How many microneedling sessions do acne scars need?

TANOVA AESTHETICS, a clinical skin studio at 2100 E Hallandale Beach Blvd, Unit 201, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009, treats post-acne scarring with microneedling with PDRN. Tatiana performs every session. The standard course is three sessions of about 75 minutes, spaced about three weeks apart, with photographs under fixed studio light at every visit and formal reviews at week four and week twelve. That is the starting point for most patients. Whether it is enough depends on the type of scar, its depth, and whether acne is still active.

Scars and marks are different problems

Before counting sessions, it helps to separate scars from marks. Flat red or brown spots left after a breakout are post-inflammatory marks. They change the colour of the skin without changing its surface, and they often fade with time, sun protection, and peels.

A scar changes the surface. Run a finger across it, or look at it under light from the side, and you can see a depression. Those are the cases microneedling is designed for.

The three main scar types

Rolling scars are broad, shallow depressions with soft, sloping edges. They make the skin look uneven in side light and often come from bands of tissue pulling the surface down from below.

Boxcar scars have sharper vertical edges and a flatter base. They can be shallow or fairly deep.

Ice pick scars are narrow and deep, like a small puncture, and usually wider at the surface than at the base.

Most people with acne scarring have a mix. The consultation maps which types sit where, because a plan for a cheek with rolling scars looks different from a plan for a temple with ice pick scars.

Which types respond to microneedling

Rolling scars tend to respond best. Microneedling triggers new collagen across the treated area, and broad, shallow depressions are the shape that collagen can lift most visibly.

Shallow boxcar scars often soften too. Deeper boxcar scars usually improve partly: the edges blur and the shadow they cast becomes smaller, though the depression may still be visible.

Ice pick scars respond least. They are too narrow and too deep for a general collagen response to fill.

Why it takes a course

Collagen remodelling is slow. After a session the skin starts a repair process that runs for weeks, and the new collagen continues to mature for months after that. One session starts the process. It does not finish it.

The three-week spacing gives each repair cycle time to run before the next one begins. In our photographs, the change from one session is usually modest. The more convincing differences tend to show after the third session, and they keep developing for several months after the last one.

Plans are reviewed at week four and week twelve against the original photographs. At the twelve-week review we decide together whether the course is complete, whether a fourth session is worthwhile, or whether a second course after a break of a few months makes sense. Deeper or more widespread scarring often needs that second course.

What a session involves

The skin is read and photographed, then numbed with a topical anesthetic. Needle depth is set per zone, so a deep rolling scar on the cheek and thinner skin near the eye are treated differently. PDRN is applied during and after the pass, while the channels are open, to support the repair. The article on microneedling with PDRN, explained covers the mechanism in more detail.

Afterward expect soft redness for 12 to 24 hours. Most patients are back in public the next morning. Strict sun protection matters for the following days, which in South Florida means mineral SPF, reapplication, and no beach afternoons that week.

The studio also offers a 60-minute microneedling session without an add-on, and microneedling with exosomes. For scarring, we usually recommend the PDRN protocol because the regenerative add-on gives a steadier repair across a course. The comparison with other add-ons is in PDRN vs exosomes vs PRP.

When a dermatologist procedure fits better

Ice pick scars and deep boxcar scars often need targeted procedures performed by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. These include TCA CROSS, where a high-strength acid is placed inside individual scars, punch excision, subcision to release tethered rolling scars, and fractional laser resurfacing. Tanova does not perform these.

They can work well alongside microneedling. A common sequence is a physician procedure for the deepest scars first, then a microneedling course once the physician says the skin has healed. We are happy to coordinate timing with your dermatologist.

Realistic expectations

Microneedling improves acne scars. It softens edges, reduces shadows, and makes texture more even in side light. It does not return scarred skin to how it looked before acne, and anyone who promises that is overselling.

We do not quote percentages of improvement, because they depend too heavily on scar type and depth. What we can show you is your own photographs, taken under the same light at the same angle, at week zero, week four, and week twelve. You will see the change, or lack of it, for yourself.

Active acne comes first

Microneedling is not performed over active inflamed breakouts. Treating through them risks spreading bacteria and adding inflammation, which can create new marks. If you are still breaking out, the first step is the Acne Correction Protocol, and scar work begins once the cycle is under control.

If you are taking isotretinoin or finished it recently, tell us at the consultation. When it is safe to start microneedling afterward is a decision for your dermatologist.

To have your scars mapped and a course planned, book a skin consultation or call (754) 267-3667.

Frequently asked questions

How many microneedling sessions do acne scars need?

Most plans start with three sessions of microneedling with PDRN, about three weeks apart. Deeper or widespread scarring often needs a second course after a break. Ice pick scars may need a dermatologist procedure as well.

When will I see results?

Some brightening appears in the first week, but structural change shows from about week six and continues to develop for months after the final session. Photographs at week four and week twelve are how we measure it.

Can I have microneedling while I still have breakouts?

Not over active inflamed acne. The breakouts are brought under control first, usually through a staged acne plan, and then scar work begins.