Microneedling
Smoother, firmer skin from your own collagen
Think of it as putting your skin's repair system to work.
Here's what actually happens. A medical device makes thousands of microscopic channels in your skin, each one small enough to close quickly and real enough that your body responds to it. Your skin repairs the channels, and the repair builds new collagen, the protein that keeps skin firm and smooth. That response is the treatment, and it keeps working after you go home. We use it for acne scarring, texture, enlarged pores and early lines.
At the front desk: "Think of it as creating tiny signals in your skin that tell your body to rebuild and repair itself. Your skin responds by producing fresh collagen, which helps improve scars, texture, fine lines, and overall firmness."
Your skin and your history are looked at first, and whether microneedling is the right answer is decided then. Your skin is cleansed, and numbing cream goes on for about 30 minutes. Then the SkinPen Precision System, a medical device with a sterile single-use cartridge, is moved across the area at a depth set for your skin. You leave looking like you caught the sun, and the collagen builds over the months that follow.
If microneedling is the right treatment for you, we'll tell you. If something else is, we'll tell you that too.
What is microneedling?
The appointment runs 60 to 90 minutes, consultation and numbing included. Tiny sterile needles make microscopic channels in your skin, and your skin repairs them. We use it for:
Acne scarring, once active breakouts have settled
Surgical scars
Uneven skin texture and enlarged pores
Fine lines and early loss of firmness
Stretch marks
Dull or tired-looking skin
The repair response
Each channel is a controlled injury, deliberate enough to start a repair. Your skin sends repair signals, and the repair builds collagen and elastin, the two proteins that keep skin firm and smooth. The clinical name is collagen induction therapy, and it means what it sounds like: prompting your skin to make more collagen through controlled micro injury.
It works by stimulating your skin mechanically. Treatments that rely on light or heat have to be more careful on deeper skin tones, and this one has fewer of those constraints, which is why it suits a wide range of skin types. It also works slowly, over months, and it keeps working after you have gone home.
The device
Riviera uses the SkinPen Precision System. It is sold to licensed practitioners only, and every treatment uses a sterile, single-use needle cartridge with a lock-out that stops it being used a second time. The depth is set for your skin.
How deep the needles go changes the treatment
Microneedling is sold everywhere. Rollers online, pens on marketplace sites, and treatments where nobody will tell you what the device is or how deep it went.
Three things separate one treatment from another: device, cartridge and depth.
The device. Riviera uses the SkinPen Precision System, a motorized handpiece. The needles move straight down and back at a fixed speed and a set depth, so both hold from the first pass to the last. A roller or a pen bought online goes in at an angle, at whatever depth the pressure happens to be. The FDA built its microneedling category around this device in 2018.
The cartridge. Sterile, single use, with a lock-out that stops it being used twice. Worth asking anyone who offers you microneedling whether theirs does the same.
The depth. Eleven settings, from 0 to 2.5 mm, in 0.25 mm steps. The right one is a clinical decision, and it is the part you cannot see on a price list.
Every treatment here runs to a protocol set by Anna Nicolardi, L.E., Riviera's Director of Aesthetics, a licensed esthetician in New York State for more than 13 years and a licensed Aesthetics Instructor. Riviera's aesthetic professionals work to that protocol. So the depth was chosen against the same standard whoever is in the room with you.
How many sessions will you need?
3 to 4 sessions, 4 to 6 weeks apart, each adjusted to how your skin responded.
What you see in the first weeks
Skin that looks brighter
Skin that feels more hydrated
Smoother texture
An improved glow
Skin typically looks brighter and feels smoother in the first week or two. That part is the skin settling after the treatment. Every microneedling treatment here finishes with Celluma LED light therapy. It is a step chosen for the recovery side of the treatment, and it is not standard everywhere.
The change you booked for arrives later. New collagen typically shows at around 4 to 6 weeks, and it can keep building for 3 to 6 months after your last session.
What the course is building
Acne scarring and deeper texture usually need more.
Once the course is done, most people keep it up with 1 to 2 sessions a year.
