, sun, saunas and the gym, and you wear SPF 50 every morning. Dr Nish Shah MD gives you written aftercare before you leave Medisha Clinic.

Most patients need a course of 3–6 sessions, 4 weeks apart, with results building for months afterwards. For texture, pores, dullness and fine lines, 3 sessions 4 weeks apart is typical. For acne scarring, 4–6. The gap matters: 4 weeks is roughly how long new collagen takes to form, so treating sooner adds nothing. Skin often looks brighter within days of each session. The real change, new collagen, appears from about 4 weeks and keeps building for up to 6 months after the final session, so the most representative photographs are taken months after the course, not days. Dr Nish Shah MD reviews your progress at Medisha Clinic and adjusts the depth plan as your skin responds. A maintenance session every 6–12 months holds the result.

Yes. Facial acne scars in adults aged 22 and over are the indication Dermapen 4 is FDA-cleared for, on 2 clinical studies in which 70–85% of patients were rated improved after 2 or 3 treatments 4 weeks apart, and none worse. Rolling and boxcar scars, the shallow, soft-edged and box-shaped depressions, respond most strongly, because new collagen builds up beneath the scar and lifts its floor. Deep ice-pick scars respond less and may need other approaches. The depth plan is what makes the difference: the dedicated scar setting reaches 3.0 mm through the scar tissue where the collagen needs reaching, with shallower settings around it where the skin is normal, adjusted session by session by Dr Nish Shah MD. Active acne must be clear before treatment, and anyone who has taken isotretinoin in the last 6 months waits until that window has passed.

They work in different ways and are often combined. Dermapen 4 works from the surface: it mechanically triggers your skin to rebuild collagen where the needles have been, so it is the treatment for scars, pores, texture and fine lines. Profhilo and Sunekos Performa are injected and bio-remodel the skin from within, so they are the treatments for firmness, crepiness, hydration and glow. Polynucleotides are injected repair signals for damaged, inflamed or under-eye skin. Dr Nish Shah MD performs all of them at Medisha Clinic, so the recommendation follows your skin rather than the clinic’s equipment. The most common combination for scarred or textured skin is a Dermapen 4 course with Profhilo or Sunekos Performa between or after sessions.

Yes. The neck and chest are treated for crepiness, fine lines and sun damage at shallower settings than the face, because the skin is thinner, and the manufacturer’s protocols cover the face, neck, décolletage, hands and body. Surgical scars, caesarean scars, injury scars and stretch marks are treated over a course using the deeper scar setting, and older scars respond as well as newer ones, though newer ones respond faster. The FDA clearance itself is for facial acne scars; treatment of other areas is a clinical decision Dr Nish Shah MD makes for you at your Medisha Clinic consultation.

Anyone with active acne, cold sores, eczema, psoriasis or any infection in the treatment area should wait until it is clear. Anyone who has taken isotretinoin (oral acne medication) in the last 6 months waits until that window has passed. A history of keloid scarring (raised, overgrown scars), a fresh tan or sunburn, and pregnancy or breastfeeding are all reasons to postpone or avoid treatment. Microneedling also will not lift sagging skin or replace lost volume, so if that is the real problem, threads or filler are the right treatment and Dr Nish Shah MD will tell you so at your Medisha Clinic consultation.

In a medical setting with a sterile single-use device the risks are low. Expected, temporary effects: redness like mild sunburn for 24–48 hours, warmth and tightness, light flaking on days 2–4, and occasionally pinpoint bruising. Uncommon risks are infection, avoided by the sealed, chip-locked cartridge and clean aftercare, and a cold sore flare in people who get them, for which a preventive can be prescribed. Temporary darkening of the skin can occur if the area is exposed to sun too soon, which strict SPF avoids. With poor technique or excessive depth, track marks or scarring can occur, which is why the depth is set by a doctor. Depth judgement and sterility are the two things that decide safety, which is why every Medisha Clinic course is planned and reviewed by Dr Nish Shah MD and delivered with a new cartridge opened in front of you.

Because the device is the same in every clinic that owns one, and the result is decided by who plans the depth for your face. At Medisha that is Dr Nish Shah MD: a medically trained doctor with over 30,000 non-surgical treatments, one of the most experienced aesthetic doctors in the UK and London, Senior International Clinical Trainer at Derma Medical, Official UK Trainer for Sunekos, and Brand Ambassador and Key Opinion Leader for Intraline. He maps your depth zone by zone at consultation; a trained aesthetic nurse delivers each session to that plan with a new sterile cartridge opened in front of you; and he reviews and adjusts the plan as your skin responds. Because he also performs Profhilo, Sunekos, polynucleotides, threads and filler, you get the treatment your skin needs rather than the one the clinic owns, and you will be told plainly if microneedling is not it. £50 consultation redeemed in full against treatment. 58 South Molton Street, Mayfair, London W1K 5SL, serving Mayfair and Marylebone.