Microneedling for Scar Correction: A Summary of the Research

What Is Microneedling for Scars?

Microneedling creates tiny, controlled punctures in scar tissue, which triggers your

body's natural wound-healing response. This breaks up the rigid collagen fibers that

make scars look and feel different from normal skin, and replaces them with new,

more organized collagen. The result is softer, smoother, flatter scars that blend more

naturally with the surrounding skin.

This document covers research on microneedling for surgical scars, traumatic

scars, burn scars, and general scarring.

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Study 1. Large Prospective Study: 120 Patients With Various Scars — 12-

Month Follow-Up (Alster Li, 2020)

What they did: 120 patients (all skin types I–VI) with scars from acne, trauma, and

surgery were treated with microneedling only — no additional topical or injectable

treatments. Two blinded assessors rated improvement at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.

What they found — measured improvements:

- 100% of scars improved at least 50% after an average of just 2.5 treatments

- 80% of patients achieved 50–75% improvement

- 65% of patients achieved over 75% improvement

- No significant difference between facial vs. nonfacial scars, or between acne,

traumatic, or surgical scars

Recommended treatment: 1–6 monthly sessions (average 2.5 sessions needed).

Impact on skin: ✅ Positive — Every single patient improved at least 50%.

Strength of evidence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong — The largest prospective microneedling scar

study with 12-month follow-up.

Reference: Alster TS, Li MKY. "Microneedling of Scars: A Large Prospective Study

With Long-Term Follow-Up." Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,

2020;145(2):358–364. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31985622

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Study 2. Clinical Trial: Microneedling for Early Postsurgical Scars (Claytor et

al., 2022)

What they did: 25 patients with fresh surgical scars received 3 microneedling

sessions during the postoperative healing period.

What they found — measured improvements:

- All patients showed statistically significant improvement in scar appearance (p

0.001)

- Patients who started treatment early (6–7 weeks after surgery) had significantly

better outcomes than those who started later (13–16 weeks after surgery, p 0.04)

- No adverse outcomes reported

Recommended treatment: 3 sessions. Start as early as 6–7 weeks after surgery for

best results.

Impact on skin: ✅ Positive — Earlier treatment = better results.

Strength of evidence: ⭐⭐⭐ Moderate — Validated scar assessment tools used.

Reference: Claytor RB, et al. "Microneedling Outcomes in Early Postsurgical Scars."

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2022;150(3):557e–561e. Available at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35759632

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Study 3. Randomized Trial: Microneedling vs. CO₂ Laser for Traumatic Scars

(Esmat et al., 2021)

What they did: 30 patients with traumatic facial scars were randomly assigned to

receive 4 monthly sessions of either microneedling or fractional CO₂ laser.

What they found:

- Both groups showed comparable clinical improvement in scar appearance

- Microneedling was equally safe as CO₂ laser

- Microneedling was particularly effective for raised (hypertrophic) scars

- CO₂ laser was slightly better for sunken (atrophic) scars at the microscopic level

Recommended treatment: 4 sessions, 1 month apart.

Impact on skin: ✅ Positive — Microneedling matches CO₂ laser results with fewer

side effects.

Strength of evidence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong — Randomized trial with microscopic analysis.

Reference: Esmat S, et al. Automated Microneedling Versus Fractional CO2 Laser

in Treatment of Traumatic Scars. Dermatologic Surgery, 2021;47(11):1480–1485.

Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34468410

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Study 4. Prospective Study: Microneedling for Post-Burn Scars (Mota et al.,

2024)

What they did: 15 patients with raised, thick scars from burns were treated with

microneedling over a 6-year period (2016–2022).

What they found — measured improvements:

- Overall scar scores improved by 53% (from 8.8 to 4.1 on the Vancouver Scar

Scale)

- Acute scars (less than 1 year old) improved by 62% (from 9.3 to 3.5)

- Joint movement near scarred areas significantly improved

- Each additional treatment session produced progressive improvement

Recommended treatment: Multiple sessions. Start within the first year for best

results (62% improvement vs. 53% overall).

Impact on skin: ✅ Positive — Dramatic improvement, especially for newer burn

scars.

Strength of evidence: ⭐⭐⭐ Moderate — Validated scar assessment tools. Small

sample size.

Reference: Mota WM, et al. Microneedling in the Treatment of Post-Burn

Hypertrophic Scars.Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2024;48(12):2321–2329. Available

at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38238571