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You probably know that microneedling can help with your hair, but you may be wondering if it helps with the hair on your beard as well. After all, beard hair is a bit different than the hair on your head, which is why microneedling your beard is different too.
How Microneedling Can Benefit Your Beard
Microneedling has just as many benefits to your beard as it does for your scalp and the hair growing there. Actually, using a roller on your beard may have even more benefits. For starters, when a beard is growing in, it is often patchy looking.
This is because different areas of your chin ad jawline will grow hair at different rates. For some, the hair around the mouth will grow faster, and for others, the hair of their sideburns grows faster. Using a roller can help even this out as much as possible if you use it more on the areas that are growing slower.
Like with hair, microneedling does this by helping improve the flow of blood to the area you do it on. Essentially, the tiny needles on a derma roller cause some very minor damage. When your body heals this damage, it also improves the circulation to the area, resulting in more nutrients going there as well.
Also, a new beard can also irritate the skin on your face, and this can cause dandruff and other problems. Microneedling these areas can help literally scratch that itch and also help solve the problem by promoting healing in that area.
Besides promoting healing and blood flow, microneedling can also promote collagen and keratin. Both of these are things that your hair needs, including the hair on your beard. Also, microneedling won’t make your beard look either oily or dry since it doesn’t affect that at all.
So, even if your beard hair is not wanting to grow at all for you, microneedling that area can encourage growth to happen within 1 to 3 months. The help with growth is definitely a reason to try microneedling your beard, but there are more benefits as well.
Cautions Of Microneedling Your Beard
Microneedling, also called derma rolling, has been around for a while. In this time, many benefits of microneedling have been found but, at the same time, there are a few side effects of it as well. A little thought about the fact that you are literally puncturing the top part of your skin should show you what some of the cautions are.
If your microneedling tool is not completely clean, then you are going to be putting bacteria into your skin. Therefore, you can easily get infections of various kinds, some really bad ones. Then if you use beard products too soon before or after microneedling, you could be putting harmful chemicals into your skin.
Just because a hair product is safe for external use, that does not make it completely safe. Products such as minoxidil, though beneficial for hair growth, are toxic in your bloodstream. And minoxidil is just one example.
Besides that, the more common microneedling side effects include things like itching, redness, rashes, extreme tenderness, and other things. Bruising is also common when microneedling if you press even just a little too hard. Microneedling can also spread acne, and it is bad for psoriasis or eczema in most cases.
A dull microneedling tool is something that you do not want to use. Eventually, the beard roller will get a little dull over time. When it becomes dull, it will either cause more damage as you press harder to get the same effect, or it will simply not prick your skin enough, and you will not get an effect at all.
Finally, microneedling can cause scarring and other problems. The most sensitive area of your beard is your upper lip, which can make talking slightly painful if that area is sore.
How To Use Microneedling For Beard Growth
Basically, a microneedling tool is something that is simply rolled over your skin with a light amount of pressure. However, using a derma roller has a lot more details to it. First, make sure your beard hair is clean and dry as much as possible.
It is the second instruction for microneedling that cannot be stressed enough. This is to clean your beard roller often! You should clean the derma roller before and after each use, disinfecting it and putting it somewhere where it won’t get any dust or anything else on it.
Then, when you are pressing down with the roller, don’t feel the need to press down too hard. You are not trying to draw blood or to press until it hurts. In fact, if you do see blood, then you are pressing too hard and are causing too much damage.
Run the beard roller gently over your face where you want to encourage beard growth in at least a couple of different directions. For example, at the very least, you want to run the roller north and south and then east and west. Getting a few rolls diagonally is good too, if you have the time.
Use the derma roller only once or twice a week. Doing microneedling more often than that will damage without giving your skin a chance to heal. You want the surface of your skin to have a chance to complexly repair itself between each time.
A Few Tips
To get the most out of microneedling your beard, there are a few helpful things that you can do. For example, you can add other beard growth techniques and products to your derma rolling routine. Oils, and certain types of beard oils, can both soothe the area you microneedled, but also moisturize your skin there and assist with beard hair growth.
