The Truth About At-Home Microneedling vs. Professional RF Microneedling

There are some instances in which the DIY approach can be great and save you valuable time and money. Then there are those times when you can waste a lot of time and money trying to achieve results that only a professional, with the right technology and experience, can get done well.

A great example of this is at-home microneedling versus professional radiofrequency (RF) microneedling treatments. When it comes to something as important as your skin, this is one area where it’s a wise idea to leave the heavy lifting to professionals — just as the more than 3.7 million Americans who entrusted their skin resurfacing needs to professionals did in 2024.

As a board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Jean-Denis Boucher leads a team at Lone Star State Dermatology Clinic that truly understands the science behind skin care. Based on this knowledge, we’ve equipped ourselves with technologies and treatments that truly bring out the best in your skin, and our RF microneedling is a perfect example of this.

Here’s a look at how our microneedling with RF rises head and shoulders above at-home options.

The benefits of microneedling

Let’s first take a look at why microneedling is such a fantastic option for hitting the reset button on tired and aging skin. 

First, with microneedling, we can use the tiny needles to break up surface concerns across your skin, such as:

• Age spots
• Acne scars
• Facial veins
• Areas of hyperpigmentation

The needles not only make quick work of these surface issues, but they also penetrate more deeply for overall skin tightening.

The reality is that, starting in your 20s, your skin loses collagen at a rate of about 1% per year. Because collagen is the protein that’s responsible for the support and structure in your skin, its loss can lead to skin that droops, sags, and wrinkles more easily.

One of the best ways to stimulate collagen production is by creating a call for more, which is exactly what we do with microneedling. When we create a matrix of microchannels with the needles, your body launches a mild healing response, and one of the first responders is — you guessed it — collagen. This collagen fills in the matrix we create through microneedling, lifting and tightening the entire surface area for more youthful-looking skin.

The radiofrequency difference

On its own, microneedling is an incredibly effective anti-aging tool, but when you add radiofrequency energy to the treatment, it goes to the next level.

The RF energy that we deliver during the microneedling treatment heats the deeper layers of your skin, which leads to two great outcomes:

1. Your tissue tightens in response to the heat 
2. The RF energy amplifies the call for collagen

As a result, RF microneedling becomes a one-stop treatment that improves your skin from the surface and from below for superior results.

Why at-home microneedling falls short

We want you to think of at-home microneedling like teeth whitening — yes, you can, with great effort and over time, achieve some results with at-home whitening treatments, but not like the ones you receive when you visit the dentist. In just one hour, your dentist can whiten your teeth by several shades because they’re using professional-grade products that you can’t get over the counter.

The same holds true for many skin care procedures, including at-home microneedling kits. These kits aren’t professional grade, and they certainly don’t offer the RF boost. And, in inexperienced hands, these systems can further fall short of the desired results. 

So, as with teeth whitening, you can spend weeks and months trying to garner results that we can deliver in just one visit — results that go far beyond what an at-home microneedling kit can accomplish.

If you truly want a skin resurfacing treatment that can reverse the years in your skin, we strongly recommend doing it right the first time with RF microneedling. To experience the difference for yourself, we invite you to contact Lone Star State Dermatology Clinic in Live Oak, Texas, today to request an appointment.