Comparison of SkinPen and Genius RF MicroNeedling
A patient asked me today to explain the difference between SkinPen micro-needling and Genius RF micro-needling. Here was my answer:
That’s a great question!
SkinPen uses a wider needle diameter than Genius.
SkinPen has 14 needles in the cartridge. Genius has 49!
With SkinPen the face and neck would receive the equivalent of 1,000 total pulses, creating about 14,000 micro-channels.
With SkinPen the operator has to adjust the needle depth depending on your skin type and goals of treatment.
With Genius the built in computer does the work for the operator. All Genius “pulses” delivers the needle to the dermis. Genius treatment to the face and neck delivers approx 1,200 pulses for a total of approx 60,000 micro-channels.
Both treatments lead to same day redness. The redness with SkinPen can last for 4-5 days. The redness with Genius is 50% gone in 24 hours, and 80% gone in 48 hours.
We use numbing cream with both treatments, but leave it one for a full 30-45 minutes for Genius.
The biggest difference:
The needles on Genius are gold plated to conduct radiofrequency, and insulated except for the very tip.
When Genius stamps the needles into the dermis, it then delivers energy to the dermis by radiofrequency.
With Genius, each part of the face and neck is treated with 2 or 3 passes, occurring at different depths.
Genius measures the feedback from the patient’s skin with each pulse, and constantly adjusts the energy delivery to ensure results and safety.
The radiofrequency heats the dermis, so the skin does become warm during treatment. The thermal injury is optimal and leads to new production of collagen and elastin over the next 3 months. This is the magic, as Genius then leads to tightening and improvement in fine and deeper wrinkles that cannot be achieved with SkinPen, Pelleve or Ultherapy.
Genius is truly two treatments in one. Micro-needling and Radiofrequency.
It is also the consensus standard of care to treat acne scars.
Half of our patients add the resurfacing laser called LaseMD the same day that they receive Genius. This treats the outer epidermis for improved color, reduction of age spots and pre-cancerous actinic keratoses.
I believe everyone who uses this treatment will be seeing impressive results!