A first step into needling
Microneedling uses a motorized pen with a cartridge of fine needles, set to a depth chosen for your skin, to create tiny channels that sterile hyaluronic acid serum can move into. Plan on forty-five to sixty minutes, including numbing, and a day or two of pinkness. At Skinovatio Lincoln Park, it’s often the first treatment we recommend for pores, texture, and fine lines.
$347
to start
At a glance
Microneedling- Appointment
- 45 to 60 minutes including numbing
- Downtime
- Pink for 24 to 48 hours, dry and tight for 2 to 3 days
- First results
- Hydration and glow within days
- Full results
- Texture at 4 to 6 weeks, collagen at 3 months after a series
- Sessions
- 1 for glow, 3 to 6 for lines and marks, 4 weeks apart
- Cost
- From $347. About $87 per payment across 4 with Afterpay or Klarna.
What to expect
What the appointment is like
Plan on forty-five to sixty minutes in the room, and about half of that is numbing time. With check-in and aftercare, the whole visit takes under 90 minutes, and we offer weekday midday appointments.
Consult
We’ll look at your skin in daylight, talk about what you’re using at home, and recommend the treatment that fits your goals. You’ll leave with a written plan, and a small non-refundable deposit comes off your treatment.
Numbing
Topical numbing cream sits for 20 to 30 minutes.
Treatment
The pen glides across each area with HA serum as the medium, 20 to 30 minutes for a full face. We keep it shallow on the forehead and go deeper on the cheeks. It feels like vibration and scratching rather than pain.
Before you leave
We’ll finish with a layer of HA serum and SPF, give you written aftercare, and set a date four weeks out if you’re doing a series.
Your results
A predictable timeline
You’ll see hydration and glow within a few days, which is why one session before a photo works. Pores and texture change over 4 to 6 weeks. Collagen changes from a series show at about three months after the last session, per Alster and Graham.
Day 0
Pink, warm, and tight. It’s best to skip the gym.
Day 1
Faint pink and dry. Keep makeup off for the first 24 hours.
Days 2 to 5
Light flaking resolves, and the glow shows.
Week 4
Time for your next session in a series. Pores and texture are already changing.
Month 3 after the last session
Collagen has matured, so this is when we’ll assess lines and marks together.
Every 1 to 3 months
Maintenance for glow, or every 6 to 12 months after a series.
What it costs
Clear pricing, planned by the visit
A few things shape your cost: the number of sessions, the areas (face, or face plus neck or chest, or body scars), the serum used, and whether it’s bundled with a facial or a peel. Your consult sets the plan, and the deposit comes off the total. You’ll find the full breakdown, including how this compares with PRP and Morpheus8, in how much microneedling costs in Chicago.
- The number of sessions
- Face alone, or face plus neck, chest, or hands
- The serum used
- Whether it’s bundled with a facial or peel
At Skinovatio Lincoln Park
Microneedling
$347
to start
- Microneedling with hyaluronic acid
- $347 per session
- Consultation
- $50
- With Afterpay or Klarna
- About $87 × 4 payments
Most people do three sessions. If texture is your only concern, we’d suggest starting here rather than with Morpheus8.
Book your Microneedling appointmentSimilar purpose, different options
Microneedling or something else?
Microneedling is often compared with two other options: microneedling with PRP, which uses the same pen, and a chemical peel, which uses no needles at all.
| Microneedling with HA | Microneedling with PRP | Chemical peel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Needles plus hydrating serum | Needles plus your own platelets | Acid resurfaces the top layers |
| Best for | Pores, texture, glow, first-timers | Acne scars, melasma, darker skin | Pigment, oil, active acne aftermath |
| Downtime | 1 to 2 days pink | 1 to 2 days pink | Peeling days 3 to 7 |
| Sessions | 1 for glow, 3 to 6 for lines | 3 to 6 | A series, by depth |
| Cost tier | Lowest | Middle | Varies by depth |
How it works
- Microneedling with HA
- Needles plus hydrating serum
- Microneedling with PRP
- Needles plus your own platelets
- Chemical peel
- Acid resurfaces the top layers
Best for
- Microneedling with HA
- Pores, texture, glow, first-timers
- Microneedling with PRP
- Acne scars, melasma, darker skin
- Chemical peel
- Pigment, oil, active acne aftermath
Downtime
- Microneedling with HA
- 1 to 2 days pink
- Microneedling with PRP
- 1 to 2 days pink
- Chemical peel
- Peeling days 3 to 7
Sessions
- Microneedling with HA
- 1 for glow, 3 to 6 for lines
- Microneedling with PRP
- 3 to 6
- Chemical peel
- A series, by depth
Cost tier
- Microneedling with HA
- Lowest
- Microneedling with PRP
- Middle
- Chemical peel
- Varies by depth
Microneedling with PRP is the same pen with your own platelets in the channels instead of HA. It costs more because of the blood draw and the spin, and it has the stronger evidence for acne scars. If a scar is your main concern, start there.
