Derma Roller for Beard Growth: Do Beard Rollers Work or Not? (2024)

Derma Roller, aka. Beard Roller is an interesting little beard growth-enhancing tool with hundreds of tiny needles.

It’s typically used in a practice called “microneedling”, which is touted to improve circulation and collagen production in the skin.

But the burning question many men want the answer to, is:

“Can you use a Derma Roller for beard growth?”

Many men are curious whether this kind of micro-needling device can be used to grow a beard faster. The answer is, theoretically yes.

A derma roller can be safely used for the facial hair area and it should result inthicker growth of beard through stimulation of blood circulation and collagen production, and there’s some science to support that claim too.

How Does a Beard Roller Work?

Derma Rollers and other micro-needling devices are most commonly used by women to soothe out wrinkles in the face to prevent and remove rosacea and acne scarring.

Some brands have recently started selling similar products for men but in an effort to sound more masculine, they have decided to rename them toBeard Rollers.

Never the less, Derma Rollers and Beard Rollers are exactly the same things, the latter just costs more for some weird reason.

The mechanism of action is simple:

1. The small needles of the beard roller puncture the skin.
2. The body recognizes this damage and begins the healing process.
3. Circulation improves, nutrient & hormone-rich blood rushes to the beard area.

Since collagen and keratin are both necessary components of the actual facial hair that stems from the follicles, and the androgenic hormones (testosterone and DHT) fuel the growth.

It would make logical sense that this could result in an increased rate of natural beard growth; making your mane thicker over time.

I would go as far as saying that micro-needling combined with few otherbeard growth hacks, belongs to the top methods offixing a patchy beard.

Many men have anecdotally reported great improvements with derma rolling on facial hair as well as scalp hair.

According to many users, it seems to work even better with the application of minoxidil solution.

The above image is from a study where the researchers tested if Derma Rolling would be an effective method of stimulating scalp-hair growth.

Much to their surprise, using a Derma Roller in combination with minoxidil, yielded better results in terms of new hair growth than minoxidil alone (one of the most potent hair follicle activators).

The study was published in the International Journal of Trichology in 2013, and the researchers theorize that using a microneedle has to activate some of the stem-cell growth factors.

Now comes the important question…

Can these results also occur in the beard area?

Who knows? It’s likely but we can’t ever know for sure until someone replicates the study with men micro-needling their beards.

NOTE: The study used Derma Rollers with a 1.5mm needle size. This is too big for facial hair use as the skin under your beard is thinner than on the scalp.

Consider using a 0.5 – 0.75mm Derma Roller like this if you want to try micro-needling the beard.

For now, all we can really say for certain is that there are thousands of men who report that using a dermaroller does improve their facial growth and that there’s a study which sheds a positive light on the practice.

How to Use a Derma Roller on Beard

Dermarolling for beard growth is not difficult at all. In all of its simplicity, you just take the roller and go through your facial hair skin a few times per week.

Of course, there are some differences that depend on the size of the Derma Roller and important tips to prevent infections, so let’s take a closer look below.

How Often Should I Microneedle the Beard?

Most experts recommend using a derma roller two times per week for facial hair growth purposes.

You should always let your skin rest and repair itself before you puncture it again with the Derma Roller, and ideally, you should be micro needling every three days for best results.

Of course, the size of the needles is a big factor in how often you can use the Derma Roller. If it’s a small 0.25mm needle kind, you can Derma Roll daily.

If it’s a bigger 0.5mm needle size roller, then follow the 2x per week rule.

For the 0.75mm Derma Rollers, you can safely roll the facial hair area once per week.

What Directions Should I Roll in?

The directions you should microneedle in are the same eight directions you can find in a compass. In other words, microneedle horizontally, vertically, and diagonally in both ways.

So first go up, down, left, and right about ten times per direction all around your beard area. Next, do the same thing but diagonally in both directions again about ten times per each direction.

This method will provide even punctures all around the beard area and give the best results in terms of growth.

How Much Pressure Should I Apply?

You don’t need to apply much pressure when Dermarolling, just enough to keep the needles next to the skin surface.

In areas like the center of the cheeks where the skin gives up a bit, you can apply slight pressure or use your tongue to push against the roller from the inside.

