Microneedling Depth Chart by Facial Area

Pick an area, then move the needle length slider from 0.25 to 3.0 mm. The bar is a cross-section drawn to scale from the skin surface. The dark segment is the epidermis, the light segment is the dermis, and the hatched area is tissue below the dermis.

The numbers come from published measurements, mostly in vivo ultrasound studies. Each result names its study. Averages hide large person-to-person spread: in the facial ultrasound study, the standard deviation of dermal thickness at the cheek was about half the mean.

Worked example. For the cheek (malar site) the facial ultrasound study reports an epidermis of 0.327 mm and a dermis of 1.160 mm. A 1.0 mm needle length passes the epidermis and reaches 0.673 mm into a 1.160 mm dermis. A 0.25 mm length stays inside the 0.327 mm epidermis in that same measurement.

Needle length is not the same as the depth a device reaches. Skin stretches, devices vary, and pressure changes penetration. One review notes that needle length has not been shown to increase depth.

Reviews do not agree on one depth per area, and most describe devices, not rules. For the face, a 2023 radiofrequency microneedling review (Shauly et al.) reports depths of at least 1.5 mm for the forehead and temple, 1.0 mm for the malar region, 0.5 mm for the perioral skin and 1.5 mm for the neck. A 2016 review (Singh and Yadav) reports needle lengths of 0.5 to 0.75 mm for thin-skinned periorbital and perioral areas.

These are reported ranges from the literature. They are not a recommended depth for a patient, and they come from different devices, including radiofrequency devices. For areas with no published range, the chart says so.

The deepest skin sits on the trunk. In a 74-adult ultrasound study, dermal thickness averaged about 2.4 mm at the abdomen and 2.9 mm on the back, against 1.0 to 1.3 mm at most facial sites measured in a separate study. Different methods and populations explain part of that gap, so compare within a study, not across them.

The FDA classifies microneedling devices for aesthetic use as Class II devices under 21 CFR 878.4430. Its November 2020 guidance, Regulatory Considerations for Microneedling Products, says it “considers needle penetration beyond the stratum corneum as a result of the design or technology of a microneedling product as evidence that it may be ‘intended to affect the structure or any function of the body’,” which makes the product a device.

The FDA’s consumer page says it has authorized microneedling devices to improve the appearance of facial acne scars, facial wrinkles and abdominal scars in patients aged 22 or older, and that it may not have reviewed other body locations. It also says microneedling may be considered a medical procedure when it meets the definition of a medical device.

It depends on the state. In our review of all 50 states, 11 allow estheticians to microneedle within limits, 5 allow it only with an advanced license or medical supervision, 20 say it is outside esthetician scope and 14 have no official statement that names it. The state selector above shows the answer and official source for each state.

A state that sets a depth limit applies it to one license type. A limit in one state says nothing about another, and an FDA-cleared device does not make a procedure part of an esthetician’s license. Read the full state-by-state guide, or see the med spa licensing guides.

Practices that offer microneedling can record the device, needle depth used and consent for every visit in aesthetic EMR charting.