Dermarolling Scalp?

julzinha

julzinha

Well-Known Member
Hey Ladies, I really need your input

Backstory: I have been protective styling with braid extensions since April. There is a patch/thin area in the front of my hair around my widow's peak that has thin for a while (a few years). In May I started using Njoy every other day and I saw great improvement by the end of four months. I took before and afters and the difference was great. But today I took out the braid in that area and it has thinned out again and looks like it did in May, when I first started Njoy. I don't know if it's winter shedding or what.

I bought a 1.0mm dermaroller a while ago that has just been sitting in my room. I'm considering taking a more aggressive approach to the regrowth by dermarolling my scalp when I take out my braids in a few days.

I was wondering if any of you ladies have any experience with dermarolling your scalp and could offer some advice?

I proclaimed that by the end of 2016, I would like for my hair to be at my optimal goal of super thickness and WL and I've been extremely proactive for the last year now and my hair has thickened up and gotten much longer all over my head except for that front area.
 
I've never derma-rolled my scalp. I understand the process of derma-rolling is to mildly or slightly injure the skin to have it regenerate.

In theory this seems plausible enough to work, but I'm not sure if I'd want to do it.

It seems any tension in that area produces breakage for you, do you think trauma no matter how mild will work for you? Also I think it'd be hard to keep the area clean. I know with derma-rolling on the skin, you need to use an antibacterial/antimicrobial to decrease the likelihood of infection.

If you derma-rolled your scalp, how would you keep it clean to reduce infection? I've seen severe scalp infection/allergic reactions, and it's not pretty.

Would you roll your scalp and apply the NJoy serum? I think you could try it, if you had a plan in play and were okay with the possible negative outcomes.

I'd probably re-order NJoy's oils and baby the area...and be sure to braid loosely, use a net in that area if wearing weave/wig.
 
20151224_103417.jpg Because the derma roller can penetrate the skin, meaning cut it, I'd be worried it will also be cutting/damaging the hair as well. You could end up with horrible midshaft splits to boot.

I (sort of agressively ) massage my scalp with the end of this 3-prong pick. It stimulates my scalp very well when I regularly use it, like 3x weekly.
 
julzinha said:
I have considered emu oil but I have no idea where to buy it from and if it will work. Derma rolling has been very effective for many ppl and I just wanted to try that first.
Click to expand...
I just ordered some from Jer Aki Naturals. I'll report back in a couple of months whether it helped or not. Allegedly, it reactivates your dormant hair follicles, which would help me with density.
 
MileHighDiva said:
I just ordered some from Jer Aki Naturals. I'll report back in a couple of months whether it helped or not. Allegedly, it reactivates your dormant hair follicles, which would help me with density.
Click to expand...
Please do, I would love to add Emu oil to my next bottle of Njoy

Also, have any of you ladies used tretinoin for regrowth?
 
:pullhair:
MileHighDiva said:
You should check with @ilong. She has researched any and everything, regarding regrowth and the efficacy of different treatments.
Click to expand...

Merry Christmas @MileHighDiva and @julzinha !!!
MHDiva ! There is so much to read and digest with hair care, loss and growth, I think it's a never ending education! :)

Regarding emu oil - here is a link to a patent by Dr. Michael Hollick on Emu oil and it's ability to stimulate hair follicles and promote growth. http://www.google.com/patents/US5958384
This is the patent's abstract:
Abstract

The present invention is directed to the discovery that topical or parenteral administration of emu oil to a mammal stimulates the proliferation of skin. Emu oil can be used to treat skin wrinkles and rejuvenate aged and photo-damaged skin. It has also been discovered that emu oil can be topically applied to stimulate melanogenesis in the skin and to stimulate hair growth. Thus, emu oil is useful to treat pigmentation disorders such as hypopigmentation, stimulating melanogenesis to enhance skin tanning, and treating disorders relating to disturbances in hair cycling such as alopecia, male pattern baldness, female baldness, and chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

I did read somewhere that the study which led to the patent, entailed applying the oil 3 times daily. Unless you live in Australia, the challenge is locating oil derived from free range emu birds and not farm raised, corn fed birds. Oil extracted from free range birds (Australia) is touted to be richer in nutrients which promotes the stated benefits. Garden of Wisdom advertises that their Emu oil is from Australian free range birds.