A chemical peel works from the top down instead of the inside out. It’s better for pigment and oil, with visible peeling instead of a day of pink. Microneedling vs chemical peel compares the two in more detail. For tightening, radiofrequency microneedling is the better fit, covered in RF microneedling vs microneedling.
Is it right for me?
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
Microneedling suits adults 22 and older with texture, pores, or early lines that skincare alone hasn’t improved, before significant laxity sets in. It suits all skin types, including IV to VI, because there’s no heat and nothing that targets pigment. It’s also a good fit for first-timers, anyone who can’t or would rather not have blood drawn, and anyone who wants a glow for an event about two weeks away.
A good fit for
- First-timers and pre-event glow
- Enlarged pores, early texture, and dull skin
- Flat pink or brown marks left after breakouts
- Anyone who can’t have blood drawn or would rather skip PRP
Not recommended
- Sagging skin or a jawline that needs lifting (try Morpheus8)
- Deep pitted scars (the PRP version is the better tool)
- Active breakouts, an infection, or a keloid history
- During pregnancy, a HydraFacial is the usual stand-in
Only sterile, needle-safe products belong on freshly needled skin. Ordinary skincare pushed into open channels has caused granulomas, so for the first few days please use only what we send you home with.
In detail
What it treats
Texture and pores. This includes rough texture on the cheeks and enlarged pores on the nose and inner cheeks, where foundation tends to settle. This is microneedling’s main job, and the FDA-cleared indication for the pens covers facial acne scars and wrinkles in adults 22 and older, per the FDA’s microneedling page.
Fine lines. Early lines around the eyes and mouth soften over a series. Microneedling doesn’t relax the muscle behind expression lines, though. That’s where Botox comes in, which we cover further down.
Mild post-acne marks and dullness. This includes the flat pink or brown marks acne can leave for a few months, and the dull, uneven tone many people notice in winter.
First-time maintenance. One session before an event can boost glow, and a series works for texture.
Some concerns respond better to other treatments. Acne scars with depth and melasma are a better match for microneedling with PRP. For a soft jawline or neck crepe, we’d suggest Morpheus8. Active acne needs to settle before we treat, and then a chemical peel usually comes first.
How it works
The pen drives a cartridge of fine needles in and out of the skin thousands of times a minute as it glides, making controlled micro-channels in the dermis. That injury triggers collagen production through the normal wound-healing cascade while the surface stays mostly intact, per Alster and Graham in Dermatologic Surgery. Cartridges are single-use, as the FDA requires, so every treatment starts with a fresh one.
The hyaluronic acid helps the pen glide and hydrates your skin, but it isn’t a filler. It’s a sterile topical serum, not injected, and it doesn’t fill lines. Its benefits have been measured. In a randomized, investigator-blinded split-face study, a crosslinked HA serum started two days after the procedure gave “statistically significant improvements in skin surface topography and hydration,” with better blinded scores for moisture, texture, and radiance at 14 and 28 days, per Sundaram and colleagues in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. The study included twenty-four women, with eight in the microneedling arm. It’s a small study, but it was blinded.
For scars, HA ranked below PRP. In a 2024 network meta-analysis of 24 randomized trials, microneedling with HA beat microneedling alone, but sat under the PRP arms and under microneedling with a chemical peel, per Li, Jia, and Zhang. So we use HA for hydration and glow, and PRP when the concern is scarring.
Afterwards
Downtime and aftercare
Day 0: your skin will be pink to red, warm, and tight, similar to a mild sunburn.
Day 1: faint pink and dry. Hold off on makeup until 24 hours have passed. Patient reports on RealSelf put the red window at about 24 to 48 hours.
Days 2 to 3: dry and tight, with some light flaking. A tinted SPF helps even out the look.
Days 3 to 5: the flaking resolves, and skin typically looks smoother and more hydrated.
