Is microneedling safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about microneedling during pregnancy?

1. FDA has authorized microneedling devices to improve the appearance of facial acne scars, facial wrinkles, and abdominal scars in patients aged 22 and older, and only for specific areas of the face and body reviewed for each device. 1
2. FDA advises choosing a provider specifically trained in microneedling, notes that not everyone is a good candidate, and flags infection as a real risk when the tools are not cleaned or used properly. 2
3. A systematic review of 85 studies found most side effects are short-lived redness, swelling, and pain, while the ones that persist include post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, tram-track scarring, and granulomatous reactions, with higher risk in active infection, darker skin, and metal allergy. 3
4. Pregnancy narrows the list of procedures worth doing at all: a review of dermatologic and cosmetic procedures set the bar at safe and necessary, which an elective aesthetic session does not clear. 4
5. Cosmetic products do not have to be reviewed by FDA before they are sold, so a serum offered during a med spa session carries no pregnancy assessment behind it. 5

Is microneedling safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Providers are most conservative here. Serums are often layered on during a session, and FDA has not cleared these devices to deliver any product into the skin, so what goes into your face is an open question.
• Second trimester. Still elective and still unstudied in pregnancy. If you are chasing acne scarring, it will keep, and pregnancy acne often settles on its own after delivery.
• Third trimester. Skin is at its most pigment-reactive now, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is one of the side effects most likely to stick around after microneedling.