What’s the difference between Facial Acupuncture and Microneedling?

If you’re researching holistic methods for facial rejuvenation, healthy aging, acne, or rosacea, you might have come across facial acupuncture and microneedling.

Both methods use tiny needles to benefit your skin, but they’re quite different in how they work and the results they provide.

As an acupuncturist and skincare enthusiast who loves both, this is a guide to the benefits, differences, and trade-offs between facial acupuncture and microneedling.

I’ll be honest—sometimes the best treatment for an individual is neither. There are so many ways to age beautifully, calm inflammation, or support your natural healing process, and microneedling and facial acupuncture aren’t right for everybody.

That said, if you’re curious about how these two treatments compare, here’s my take as an acupuncturist who offers both:

How the Treatments Differ at Soraluna

Microneedling and facial acupuncture differ wildly from practitioner to practitioner. You’re going to have a different experience going to a medispa or even another acupuncturist.

So here’s how I structure treatments at Soraluna in San Francisco:

During a facial acupuncture session, you get full-body acupuncture (hands, feet, legs, arms) for constitutional support, as well as acupuncture needles for areas of tension on your face and scalp. While the face can be a sensitive area for needles, the session is appropriate even for sensitive folks. Sometimes I include manual work like gua sha, cupping, or facial massage, but the heart of the treatment is acupuncture.

While one facial acupuncture session can sometimes be beneficial for facial tension, it generally takes 8-10 sessions, spaced one week apart, to have noticable, lasting results.

During a microneedling session, I’ll ground your nervous system (generally using tuning forks, body acupuncture, or crystals). Then I’ll apply a cream or serum to your face to dull the sensation of microneedling. Then I’ll use an electronic microchanneling device (from ProCell) that gently taps the skin with using a tiny plate of incredibly small needles. The sensation can be strong, even with the cream, so this isn’t appropriate for people who are quite sensitive. I’ll pass over each region of your face and neck several times until the skin is lightly pink, apply a special serum from ProCell between each pass, then send you home with aftercare instructions.

You might see results with one microneedling session, but for most people 3-4 sessions are required to meet their skincare goals. Sessions are spaced every 30 days. For deeper scarring or pigmentation, sometimes you need 6-7 sessions to really see the results you’re looking for.

When to consider each treatment

Why you might consider Facial Acupuncture:

• Releases facial tension: Especially helpful if you grind your teeth, clench your jaw, or carry stress in your shoulders and neck.

• Softens lines and boosts glow: By improving blood flow and qi to the face.

• Reduces puffiness: Encourages qi and blood circulation, which helps drain dampness (aka stagnant lymph)

• Whole-body support: You get a constitutional treatment alongside your facial work.

Why you might consider Microneedling:

• Stimulates collagen: Great for deeper wrinkles, acne scars, and firming the skin.

• Breaks up hyperpigmentation: Especially helpful for melasma and sun/liver spots

• Cools inflammation: Think of it as venting heat from the skin—especially effective for acne and rosacea.

• Rooted in tradition: The ProCell device I use echoes ancient Chinese plum blossom needling, but with greater control.

• Hair Support: Microneedling on the scalp can also support hair growth

So…Which Should You Choose?

Choose Facial Acupuncture if:

• You want full-body support

• Your main concern is muscle tension, puffiness, breakouts, or preventative aging

• You feel that tension in your face is leading to aging

• You’re sensitive to strong sensation

• You have a history of skin issues, like psoriasis, pustular rosacea, or eczema

Choose Microneedling if:

• You want to address scarring, melasma, or deeper wrinkles

• You’re most concerned about fine lines near the eyes (these can be harder to address with facial acupuncture)

• You’re looking for support with pigmentation (even dark circles under the eyes)

• You have active acne or rosacea (non-pustular types) and want to treat it without herbs

Or—do both! You can start with one or the other, and add the next when you feel ready or budget allows. The two approaches complement each other beautifully.

Or - do neither! For folks who are really sensitive to needles, you might be happier with facial gua sha, light cupping, or gentle facial massage treatments. I offer treatments rooted in TCM but without needles for just these clients.

Downsides

Facial Acupuncture: Most people tolerate facial acupuncture really well. The main downside is the potential for bruising, which happens sometimes. The bruises can be covered with concealer, and generally fade within a week.

Microneedling: Microneedling isn’t a painless treatment, but it’s not necessarily painful — there’s definitely a tickle that comes from the device, and it’s really not well suited for people with sensitivity to strong stimulation.

There’s many contraindications to microneedling (ie: active psoriasis, eczema, rashes, pustular conditions, and more…), but fewer for facial acupuncture.

My experience

When I was first learning facial acupuncture, I gave myself 10 treatments over a 10 week period, and I loved the results that I saw. My facial veins lessened, my dark circles and puffiness diminished, and some of my postpartum melasma broke up.

That said, there was some stubborn melasma on my cheek that really wouldn’t go away.

When I learned microneedling, I was having an active rosacea flare…so much that almost any product on my skin made it burn. After my first microneedling session, my skin really started calming down, but it wasn’t until three treatments that I really started seeing a difference. Fine lines around my eyes also filled in. The stubborn melasma on my cheek started breaking up as well; there was a noticable difference in the melasma after 4-5 months of sessions.

I love both, and will continue to use both as I get older for different reasons.

Consultations

If you’d like to chat more, I offer free consults to see what might be right for you. And I also pride myself on honesty — if I don’t think you’re a good candidate for either, I’ll tell you.

(This blog is for educational purposes only and not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner.)