Is the GloPRO microneedling tool better than Botox?

Facial needling is a huge trend in the States, so when model-turned-beauty entrepreneur Jamie O'Banion tapped into it by launching GloPRO–an at-home microneedling regeneration tool–her status there skyrocketed.

The painless device, which is now available in the UK, works by naturally triggering your skin's own collagen-making response and the results, say O'Banion, are "absolutely, without a doubt" better than Botox. Looking at the 35-year-old makes us really want to believe her.

"Botox paralyses the muscles that cause 'mechanical' wrinkling in the skin," she tells us. "This muscle freeze allows the skin to appear smoother with the removal of daily facial contraction."

However, Botox is temporary, and she says "results are often inconsistent, depending upon who is injecting and how an individual's muscles learn to recruit deeper as they seek to overcome the temporary paralysis". Another reason she doesn't buy into it is because a bad job lasts for months, and unlike a facial filler ("which is a whole other conversation about the lack of long-term studies about health concerns"), Botox cannot be dissolved. "If you have a bad Botox injection, your face is stuck that way until it wears off or your injector tries to add more somewhere else to try and balance it," she warns. "Not a good situation."

So what makes facial needling achieve visible results, without the risks? O'Banion explains that "GloPRO forces your skin into a 'healing' regeneration mode that delivers a consistent outcome and trigger response with every use. Just as a tiny paper cut on your finger forces your skin to immediately repair the injury and then quite literally make new skin cells, the same response happens in your skin using this device."

Essentially, thousands of micro-injuries are created in the skin which force your body's natural regeneration response to kick in, triggering new collagen and elastin production. Naturally, results aren't instantaneous, but with continued use O'Banion says "the new youthful skin cells begin to outnumber the old, tired wrinkled skin and the entire visage is transformed".

Dr Michael Prager – Bazaar beauty award-winner of 'Best for Botox' – agrees that microneedling, when performed correctly, is most likely the best treatment for skin resurfacing. "In my opinion it is still the best treatment there is, exceeding laser, PRP [Platelets Rejuvenate Plasma injections] or any other therapy out there" he told us.

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However, he notes that you're likely to get better results with professional treatments. "Done in a salon or clinic environment we can use much longer needles (up to 3mm for the treatments of deep acne scars or deep skin resurfacing - another benefit) whereas the derma roller microneedling done at home usually has a 0.5mm long needle."

In fact, the needle length on the GloPRO is just 0.3mm, although generally the smaller the needle size, the better your skin can tolerate the treatment - O'Banion adds that it can even be used by those with skin conditions like rosacea.

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In trials, GloPRO has been clinically shown to reduce nasolabial fold wrinkling (the 'laughter lines' by your mouth) by 30% in just 30 days of use, three times a week. There's no such stats–yet–for other specific areas like forehead frowns and crow's feet that Botox commonly targets, but the device does come with an eye roller attachment allowing you to work into that delicate area with precision.

Another benefit is that microneedling increases the benefit of skincare ingredients applied post-use – "200 fold" in GloPRO's case, confirms O'Banion. This is because it makes absorption easier, with the open microchannels in the skin ready to receive your (often expensive) anti-ageing actives such as retinol and hyaluronic acid.

With this in mind, O'Banion does "caution users to remember to thoroughly cleanse the skin prior to use" – you don't want to push dirt deeper down, do you?

Other than that, there are no obvious risks (provided that it's used correctly and not in excess), and therefore not a lot to lose by getting on board. Except the £199 price tag, of course. Not insignificant, but potentially cheaper than a future of fillers...

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