RF microneedling depths: why deeper is not always better

Microneedles enter the skin and radiofrequency energy is delivered around or from the needle tips, depending on the device. The resulting controlled heat can trigger collagen remodelling over time.

Insulated versus non-insulated needles

This distinction changes the treatment more than most patients realise. Insulated needles deliver energy only from the tip, concentrating heat at the intended depth and largely sparing the epidermis. Non-insulated needles deliver energy along the shaft, treating a taller column of tissue including more superficial layers.

Neither is universally better. Insulated tips are generally favoured where epidermal protection matters — darker skin types, or areas prone to pigmentation. Non-insulated tips treat more superficial texture at the same time. Knowing which your clinic uses tells you more about what the treatment will do than the depth number alone.

The Secret RF system we use is not a fully insulated design. It has two tip types: non-insulated, and semi-insulated, which is described as releasing roughly 80% of the energy at the tip and 20% along the needle. Choosing between them is part of planning each treatment zone.

An earlier version of this article mapped fixed depths directly to specific diagnoses. In practice, that is too simplistic. A 2 mm setting on one area of the face is not equivalent to 2 mm on another, and different RF devices create different thermal zones.

The reason is that the tissue effect is a product of several variables, not one. The same needle depth with higher energy, longer pulse duration or a non-insulated tip produces a substantially larger thermal zone. Two clinics quoting the same depth may be delivering quite different treatments, which is why depth charts found online are close to meaningless without the rest of the parameters.

Published starting depths by facial area

For readers who want numbers, a 2023 review in Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum summarised the depths used to reach the reticular dermis, the layer targeted for collagen remodelling, in different parts of the face. Treat these as published starting points rather than settings to copy.

What the table cannot show is the rest of the treatment. The same depth with more energy, a longer pulse or a non-insulated tip heats a larger volume of tissue, so on thin areas a published depth is paired with lower energy rather than simply reproduced. Devices also differ: Secret RF can be set anywhere from 0.5 to 3.5 mm, a wider range than the facial figures above, and the setting within it is chosen zone by zone.

Facial skin thickness varies considerably. The eyelid and peri-orbital skin are among the thinnest on the body; the forehead, cheek and jawline differ from each other; and the neck is thinner and less forgiving than the face. Underlying fat compartments vary too, and they are the structure most at risk from energy delivered deeper than intended.

This is the practical reason a competent operator adjusts settings by zone within a single session rather than treating the whole face at one depth. A setting that is conservative on a thick cheek can be excessive on the temple or neck.

Rolling scars may be tethered and can require subcision. Ice-pick scars are narrow and deep and may respond better to focal techniques such as TCA CROSS or punch methods. Boxcar scars vary in depth. RF microneedling can improve selected atrophic scars, but deeper settings do not automatically solve the mechanical cause.

The tethering point is worth emphasising, because it is where expectations most often go wrong. A rolling scar is being pulled down from beneath by fibrous bands. No amount of energy delivered from above releases that tether — only subcision does. Where subcision is indicated and skipped, patients frequently complete an entire course of RF microneedling with disappointing results and conclude the treatment does not work, when the sequence was simply incomplete.

Combination treatment is common because acne scarring is often mixed. See our acne and scar treatment information and our detailed guide to acne scar types and treatment matching.

Superficial texture concerns and pores generally do not require the same treatment depth as deeper scar remodelling. Mild skin laxity may benefit from dermal heating, but significant jowling or tissue descent is a structural problem that energy devices cannot reproduce surgical lifting for.

On pores specifically: they can look refined when surrounding skin quality improves, but they cannot be closed. Pore size is largely structural, and a treatment sold on the promise of eliminating them is overselling.

• Prolonged redness or swelling
• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, especially in pigment-prone skin
• Burns or track marks if energy delivery is excessive
• Infection or delayed healing
• Unwanted focal fat loss if thermal energy reaches subcutaneous fat
• Rare nerve or vascular injury depending on anatomy and technique

Focal fat loss deserves separate mention because it is the complication least likely to resolve. Facial fat compartments do not reliably regenerate, and a hollow created by energy delivered too deep may require filler to camouflage — an ongoing cost arising from a single over-aggressive session. This is the strongest argument for conservative settings on a first treatment, when individual response is still unknown.

RF energy is not absorbed by melanin the way laser light is. That is a genuine advantage in Fitzpatrick types III to VI, because it removes the competing target that makes ablative and pigment-directed lasers riskier in darker skin. It is a large part of why this technology became popular for Asian patients with acne scarring.

That advantage is not immunity. Any procedure creating inflammation can provoke post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation in susceptible skin, and excessive energy still causes it. Conservative parameters, adequate spacing between sessions and strict sun protection remain necessary.

Expect redness and swelling for a few days, sometimes with a grid pattern of small marks that fades over roughly a week depending on settings. Deeper or higher-energy treatment extends this, which is another reason maximum settings are not automatically desirable if you have commitments.

Intervals of around four to six weeks are typical, and they exist for a reason: collagen remodelling continues for months after a session, so treating too frequently stacks inflammation without allowing the previous treatment to complete its work. Scar improvement is generally assessed over a course of several sessions rather than after one.

Declare before treatment

• Isotretinoin use, current or recent
• Active acne, infection or cold sore history if treating around the mouth
• Recent fillers, threads or energy treatments
• Pacemakers or implanted electrical devices
• Keloid tendency and any previous pigmentation after procedures
• Pregnancy