You might have a familiarity with dermarolling or microneedling already, but if you don't that's okay! Gin Amber Beauty is here to give you the scoop about this wildly popular cosmetic tool that utilizes tiny needles to activate your body's own natural collagen production process. You can also use a dermaroller on your skin to boost product absorption, reduce scars, wrinkles, and rejuvenate your skin. However, did you know that you can use a dermaroller to boost hair growth? Dermarolling has been proven scientifically to help with hair loss (1).
But the real question we investigate in this article is: Can a dermaroller help take care of a patchy beard? Gin Amber Beauty takes a closer look at dermarolling the beard, sharing our results with our customers and readership.
Cool Beard, Bro
There is no shortage of men out there who want to grow a full, thick beard. However, many men experience problems with beard thinness and/or patchiness.
You might have tried products for beard growth like pills, creams, or sprays, for instance; some individuals even go to great lengths to improve their beard -- like a beard transplant.
If you're not super interested in doing anything extreme, dermarolling your beard might be the option for you. Although it might be true that not very many scientists have researched the possibility of using a dermaroller to improve the beard yet, all of the evidence we have points toward a positive answer. Beard rolling and minoxidil are being increasingly recognized as viable remedies for beard growth.
Dermarolling: What We Know
We know for a fact that dermarolling helps induce collagen and can help grow new hair (2). Dermarolling helps improve skin condition overall due to its ability to help users increase healthy blood flow, which also happens to be useful for stimulating new hair growth. Finally, dermarolling also boosts the absorption of various skincare products you might already be using. If dermarolling works so well for the hair on your head, then there is no real reason why it wouln't work on the hairs on your chinny chin chin (as well as the rest of the places where you might grow your beard).
Of course, results are likely going to vary from person to person. As of this moment, we've had many men that have shared their positive results after dermarolling their beard.
Where and When to Start Dermarolling
Dermarolling beginners should generally start with .50mm. You'll want to focus on stimulating the hair follicles coming from the epidermis, which is where your beard hair grows from. Their purpose is to improve product absorption. Skin anatomy is something you should think about when dermarolling to increase the thickness of your beard.
0.5mm dermarollers have needles long enough to reach and stimulate the hair follicles to improve beard growth. You can use a dermaroller every other day or so. It's best not to dermaroll more than three times in a week.
Since men's skin is generally on the thicker side, it's okay to also use the .75mm dermaroller. The 0.75mm dermaroller is great to use for beard growth, but should only be used once every 3 weeks. Please be aware that you could actually do harm to your skin when using dermarollers with longer needles.
Once you become a dermarolling pro, it's also okay to use the 1.0mm dermaroller, but only once a month. But this size is NOT intended for other parts of your face.
Learn more about dermaroller sizes and FAQs here.
Step-By-Step Dermarolling for Your Beard
1.) First, make sure the dermaroller and the area on your skin you are treating must be disinfected with 70% isopropyl alcohol or higher.
2.) You'll want to make sure your materials are disinfected in order to minimize risk of infection, which can occur from spreading dirt and bacteria.
3.) Roll your dermaroller over your beard. It can be done in longer rolls or you can focus on smaller areas at a time. You could roll in one direction several times, then change the direction from vertical to horizontal or diagonal. You can also roll your dermaroller several times vertically, then adjust it a bit to the side, roll vertically again, covering the whole beard area in this sort of way. Then, begin the process again, but focus on rolling horizontally this time, then diagonally.
4.) Take special care to focus on the areas where you want to grow more hair. Try doing some lighter rolls and then one roll with more pressure. However, you do want to make sure that you don't apply too much pressure. Feeling a prickling sensation is quite normal, but too much pain is a warning sign. Make sure to listen to your body. Do not over rolll, follow along with Gin's Youtube!
5.) Lastly, please make sure to sanitize your dermaroller after you're done treating your beard with 70% alcohol or higher.
Gin Amber Beauty's Final Beard Rolling Tips
Both the mustache area and the area between the chin and the lips might be on the more painful side. If you're going to dermaroll these areas, make an effort to be gentle -- do not apply much pressure.
Combining beard rolling sessions with minoxidil has been shown to be an effective strategy. You will want to make sure to wait around 24 hours before applying minoxidil after dermarolling. If you're using any sort of beard growth spray, dermarolling can help improve those results, too.
If you have a longer beard, it might be better to roll in one direction only, according to hair growth, so you do not pull out any of your existing hair.
Dermarolling is best done at night -- right before you go to sleep. Your skin is more sensitive to sunlight after dermarolling and you will give your skin more time to successfully recover if you wait until the night time to build your beard rolling practice.
Make sure to measure your expectations. You might not get results right away, but you should track any progress and/or changes. This will be a gradual process that generally takes anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks to see desirable results.
Make sure to check out this video for a few common dermarolling mistakes to avoid.
Shop Gin Amber Beauty Today!
Now that you have a little more information, you're likely more equipped to make an educated decision about how to improve a patchy beard.
Get in touch with Gin Amber Beauty and let us know what sort of results you're experiencing. We would love to be a part of your skincare and beard treatment journey!
References
1.) Dhurat, R., Sukesh, M. S., Avhad, G., Dandale, A., Pal, A., & Pund, P. (2013). A randomized evaluator blinded study of effect of microneedling in androgenetic alopecia: A pilot study. International Journal of Trichology, 5(1), 6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23960389/
2.) Dhurat, R., & Mathapati, S. (2015). Response to microneedling treatment in men with androgenetic alopecia who failed to respond to conventional therapy. Indian Journal of Dermatology, 60(3), 260. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458936/