@julzinha - I just read your first post in this thread. It appears you are trying to thicken the skin on your scalp. The benefit of using Retin A on your scalp is to "thicken" the scalp skin, promote new cell growth, increase collagen and rejuvenate the skin. These are the same benefits one would expect from applying Retin-A to skin. I use Retin A 0.025% and 0.050% periodically on my skin and it does a phenomenal job at preventing my skin from showing signs of aging. I can't use it on my hair until next year (do not want to overlap with my PRP treatments) - but I plan to. Retin A and emu oil combined on the scalp is purported to treat thinning hair, due to aging. Emu oil will help suppress some of the peeling/flaking typically associated with Retin A and it's healing agents will help offset any inflammation and promote cell rejuvenation. Peeling/flaking brings up another thought. The skin must peel to produce new cells and turn over new skin, so think in advance how you will deal with your hair during this time.

You may know this already, but as a reminder Retin A 0.05% is STRONG and can cause inflammation :pullhair: . I only apply it to areas of my body where skin is thicker (i.e. hands, legs, feet) If you decide to use Retin A on your scalp I would HIGHLY SUGGEST you consider using Retin A 0.025%
 
Last edited:
ilong said:
:pullhair:

Merry Christmas @MileHighDiva and @julzinha !!!
MHDiva ! There is so much to read and digest with hair care, loss and growth, I think it's a never ending education! :)

Regarding emu oil - here is a link to a patent by Dr. Michael Hollick on Emu oil and it's ability to stimulate hair follicles and promote growth. http://www.google.com/patents/US5958384
This is the patent's abstract:
Abstract

The present invention is directed to the discovery that topical or parenteral administration of emu oil to a mammal stimulates the proliferation of skin. Emu oil can be used to treat skin wrinkles and rejuvenate aged and photo-damaged skin. It has also been discovered that emu oil can be topically applied to stimulate melanogenesis in the skin and to stimulate hair growth. Thus, emu oil is useful to treat pigmentation disorders such as hypopigmentation, stimulating melanogenesis to enhance skin tanning, and treating disorders relating to disturbances in hair cycling such as alopecia, male pattern baldness, female baldness, and chemotherapy-induced alopecia.

I did read somewhere that the study which led to the patent, entailed applying the oil 3 times daily. Unless you live in Australia, the challenge is locating oil derived from free range emu birds and not farm raised, corn fed birds. Oil extracted from free range birds (Australia) is touted to be richer in nutrients which stated benefits. Garden of Wisdom advertises that their Emu oil is from Australian free range birds.

@julzhina - I just read your first post in this thread. It appears you are trying to thicken the skin on your scalp The benefit of using Retin A on your scalp is to "thicken" the scalp skin, promote new cell growth, increase collagen and rejuvenate the skin. This appears These are the same benefits one would expect from applying Retin-A to skin. I use Retin A 0.025% and 0.50% periodically on my skin and it does a phenomenal job at preventing my skin from showing signs of aging. I can't use it on my hair until next year (do not want to overlap with my PRP treatments) - but I plan to. Retin A and emu oil CoMBING on the scalp is purported to reduce the thinning hair, due to aging. Emu oil will help suppress some of the peeling/flaking typically associated with Retin A and it's healing agents will help offset any inflammation and promote cell rejuvenation. Peeling/flaking brings up another thought. The skin must peel to produce new cells and turn over new skin, so think in advance how you will deal with your hair during this time.

You may know this already, but as a reminder Retin A 0.5% is STRONG and can cause inflammation :pullhair: . I only apply it to areas of my body where skin is thicker (i.e. hands, legs, feet) If you decide to use Retin A on your scalp I would HIGHLY SUGGEST you consider using Retin A 0.025%
Click to expand...

Thank You SOOOO MUCH! for all the info. I was planning on mixing the tretinoin with my Njoy. Have you heard anything about dermarolling?
 