Oils like coconut and jojoba are great examples. Just make sure that the beard oil you want to use is safe to use on skin that has been freshly microneedled. Keep in mind that, with the blood coming to the surface of your skin there, any reaction is going to be worse.
This is why, while minoxidil is great to use with a derma roller, you have to be really careful. The reason is because minoxidil is toxic if it gets into your bloodstream. This is something very likely to happen if you apply that hair treatment too soon, either before or after microneedling.
When microneedling over your cheeks, it can be helpful to hold some air in your mouth. This will make your cheeks slightly stiffer and easier to microneedle over properly.
If your beard has been growing out for a little while, some hairs may get caught in the wheel. You can trim down the longer hairs to be more even. Or, you can hold down your growing beard with your other hand and work slowly.
Finally, cleaning your microneedling can be easily done if you set or dip it in rubbing alcohol. Hand sanitizer is also a cheap and easy way to clean your roller.
How To Pick A Microneedler For Your Beard
As mentioned, your beard hair is much different from the hair on your head. Therefore, the roller that you use on your beard should also be different from the one that you would use on your scalp. In fact, some rollers are referred to simply as beard rollers, as they are made specifically for your beard.
However, the design of both types of derma rollers are pretty much the same. True, there are a few things that you want to be different. Still, you can use a regular derma roller that is meant for your hair on your beard if you want to do so. In fact, regular derma rollers are often slightly cheaper than ones designed for beards, even though they are so similar.
What It Is Made Of
Most of the best microneedling tools are made out of titanium or steel. However, the gold-plated options, though really expensive as you might imagine, are also good too. Plastic ones may be cheap, but they won’t last long, are poorly made, and are actually bad for your skin.
This is because almost all plastic has a tendency to help onto molecules. The result of that in a derma roller is that cleaning it won’t get it perfectly clean, thereby increasing the chances you will get an infection from using it.
The Needles
There are a few different needle details that you should take a look at. The number of needles a derma roller has is one thing to consider. Fewer needles is safer to use and easier on your skin. More needles is sometimes better, but you don’t want too many. A good needle count is between 200 and 540.
There is also the needle length to consider, and here a 0.5 – 0.75mm size is good for beard growth. Your scalp is thicker than skin on your face, so that is why your beard requires a smaller needle size. If you want to microneedle more often, you can even go as small as a 0.25mm needle.
Head Size
The last thing about derma needles is the size of the head. There are microneedling tools with small heads and ones with wider heads. The best size for beards is a medium width. Small derma rollers, and derma pens, take a really long time, and the pens are much more likely to catch on your hairs.
Meanwhile, the larger, wider sizes are not going to work as well over the rounded edges of your jaw. Therefore, medium-width microneedling tools work best to get everywhere without taking too much time.
A Couple Of Beard Roller Options
If you are too busy to pick out a beard roller for yourself, you may prefer having a couple easy options to choose from. Neither of these beard rollers is very expensive, and both might be just what your beard needs.
THAPPINK Derma Roller For Beard Hair Growth
This derma roller has a 193 needle count and a needle length of 0.5mm. It even comes with a case for storing it, which is needed for taking your roller places with you. You can also get it with 1mm and 1.5mm needles, which is good if you want to get a set.
9Oine Derma Roller For Beard Growth
This derma roller is a little cheaper, and it has a 540 needle count with the same 0.5mm needle length. It also comes with a case to store it. However, neither the case nor the roller itself is made to be durable. The needles are titanium, though, so this inexpensive option is great for trying out microneedling.
Final Thoughts
While microneedling your beard can be a bit tedious and slightly painful, it can really help you. The 1 to 3 months it might take before getting noticeable results is not even any longer than it would take to get results from other things.
Finally, one thing I like about microneedling is the fact that it is closer to being a one-time purchase. Yes, replacing a microneedling tool is something that will need to be done on occasion. However, buying a beard roller infrequently isn’t going to be as expensive as buying a product that only lasts a month.
There is such a thing as using a boar bristle brush on your beard to achieve the same effect. While a boar bristle brush does last longer than a beard roller, the small needles of the latter are far more effective.