For aftercare, avoid retinoids, acids, and vitamin C for 3 to 5 days, and wear SPF every day. Skip workouts that make you sweat, pools, and saunas for 24 to 48 hours. For the first few days, stick to sterile, needle-safe products on your skin, because non-sterile products pushed into open channels have caused granulomas, per Alster and Graham. Redness, dryness, itching, and peeling are on the FDA’s list of expected effects.
Why here
Why Lincoln Park
You’ll find us on Lincoln Avenue just north of Wrightwood, on the ground floor, a block up from the Apollo. Take the Brown Line to Diversey and walk south, or the Red, Brown, or Purple Line to Fullerton and walk north. The 11 Lincoln bus runs right past our door. There are meters on Lincoln, free spots on the side streets west of Clark if you check the cleaning signs, and the Lincoln Common garage a few blocks south. The full visit takes under 90 minutes.
Midday appointments tend to book first. If you exercise regularly, plan to skip sweaty workouts for two days after treatment. Pigment concerns are best treated October through April, when sun exposure is lower, while texture can be treated year-round with SPF. If you’re planning for a wedding, aim to finish a three-session series six weeks before the date. At Skinovatio Lincoln Park, every session is done by our medical esthetician.
Questions
Common questions, answered
Yes, for the things it’s cleared to do. Microneedling pens are FDA-cleared for facial acne scars and wrinkles, and controlled trials show collagen production and improved texture after a series. Hydration and glow show within days. Lines and marks need three to six sessions, and we’ll assess them together three months after the last one.
It’s worth it for pores, rough texture, fine lines, and dull skin, and it’s a good first treatment. For a scar with depth, melasma, or a jawline that has softened, it’s not the right tool, because those need PRP, a peel, or radiofrequency heat. Individual results vary.
Plan on forty-five to sixty minutes in the room. Numbing cream sits for 20 to 30 minutes, then the pen takes 20 to 30 minutes for a full face. Adding the neck or chest takes a little longer. The full visit, including check-in, takes under 90 minutes.
Expect pink to red skin for 24 to 48 hours, then dry and tight with light flaking through day 3 to 5. Please skip makeup for the first 24 hours. Most people are comfortable returning to work the next morning, and skin is back to normal by day three. Stronger settings add a day.
It depends on what’s causing the line. A line that appears when you frown or squint is a muscle line, and Botox treats the muscle. A line that’s there at rest, with rough texture around it, is a skin line, and microneedling treats the skin. Many people benefit from both, and our Botox page covers the first half.
Microneedling is the safer first step for texture, because it works without heat or light, suits all skin types, and heals in a day or two. Lasers resurface faster, but with more downtime and more pigment risk. We don’t offer ablative lasers at Lincoln Park, but if you’d like heat, our option is Morpheus8, needles plus radiofrequency, for tightening rather than texture alone.
We’d suggest hyaluronic acid for hydration, glow, pores, and a first session, and PRP for acne scars, melasma, and texture on darker skin, where the controlled-trial evidence is stronger. The pen is identical, and PRP adds a blood draw, a centrifuge spin, and cost. If you’re unsure, you can start with HA and move to PRP if scars don’t improve enough.
Four weeks. That’s the interval used in the acne-scar trials, and it gives the collagen response time before the next pass. A series of three runs two months, and we’ll look at the result together three months after the last session. Glow-only clients come in every one to three months.
Yes. Pores on the nose and inner cheeks look smaller as the collagen around them firms up, usually within 4 to 6 weeks of a session and more after a series. It doesn’t shrink the pore itself, which is set by genetics and oil, so you’ll see a visible change rather than a dramatic one.
Yes. You’ll leave with pink to red skin, similar to a mild sunburn, and it fades to faint pink by the next morning. Since makeup waits 24 hours, plan on a bare face for the afternoon. If you have an in-person meeting that afternoon, consider booking the last appointment of the day instead.
There’s nothing to undo. It’s your own skin healing, the effect is gradual, and if it isn’t doing enough, we’ll recommend a different treatment.
Keep exploring
Related treatments
Related priorities
Microneedling with PRP
From $499Your own platelets to help with acne scars, texture, and tone
Learn more
Dermaplaning
Priced at your consultA 30-minute blade exfoliation for smooth skin and flat makeup
Learn more
Chemical peels
From $200Surface to medium-depth peels to help with melasma, acne, and texture
Learn more
Start with a consult
Tell us what you’d like to work on. We’ll assess your skin and goals, walk you through your Microneedling options, and give you a clear plan and price before anything begins.
Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout for eligible treatments.