@julzinha - yes I first heard of dermarolling many years ago when researching skin care. Personally, I would not do it for many reasons:
  • You have to very careful with the roller/needles in that you can damage your skin
  • It traumatizes the skin/scalp
  • Skin is very sensitive after rolling
  • Caution must be exercised as to what you apply before and after, because it's penetrated into the skin layers via the rolling
  • Dermaroller requires maintenance and has to be kept VERY CLEAN
  • Retin A- produces similar results
  • I own a High Frequency Device - which I'm not sure delivers any results (my fault as I don't use it consistently) - so I wouldn't purchase another device to sit
For me simple is better - so I stick to Retin A.
 
ilong said:
@julzinha - yes I first heard of dermarolling many years ago when researching skin care. Personally, I would not do it for many reasons:
  • You have to very careful with the roller/needles in that you can damage your skin
  • It traumatizes the skin/scalp
  • Skin is very sensitive after rolling
  • Caution must be exercised as to what you apply before and after, because it's penetrated into the skin layers via the rolling
  • Dermaroller requires maintenance and has to be kept VERY CLEAN
  • Retin A- produces similar results
  • I own a High Frequency Device - which I'm not sure delivers any results (my fault as I don't use it consistently) - so I wouldn't purchase another device to sit
For me simple is better - so I stick to Retin A.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the response, I've heard good things about dermarollers, but I think I'll make that s later option if I don't see significant improvement.

I will instead try tretinoin mixed with Njoy and apply it daily in that area.

I would love to try emu oil, but finances are tight and it's expensive.
 
@julzinha - I understand the financial restraints - but keep in mind NJOY's oil contains sulfur and you are mixing sulfur with the Retin A. Please be careful! You need something to offset the inflammation! If you can't afford Emu oil now - try to use some sort of non-stinging healing oil (rosehip, vitamin e) or even some aloe vera gel.
 
ilong said:
@julzinha - I understand the financial restraints - but keep in mind NJOY's oil contains sulfur and you are mixing sulfur with the Retin A. Please be careful! You need something to offset the inflammation! If you can't afford Emu oil now - try to use some sort of non-stinging healing oil (rosehip, vitamin e) or even some aloe vera gel.
Click to expand...
Would castor oil or coconut oil be a good choice?

Also could I alternate days between the tretinoin and Njoy?
 
@julzinha - between the 2, I think Castor Oil is better for healing, IMO. But I would seriously consider getting some aloe vera gel. You will have to judge frequency of the applications, based on your body/skins reaction.
I would exhibit a similar caution with the sulfur/Retin A application as users of Retin A and chemical peels. Sulfur is not invasive as a (Glycolic, Lactic, TCA, etc) peel but it can be irritating.
Good Luck!
 
@julzinha - you are starting off with 0.1%, the strongest of the retinoids, any particular reason why? Is it cream, gel or micro gel?

I have 0.o25% cream, 0.05% gel and 0.1% micro gel. I can only tolerate the 0.1% on my real "TOUGH" skin areas and even then, twice a week max, otherwise my skin get inflamed to the point of skin burn. I try to use a powder makeup pad to apply the 0.05% and 0.1% strengths, to protect my hands from peeling. The 0.1% makes my hands look horrendous if I expose the gel to my hand directly.
 
ilong said:
@julzinha - you are starting off with 0.1%, the strongest of the retinoids, any particular reason why? Is it cream, gel or micro gel?

I have 0.o25% cream, 0.05% gel and 0.1% micro gel. I can only tolerate the 0.1% on my real "TOUGH" skin areas and even then, twice a week max, otherwise my skin get inflamed to the point of skin burn. I try to use a powder makeup pad to apply the 0.05% and 0.1% strengths, to protect my hands from peeling. The 0.1% makes my hands look horrendous if I expose the gel to my hand directly.
Click to expand...

No reason, I already had 0.1 tretinoin around because I use it on my face daily. I have the cream
 
julzinha said:
No reason, I already had 0.1 tretinoin around because I use it on my face daily. I have the cream
Click to expand...

@julzinha - you are my SHERO - using 0.1% daily on your face. I am like most people and can't tolerate it applied routinely on any part of my body. Good luck and please keep us updated.
 
julzinha said:
I have considered emu oil but I have no idea where to buy it from and if it will work. Derma rolling has been very effective for many ppl and I just wanted to try that first.
Click to expand...



@julzinha - re the bolded above. You can purchase Emu off Amazon - but be careful with any sellers which are not actually Amazon. It's my understanding that any EMU oil which has "AEA Certified" (or some form of AEA certification logo on the bottle") is supposed to be Grade A quality. HTH
 
Bump bump!! I know this thread is a bit old, but I've been experimenting with an essential oil and tretinoin regimen that has been great. I need to be consistent with the tretinoin because it thickens my scalp which stops the cause of the thinning while the essential oils and Njoy help with regrowth
 
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