Just Got My Derma Roller In The Mail, Need Some Help

[g.i joey]

ok so I just got my 1.5mm dermaroller in the mail today and just got to opening the package. If anyone can just give me some guiding based on my questions thatd be great!

1. Do I have to sterilize it initially?
2. Do i sterilize it in alcohol? How?
3. How long before applying minoxidil should I derma roll?
4. How many times a week can I safely use this?
5. How long should I be rolling for?

 

[barfacan]

what did you buy it for if you dont even know what to do? lol do some reading. But honestly you should probably just return it, you'll end up hurting yourself otherwise.

 

[g.i joey]

@Somebody swears by it and honestly seems like a pretty simple tool to use, ya i did some reading after posting this and realized what to do, but still would love to hear about more peoples experiences with the product. I dont get how id hurt myself with this, im not wounding till blood, my scalp is just a bit red after using it and i just finished applying the minoxidil.

 

[Zoro]

ok so I just got my 1.5mm dermaroller in the mail today and just got to opening the package. If anyone can just give me some guiding based on my questions thatd be great!

1. Do I have to sterilize it initially?
2. Do i sterilize it in alcohol? How?
3. How long before applying minoxidil should I derma roll?
4. How many times a week can I safely use this?
5. How long should I be rolling for?

1. It's a good idea, made in China somewhere and you don't know how sterile it is
2. I rinse mine when i'm done with it, then leave it sitting in isopropyl while not using it
3. I apply minoxidil/RU directly after, nothing different/out of the ordinary happens to me, this is coming from someone who had rapid heartbeat the first 2 weeks of using minoxidil (without rolling)
4. Depends on if you're wounding with it or rolling for absorption
5. Same as 4

 

[g.i joey]

1. It's a good idea, made in China somewhere and you don't know how sterile it is
2. I rinse mine when i'm done with it, then leave it sitting in isopropyl while not using it
3. I apply minoxidil/RU directly after, nothing different/out of the ordinary happens to me, this is coming from someone who had rapid heartbeat the first 2 weeks of using minoxidil (without rolling)
4. Depends on if you're wounding with it or rolling for absorption
5. Same as 4

Awesome thanks man, I don't think I'm gonna go the wounding route, I'm rolling enough to make my scalp pretty red. The only thing I noticed this time is that I felt seconds of stinging when applying the minoxidil, similar to when I have a cut on my finger and accidentally dip it in the foam, but it's literally just a couple seconds, is this expected? No other effects were noticed, it's about 3.5 hours since I applied and the redness is gone.

Is there a way I can avoid feeling like I'm pulling my hair when rolling? And also, based off what i said what do you recommend the frequency of rolling should be? Lastly, how do you feel it has helped your topical absorption? Thanks a lot again man, I appreciate the help.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

I tried dermarolling way back when I first started treating my hair loss. I applied enough pressure so that it would mostly cause redness. Some would say that you need to dig into your scalp in order for it to work. Actually there was this guy that posted his bloody scalp after one of his dermarolling sessions. For a while after that "dermarolling" was considered a dirty word around these parts.

 

[Zoro]

Awesome thanks man, I don't think I'm gonna go the wounding route, I'm rolling enough to make my scalp pretty red. The only thing I noticed this time is that I felt seconds of stinging when applying the minoxidil, similar to when I have a cut on my finger and accidentally dip it in the foam, but it's literally just a couple seconds, is this expected? No other effects were noticed, it's about 3.5 hours since I applied and the redness is gone.

Is there a way I can avoid feeling like I'm pulling my hair when rolling? And also, based off what i said what do you recommend the frequency of rolling should be? Lastly, how do you feel it has helped your topical absorption? Thanks a lot again man, I appreciate the help.

I also roll til my scalp is red, but not bleeding. I roll softer for longer periods of time rather than rolling hard really fast. I did try wounding for a while, and topicals did sting when I applied them pretty bad, but now they don't, although when I was wounding I'd apply RU in ethanol which is a lot higher alcohol concentration than my current minoxidil/RU mix.

I try to part my hair when I roll, but my hair is diffuse as sh*t so I don't really feel my hairs pulling that often unless i just roll over without moving my hair around. Dermapen would probably solve the problem of the hair pulling but it's also more expensive. I've started rolling 5x/week after seeing Somebody's results, i think he dermarolled every day. Can't really comment on how well the absorption is working since I've only been doing it for about 6 weeks.

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

What Zoro said.
I use 1.0mm dermastamp and have tried two approaches:
1) Rolling to cause redness. Frequency between 4-7 times a week depending on how the scalp feels.
I guess with such frequent use, I leave very little time for the scalp to itch. I feel almost as though I do it lightly again to 'scratch the itch' with stabbing motions. I would try to apply topicals immediately after.
2) Wounding. No more than twice a week.
I find that with wounding, there is much more itching over the few days after it. I put this down to recovery process from wounding rather than inflammation (hopefully not further hair loss). I try to wash my hair immediately after rolling so that the blood clots don't show on the scalp. As soon as I feel that the scalp is able to handle it again (generally a few days later), I'd repeat the stabbing process.

As far as I can see, there is no inflammation on my scalp (I have a 3-pane mirror cabinet in bathroom which allows a good view of top of my head).

I have no idea which approach works better. I resist all temptations to scratch the itch with my fingers and pretty much get used to the itching feeling.
For those sceptical about dermarolling, I'd like to ask why they believe in Nizoral shampoo to stimulate the scalp. Surely allowing shampoo to run through your scalp is much less effective in stimulating growth than promoting blood flow to the scalp using dermarolling....any thoughts?

 

[Trichosan]

It's interesting that "dermaroller" has become the commonly used name for these devices when the original Dermaroller has been banned in the USA by the FDA. If you look at their German website there is a description of their product and it's comparison to the lower quality Chinese stuff still being sold here. On their medical grade instrument the needles are thinner, more vertical angled, uniform in length and finely finished. Ridiculous that we can't get them. You can't really sterilize any roller unless you autoclave it but the research literature using them indicates disinfection with chlorhexidine in some cases. Betadine would work. Also a good wipe down of freshly cleansed hair and scalp with sterile saline would be a good idea.

 

[inmyhead]

It's interesting that "dermaroller" has become the commonly used name for these devices when the original Dermaroller has been banned in the USA by the FDA. If you look at their German website there is a description of their product and it's comparison to the lower quality Chinese stuff still being sold here. On their medical grade instrument the needles are thinner, more vertical angled, uniform in length and finely finished. Ridiculous that we can't get them. You can't really sterilize any roller unless you autoclave it but the research literature using them indicates disinfection with chlorhexidine in some cases. Betadine would work. Also a good wipe down of freshly cleansed hair and scalp with sterile saline would be a good idea.

idk what you talking about. You can always get the derminator instead