It is the question I get asked more than any other about microneedling, usually in a WhatsApp message a day or two before someone books. The treatment has needles in the name, so I understand why people want an honest answer before they commit £80 to finding out.
Here is that answer, along with what the numbing cream does, which parts of the face you notice most, and what the two days afterwards actually feel like.
Does microneedling hurt?
For most people, no. Not in the way the name suggests.
Before I start, I clean the skin and put numbing cream over the whole area we are treating, and we leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes. By the time the device goes near your skin, the area is numb. Most clients describe what follows as a mild vibration rather than pain, and a few people find it so unremarkable that they start telling me about their week halfway through.
That is the honest average. It is not a promise that you will feel nothing, and anyone telling you a needling treatment is completely sensation-free is overselling it. There are a couple of spots on the face where you will know something is happening, and I have set those out below.
What the numbing cream does, and how long it needs
The numbing cream is a topical anaesthetic, and it is the reason the treatment is comfortable. It needs time to work, which is why the appointment is longer than the treatment itself.
A full face session runs about 45 minutes in total: 20 to 30 minutes with the cream on, then 20 to 30 minutes of actual needling, then a serum and the aftercare written down for you to take away.
If you turn up and the cream goes straight on, that waiting time is not me being slow. It is the part that makes the rest comfortable, and I would rather give it the full half hour than start early and have you uncomfortable for twenty minutes.
What the pen actually feels like
The device is a pen with a sealed, single-use cartridge on the end. The needles are fine and they move very fast, so what you feel is closer to a buzz travelling across the skin than anything sharp.
Two things usually surprise people. The first is the sound, which is a steady mechanical hum and is louder than the sensation. The second is the warmth: as I work across an area the skin starts to feel hot and tight, a bit like the first hour of mild sunburn. That is the flush building, and it is normal.
Does microneedling hurt without numbing?
Yes, it would be uncomfortable, and I do not work that way.
Microneedling can be done without numbing, and you would feel the needles, particularly anywhere the skin is thin. The cream adds nothing to your bill here and only adds waiting time to the appointment, so I see no reason to go without it. It goes on at every session, including the stomach.
Does numbing cream reduce the effectiveness of microneedling?
No, and it is a reasonable thing to wonder about.
The cream works on the nerve endings near the surface. What produces the result is the depth I set the needles to and the controlled micro-channels they make underneath, and the cream does not change either of those. Numbing your skin does not make me needle more shallowly. If anything it lets me work properly across an area that you would otherwise be flinching away from, which is better for the result, not worse.
Where on the face you feel it most
Sensation is not even across the face, and it tracks how much padding sits between the skin and the bone underneath.
The forehead, the jawline and the skin around the nose sit almost directly on bone, and that is where people tend to notice the buzz most. The cheeks have more underneath them and are usually the easiest part of the session. Around the eyes I work shallower anyway, so it is more of a tickle than anything.
None of this lasts long. On a full face I am on any one area for a minute or two before moving on.
What changes how much you feel
Three things, mostly.
The needle depth. I set it to whatever is in front of me: deeper on scarring, shallower around the eyes, lighter again on sensitive skin. Treating indented acne scarring is a deeper treatment than a session for fine lines and texture, and you will feel the difference between the two.
How long the cream has had. Covered above, and it is the big one.
Which session you are on. People are usually tenser on the first one because they do not know what is coming. By the second session most of that has gone, and clients often tell me it felt easier even though nothing about the treatment changed.
Does it hurt more on the stomach?
The stomach is the one area I treat away from the face, usually for stretch marks and crepey texture, and it is £120 for a 45-minute session.
It is a larger area, so the session is longer, and the skin there is generally less sensitive than facial skin. The numbing cream goes on exactly the same way. If you want the detail on that specifically, I have written about what microneedling does to stretch marks and what it will not do.
What you feel, stage by stage
| Stage | What it feels like | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Numbing cream on | Cool, slightly heavy, then nothing much | 20 to 30 minutes |
| The needling itself | A mild vibration, warm and tight as it goes on | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Straight afterwards | Hot and flushed, like mild sunburn | A few hours |
| The first evening | Tight and warm as the numbing wears off | That night |
| The next two days | Pink, a little dry, not sore | 24 to 48 hours |
What the first 48 hours feel like
Expect redness like mild sunburn for 24 to 48 hours. The skin feels tight and warm rather than painful, and it tends to be driest on the second day.
For those two days: no makeup, no acids, no retinol and no direct sun. Most people go back to normal activities the same day, and the thing they find hardest is leaving their face alone.
How will I look two days after microneedling?
Usually pink rather than red by then, with skin that feels slightly rough or papery to the touch as the surface settles. It is the stage where people worry, and it is the stage that passes on its own.
If you want the full day-by-day rather than the pain side of it, that is covered in the microneedling recovery timeline.
What microneedling will not do
It will not tighten loose skin the way surgery does, and it will not remove deep indented scarring in one go. It is not a one-session treatment at all: it works by prompting your own skin to repair and lay down new collagen, and that happens over a course, usually three sessions for fine lines and texture or six for scarring, spaced four to six weeks apart.
If someone offers you a single session and a dramatic result, that is the bit to be sceptical about.
When microneedling is not right for you
I will not treat over active acne breakouts, or over rosacea, eczema or psoriasis in the treatment area, and not where there is an active skin infection. It is not done in pregnancy, and not within six months of Roaccutane. Microneedling here is for adults only, 18 and over.
Because the treatment is mechanical rather than heat or light based, there is no risk of heat-related pigment change, so every skin tone from I to VI can be treated.
What microneedling costs in Portsmouth
Every price is published, where most Portsmouth clinics quote only after a consultation. These are the figures you pay, and you can book any of them directly.
| Treatment | Price |
|---|---|
| Face, about 45 minutes including numbing | £80 |
| Face and neck, about 45 minutes | £120 |
| Face, neck and décolletage, about an hour | £170 |
| Stomach, about 45 minutes | £120 |
| Course of 3, face, four to six weeks apart | £215 |
| Course of 6, face, the usual course for scarring | £410 |
| Standalone consultation, deducted from your treatment | £15 |
The course of three saves £25 against three single sessions and the course of six saves £70. Klarna is available on treatments over three monthly payments, which works out at £71.67 a month on the course of three and £136.67 a month on the course of six.
If you want the prices broken down further, they are set out in full on the microneedling page, and I have also written up what microneedling costs across the UK.
Common questions about microneedling pain
Is microneedling painful? Not for most people, once the numbing cream has had its 20 to 30 minutes. A mild vibration is the usual description.
Does it hurt more than a chemical peel? They feel different rather than one being worse. A peel stings and tingles; microneedling buzzes and gets warm. If you are deciding between them, I have compared chemical peels and microneedling.
Will I be sore the next day? Tight and warm rather than sore, and pink rather than red.
How often can I have it? Four to six weeks apart. That spacing is there because the collagen response takes that long, and it is set out in how often you should have microneedling.
Do other needle treatments feel the same? Not really. If you are weighing up treatments generally, what lip filler actually feels like and whether laser hair removal hurts cover the other two I get asked about most.
Book microneedling in Southsea
I carry out every House of Glam HQ treatment personally, at 1A Auckland Road East, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2HA. If you would rather ask before you book, message me and I will tell you honestly whether it is the right treatment for what is bothering you.
A standalone consultation is £15 on Fresha and comes off your treatment if you go ahead. Booked with a treatment, the consultation happens at the start of that appointment with no separate fee.
Book face microneedling on Fresha — £80 · WhatsApp Natasha · Call 07831 846273