What microneedling will not fix
Straight answers, because the wrong treatment is worse than no treatment. Microneedling remodels, and it does it slowly. It prompts repair in the tissue you already have, over months. If you want a visible change next week, this is the wrong treatment and we will say so.
It does not lift skin that has lost its support
Loose skin that needs support is a different problem, and past a certain point it is a surgical one. Microneedling works on the quality of the skin you have. It does not move it.
It is not a treatment for active acne
Inflamed or cystic breakouts get treated first, by us or by a dermatologist, and the scarring afterward. Some of what arrives at a microneedling consultation is a laser answer, an injectable answer, a skincare answer, or a dermatologist's.
One thing worth knowing before you book anything else
Microneedling changes what your skin can safely tolerate for a while, in both directions. Peels, IPL, laser, radiofrequency and waxing all need spacing away from it. And sun breaks down collagen faster than we build it, so daily SPF is part of the treatment.
We sequence this for you at consultation. Tell us what else you are having, and when.
Who is a good candidate?
Anyone who wants to change the quality of their skin, which is the honest answer and the least useful one. It suits you if you:
Have acne scarring, once the breakouts have settled
Have surgical scars or stretch marks
Have uneven texture or enlarged pores
Have fine lines or early loss of firmness
Have dull or tired-looking skin
Have a skin tone that light treatments are careful with
Can give the result a few months
For acne scarring, the device's FDA clearance covers all Fitzpatrick skin types, the standard scale clinics use for skin tone. You need to be 22 or over.
Who may not be?
Treatment may be postponed or avoided if you have:
Active or inflamed acne, particularly cystic breakouts
An active cold sore
An active skin infection
Open wounds or broken skin in the area
Severe eczema, psoriasis or dermatitis flaring in the area
Severe sunburn
A history of poor wound healing or abnormal scarring
Certain autoimmune conditions that affect healing
Current or recent isotretinoin, without medical clearance
Any suspicious lesion or active skin cancer in the area
Pregnancy, depending on our protocol
You need to be 22 or over. Some medications, medical conditions and recent treatments change the plan: the depth, the spacing between sessions, what goes on your skin afterward, or when we book you. Occasionally one changes the answer, and severe acne scarring or a medical skin condition sometimes needs a dermatologist. So tell us what you take, what you've had done and what your skin is doing now. If we don't think microneedling is going to give you what you're after, we'll tell you before we treat.
What to expect during and after your treatment
A topical numbing cream goes on for about 30 minutes before anything starts. After that, most people describe vibration, light pressure, a scratching sensation and a warm tingling. The forehead, the nose and the upper lip are the sharper spots. Bone sits close to the surface there and you will feel more. It is brief, and it stops when you say so. You will hear the device working, a quiet mechanical sound most people stop noticing within a minute.
Afterward
Expect to look sunburned. Redness for 24 to 72 hours, some mild swelling, tightness and dryness, and often a little flaking a few days later as the skin turns over. Most people go back to their day.
For the first 24 hours: leave off makeup, and skip swimming, sweating, exercise, saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs. Try not to touch your face.
For 5 to 7 days: leave off retinol, exfoliating acids, scrubs and anything aggressive, and no waxing or facial hair removal. Keep your skin hydrated with gentle products, and wear SPF 30 or higher every day. Facials, peels, IPL, laser and radiofrequency wait until your skin has fully settled.
The 24 hours without makeup is usually the part that decides whether you take a day off.
Call us if you get increasing pain, severe swelling, blistering, anything that looks like an infection, or redness that gets worse instead of better.
Frequently asked questions
Science and safety
Does microneedling actually work, or is it just an expensive facial?
It does something a facial cannot, and it works slowly.
A facial works on the surface. Microneedling works below it, by prompting your skin to build new collagen over the following months. That is a structural change, and it is why the timeline is months instead of days.
Here is the honest half. The published research on microneedling is mostly small studies, and the reviews that pull them together describe the evidence as low quality and call for better trials. We are not going to quote you a number we cannot stand behind. What we can tell you is what the device is authorized for, how we use it, and what we see in the room.
If you want dramatic and immediate, this is the wrong treatment and we will say so at consultation.
Is it safe?
For most people, with the right screening, yes.
