Skin needling for the treatment of acne scarring: A comprehensive review

Background: Skin needling, also called “collagen induction therapy,” is a nonpharmacological treatment modality that has been increasingly utilized for the treatment of acne scars. Aims: To review the medical literature and to select the most significative and recent studies regarding skin needling as a treatment for acne scarring, used alone or combined with other treatments. Methods: A literature search was performed using the PubMed, Medline, and Embase databases, in addition to reviewing the bibliographies of relevant articles. Results: Almost all the articles evaluated showed improvement of acne scars severity after microneedling treatment. When combined with other treatments such as autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP), chemical peels, filler injections, or laser treatment, a greater improvement was reported. Needling technique is well-tolerated with erythema and dryness representing the most frequent adverse events. Conclusions: Microneedling is a useful treatment for acne scarring. Further studies are needed to evaluate its efficacy and safety and to create a standardized protocol to adopt for each patient according to the severity of acne scars.