Derma Rollers Versus Derma Stamps - Various Shapes and Sizes

You have been sold on the idea that skin needling is something that would benefit your skin and you are about to acquire your first micro needling device.

Wait, it's not that simple, there are more things to consider before you make your purchase! If you buy the wrong device you may end up thinking that the whole therapy is a pile of poo. So, read on.

In my post called Dermaroller Skin Therapy I talked about derma rollers, how skin needling works, what can be achieved with these devices and a lot more things. There are some pictures to show what can be achieved when using theses anti-ageing multi-purpose skincare tools.

This time I want to talk about various shapes and sizes of derma rollers and derma stamps, which devices are best for one area or the other. It's all my opinion only and others may disagree with me, however, given that I have a plethora of skin needling tools, I feel entitled to having an opinion. And, yes, all these devices below are mine!

A collection of dermastamp and rolling devices

What are the most common shapes of derma needling tools?

There are three main types:

• The first one is a single needle derma roller or, more correctly, derma stamp. You can buy them online, although, an ordinary sewing needle is just as good, provided it is sharp.
• Derma roller. It is a rolling device that you roll on your skin.
• Derma stamps are flat. They can be big, small or medium size.

I am not going to talk about a single needle as I talked about it a lot in the article here. However, a rolling device and a derma stamp is something that is worth mentioning and reviewing.

What should you consider when buying skin needling devices?

First of all, think about which area you are going to treat. Is it cellulite or stretch marks on thighs, hips, tummy, scars on your face or other areas or you are going to do skin needling to improve your wrinkles, increase skincare products permeability, or something else.

The special eye derma roller on the right is useless due
to high density of needles. A derma roller on the left
is great even though it could be narrower on the sides,
but the needles are perfect

Once you have the treatment area in mind, it's time to choose between a derma roller or a derma stamp, or possibly both.

Derma rollers are good for larger areas, such as your hips, thighs, forehead, cheeks, however, if you want to rejuvenate around the eye, lips or nose area, you may want a derma stamp or a special derma roller which is a lot thinner than a standard one. See the picture on your right and the one below.

The third thing to consider is the density of the needles. It is my personal opinion, but I think that derma rollers/stamps that have high needle density are quite useless. For me, the less needles the better. For example, look at the picture on your right. There are two derma rollers that can be both used for the eye area. The first one has three rows of needles and the needles are very sparse while the second one is the very dense with four rows of needles. The first one is great, but the second one is useless even though the red one is a special derma roller for the around the eye area. If you carry on reading you will find an explanation as to why sparse derma rollers are better than dense.

If you decide to go for a derma stamp, make sure you choose the right size for the area. Around your nose or lips consider getting a small derma stamp with only a few needles. Big and flat one will not do the trick, the thinner and smaller the better. See the picture below.

Needle length definitely needs to be considered too, but I won't talk about it, because I already talked about it in this article here. The only thing I would mention is that sometimes it's worth getting a device with a bit longer needles, as such devices can be more convenient to use. That doesn't mean that you need to stab as far as the needle goes!

Also, the sharper the needles the better.

Review of my anti-ageing skin needling tools

Perfect derma stamp for around the nose or eye area.
Also, great for frown lines

I don't use skin needling for any areas other than my face, so I will tell you which devices are my essentials:

• The red wide one for my forehead and cheeks. It has sharp needles, it doesn't feel too dense, even though it could be more sparse.
• The white narrow one is great for around the eye area.
• The white small derma stamp with 12 needles. It's great around my lips, nose, area between my brows and occasionally I have a dab around my eyes with it.

The ones that are NOT so useful:

• The yellow derma stamp is ok, but it's too large for those bent areas around my nose. It would probably be ok for my glabella lines, but the one I got has a bit short needles for that purpose.
• The large purple derma stamp has no special use on my face. I use it on my forehead, but wide derma rollers work probably better for me. 
• The narrow derma roller special for the around they eye area is completely useless due to too high needle density. Despite of a perfect shape for the eye area, the needles don't even puncture my skin. It's a throwaway for me.

Why do I prefer devices with sparse needles?

Just imagine you are lying on a bed of nails. The more nails there are the less likely that the person lying on them will be hurt, providing that the pressure is distributed evenly. The most dangerous part is lying down and standing up, i.e., when there is a chance that the weight of the person will be distributed unevenly and the person will get hurt by applying too much pressure on only a few nails.

Derma rollers work the same. The more needles they have the more difficult it is to puncture skin. Therefore, the beauty tools with lesser needles are my favourite as I feel that they do what they are supposed to do, i.e., puncture my skin.

Watch YouTube video about derma rollers and derma stamps