It’s important to remember that micro-needling should never hurt, and even if you don’t feel pain, the needles will still puncture the skin surface.

How to Sanitize and Clean the Beard Roller?

Since all of the needles will puncture the skin surface and reach the epidermis, it’s imperative that you always sanitize and disinfect the Derma Roller.

To remove the harmful bacteria from your Beard Roller dip it to alcohol, use a sanitizer spray, or ultraviolet sterilization.

If you do not clean the Derma Roller before you microneedle the beard area, you are inviting bacteria into the deep skin layers through the small puncture wounds. This should be avoided at all costs, so stop slacking with the cleansing part.

Derma Rollers for Beard Quick Summary

Finding the Best Kind of Derma Roller for Facial Hair

There are many types of Derma Rollers available with needle sizes that go all the way from 0.25mm to 3mm+, titanium rollers, stainless-steel rollers, different wheel sizes, etc.

Below I have addressed the most important factors that you should take into consideration before buying a Derma Roller for facial hair growth stimulating purposes.

If you’re too lazy to read, know that the best Beard Roller is a Derma Roller with 0.5-0.75mm needle size and titanium needles (beginners may want to get the 0.25mm at first to get used to the microneedle therapy)

Below are two good options:

• This 0.5mm Derma Roller
• This 0.25mm Derma Roller for beginners

Titanium vs Stainless-Steel

There are two types of needle materials used in microneedle devices; either titanium or stainless steel.

If you want to get a cheaper Derma Roller, you will have to get one with the stainless-steel needles, but as a rule of thumb, the titanium kind is better and much more durable.

This means that you don’t have to change the titanium Derma Roller as often, and it may be a cheaper option in the long term.

Needle Size

Derma Roller with a needle length of 0.25mm is enough to stimulate circulation to the beard area, but to reach the follicles and to enhance the collagen production, you should opt for 0.5-0.75mm needle length.

The Number of Needles

You could easily think that the more needles a roller has, the better it must be, but this isn’t always true.

Derma Rollers with fewer needles are often safer to use because they don’t cause any dragging motion on the skin, which would cause unnecessary damage.

Usually, you can choose between 192 needles and 540 needles. The one with fewer needles is considered safer, but I have personally used the one with more needles and gotten great results (as have thousands of other guys).

Minoxidil + Derma Roller = Amazing Beard Gains

One of the most popular ways of using derma roller is to combine the occasional micro-needling with minoxidil.

I have previously written about minoxidil for beard growth and how much proof there is that it can stimulate beard growth, and as a logical next step to make it more effective, you can also include the use of a Derma Roller.

But how exactly should you use a dermaroller with minoxidil?

Easy. Use minoxidil daily for two applications (morning and evening). On one day of the week, instead of applying the minoxidil, Derma Roll the beard area.

The reason why you should not apply minoxidil on the same day as you microneedle is to prevent the systemic absorption that would occur (also it burns if you apply Minox to the fresh punctures).

As a rule of thumb, when using minoxidil and Derma Roller together, always wait for 24-hours before re-applying the minoxidil after your last micro-needling session.

Beard Roller Safety and Side Effects

Using a Derma Roller is safe and practically side effect free if you stick to using the 0.25-0.75mm needle size which is around the right recommendation for home use.

Anything above that and you might run into some Derma Roller side effects, as the needles begin to puncture deeper and deeper.

Most experts recommend that you only microneedle with the help of a professional if the needle size exceeds 0.5mm.

It’s also crucial to understand that you should not use a Derma Roller if you have acne, as this easily spreads it.

People who have psoriasis or eczema are also recommended to avoid microneedle therapy in most cases.

You should also always sanitize and disinfect the roller before each use to minimize the infection risk.

Here are some of the known side effects:

• Bleeding
• Bruising
• Infection
• Worsening of acne
• Skin peeling
• Formation of scar tissue

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Derma rolling is a cheap and easy method of stimulating beard growth. It works by boosting circulation, keratin, and collagen production

While microneedling is not the quickest way to grow a beard, it’s definitely one of the most effective.

The beard roller has been scientifically proven to work on scalp hair and should work in a similar manner to the hair of the facial area. Anecdotal reports from many forums support this too.

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