The SkinPen Precision System is a medical device, and the needle cartridge is sterile and single use, with a lock-out that prevents it being reused. That matters more than it sounds like it should.
There are conditions that mean we postpone, and more that change what we do. Active infection, an inflamed breakout, a history of poor wound healing or abnormal scarring, and recent isotretinoin are the main ones. Tell us your medications and your history before we start.
Is the device FDA cleared?
Yes, and the specific wording is worth having.
The SkinPen Precision System received FDA marketing authorization in March 2018, and the agency created its microneedling device classification around it. It has been cleared again since.
The clearance covers facial acne scars in adults aged 22 years and older, across all Fitzpatrick skin types. That is the part of it that applies to the treatments on this page.
We also use microneedling for other concerns, including texture, pores and fine lines. Those uses sit outside that authorization, which is a normal part of clinical practice, and something we would rather you heard from us first.
What about the sun?
Stay out of it, before and after.
Do not come in with a sunburn or a fresh tan, and wear SPF 30 or higher every day afterward. Sun exposure breaks down the collagen this treatment is designed to build.
Can I have this while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Pregnancy depends on our protocol, and we will discuss it with you before anything is booked. Tell us at booking if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Quality and our approach
Is all microneedling the same?
No, and there are three places it differs.
The device. A medical device that has been through FDA review is a different object from a pen or a roller bought online, and the controls it had to meet cover needle depth accuracy, sterility and cross-contamination.
The cartridge. Ours is sterile, single use, and locked out from reuse.
The depth. Eleven settings, chosen for your skin against a protocol set by our Director of Aesthetics. That is the part that takes training.
Who performs the treatment?
Microneedling here is delivered by Riviera's aesthetic professionals, to a protocol set by Anna Nicolardi, L.E., Riviera's Director of Aesthetics, a licensed esthetician in New York State for more than 13 years and a licensed Aesthetics Instructor who has spent over 5 years teaching advanced technique to other estheticians.
Do you say no?
Yes. If microneedling isn't going to give you what you're after, or if what you're describing needs a dermatologist, we say so before we treat you.
Do I need to do anything before I come in?
Yes, and it changes how the treatment goes.
For 3 to 5 days beforehand, stop retinol, tretinoin and other vitamin A products, exfoliating acids and scrubs. For a week, no waxing, threading or depilatory creams on the area. No sunburn and no tanning.
Come in with clean skin if you can, without makeup, sunscreen or skincare on.
Tell us if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you get cold sores, if you take blood thinners, if you have had Botox, filler, laser or a peel recently, or if you have any active skin condition.
Do you use PRP or a serum with microneedling?
The treatment itself uses a sterile glide gel from the SkinPen system, which lets the device move smoothly across the skin. Professional products go on afterward to calm and support it, chosen for your skin on the day.
Results and what to expect
When will I see something?
Brighter, smoother skin in the first week or two for most people. That part is the surface settling.
The change you booked for arrives later. New collagen typically shows at around 4 to 6 weeks and can keep building for 3 to 6 months after your last session.
How many sessions will I need?
Most people have 3 to 4, spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart.
Acne scarring and deeper texture concerns usually need more. We will give you a number at consultation once we have looked at your skin.
How long do the results last?
Results can last 12 to 18 months, depending on your age, your sun exposure and what you use at home.
Collagen keeps aging after we build it, so most people come back for 1 to 2 maintenance sessions a year.
How red will I be, and can I go back to work?
Plan for 24 to 72 hours of looking like you caught the sun. Some people are fine the next day. Some are pink into day three, and a few get light flaking after that.
No makeup for the first 24 hours, which is usually the part that decides whether you take a day.
Can I have this before an event?
Give yourself at least 2 weeks between your last session and the event, and longer if it matters.
Redness settles in a few days, but flaking can run into the first week, and the change you actually want takes 4 to 6 weeks to show. Tell us the date at your first consultation and we will build the course backward from it.
Does it hurt?
Less than people expect. Numbing cream goes on for about 30 minutes first. After that, most people describe vibration, light pressure and a warm tingling, sharper over the forehead, the nose and the upper lip.
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