Nano-Needling vs Microneedling: Where the Line Actually Is
One uses moulded cones and stays on top. The other uses needles and goes through. The word nano now labels both, so here is the honest split.
Nano-needling vs microneedling comes down to one question: does the tip go through the outer layer of your skin, or does it work on top of it? Nano-needling normally means a cartridge of silicone or plastic cones that stays very shallow. Microneedling means needles that pass through the barrier.
That is the line as the treatment industry draws it. The complication is that the word nano now labels two unrelated things, and one of them is a needle. This page separates them, and states plainly which side the re:tones MTS is on.
What the industry means by nano-needling
In a salon or a med spa, nano-needling means a cartridge of moulded cones rather than metal needles. The cones are silicone or medical plastic, and they are short. Published descriptions in the category commonly put them under 0.3 mm long and working around 0.15 mm into the surface.
The pitch is a treatment with no downtime, no numbing and no visible redness. Providers describe it as the entry option, or as something to run between deeper appointments.
One honest note. The category tells you it does not break the skin, then explains that it creates channels through the outer layer. Those two sentences sit uneasily together, and the literature is not consistent about which is true. Treat the "non invasive" label as marketing shorthand rather than as a settled physical description.
What microneedling means
Microneedling uses needles, and the needles pass through the outer layer. That is the definition and everything else is a parameter.
Two numbers describe any needle, and mixing them up is the most common error in this whole category.
- Diameter. How wide the needle is, measured in micrometres. One µm is a thousandth of a millimetre.
- Depth. How far the needle travels, measured in millimetres. On an adjustable device you set this.
A needle can be very thin and travel far. It can be thick and travel a short distance. Those are different objects doing different jobs, and one word covers both.
Nano-needling vs microneedling, side by side
| Nano-needling | Microneedling | |
|---|---|---|
| What touches skin | Moulded silicone or plastic cones | Needles |
| Stated reach | Very shallow, commonly described near 0.15 mm | 0.25 mm upward, set on the device |
| Barrier | Described as working at or just into the outer layer | Passes through it |
| Downtime described | Little to none | Hours to days, depending on depth |
| Numbing | Not used | Common in clinic, not at home |
| Usual argument for it | Product delivery and surface texture | Delivery, plus the repair response at depth |
| Usual argument against it | Reach may be too shallow to matter | Real openings, real hygiene rules |
Read the middle row as the actual dividing line. Everything else in the table follows from it.
The word nano is doing two different jobs
Nano as a tip style
This is the meaning above. Nano describes a cartridge with cones instead of needles, and it says nothing about a measurement in nanometres. A silicone cone at 0.15 mm is 150,000 nanometres long.
Nano as a scale label on a needle
The second meaning appears on devices whose needles are far finer than conventional ones. re:tones uses it this way. The cartridges are called PRO-5D Nano and PRO-R Nano, and both carry real needles.
Here is the number that matters, printed next to the prefix rather than hidden behind it. The PRO-5D Nano needle is 8 µm across. The PRO-R Nano is 15 µm. For comparison, a scalp hair is usually 50 to 100 µm across, and rollers commonly publish 200 µm and wider.
Eight micrometres is 8,000 nanometres, so the prefix is a category label rather than a unit. re:tones will say that in writing, and the only genuine nanometre figure on the device is a surface coating of about 120 nm, stated by the manufacturer rather than measured by the brand. Every figure and its grade is listed on the MTS device record.
So which one is the re:tones MTS?
It is microneedling. The cartridge names carry the word nano, and the parts they name are needles that pass through the outer layer.
The collar travels 0.5 to 1.5 mm and has no clicks or stops, which puts every available setting well past nano-needling reach. The hygiene rules follow from that: sterile cartridges, one per session, binned afterwards. A cone tip you can wipe and a needle array you must replace are not the same object.
Anyone comparing devices deserves that stated flatly rather than left to the branding. The full specification and claim list for the re:tones MTS is published with the grade beside every number, including the rows still marked as not measured.
Does the distinction change what you should expect?
It changes the rules, the risks and the routine. It does not hand either side a result.
- Hygiene. A device that opens skin needs sterile, single use parts. A cone tip is a different hygiene problem, not an absent one.
- Frequency. Shallow work is commonly described on a shorter interval. Needles get a longer one, and on the MTS that is one session every seven days.
- Aftercare. Openings mean no acids, no retinoid and no makeup for the rest of the day, then sunscreen. Cone work is usually described without that.
- Contraindications. The list that rules people out is longer for needles, and it is the list worth reading twice.
What the distinction cannot do is produce an efficacy figure for either technique. re:tones has run no clinical study and no consumer panel, so it publishes no percentage, no absorption multiple and no time to result. The reasoning behind that position is on the science and claims record.
The absorption argument, on both sides of the line
Both techniques are sold partly on delivery, so the same question applies to both. Does the route exist, and how much crosses it?
The first half is mechanical. The outer layer of your skin keeps things out, and a channel through it is a route that does not depend on a molecule being small enough to pass passively. That is the whole of the delivery case for either technique.
The second half is where honest brands stop. Nobody has measured how much of a given formula crosses your skin, and a route is not a rate. If that argument is the reason you are here, why your serum is not absorbing takes it apart properly.
Which one you actually want
- You want minimal disruption and no rules. Nano-needling is the shallower option, and the tradeoff is that shallower may mean too shallow to matter.
- You want the route through the barrier. That requires needles, and it brings the hygiene rules with it.
- You are nervous about needles on your own face. Start on the widest, most forgiving needle at the shallowest setting, weekly, and let the sensation inform you.
- You want a scar, a burn or a diagnosed condition addressed. That is a dermatologist's job and neither option replaces it.
If you already know you want the needle route and are choosing a format, the pen and roller comparison covers the mechanics. If you are still at the beginning, what microneedling is and what it does is the shorter starting point.
What neither of them is
Neither technique is an injection. An injection deposits a measured volume at a known depth. Both of these open a surface and let what is on it meet what was opened.
Neither is a medical procedure when it happens in your bathroom. The MTS is a cosmetic device. It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Skip either technique on active acne, open or broken skin, eczema or psoriasis in flare, sunburn, or over moles, warts and raised lesions. Skip both if you take oral isotretinoin or took it in the last six months, if you scar keloid, or if you have an active skin infection including cold sores.
Frequently asked questions
Is nano-needling the same as microneedling?
No. Nano-needling normally uses moulded silicone or plastic cones that stay very shallow, and microneedling uses needles that pass through the outer layer. Devices whose cartridges carry the word nano may still be microneedling, so check the needle material and the depth range rather than the name.
Does nano-needling actually do anything?
It works at or just into the outer layer, which is the reason it has little downtime and also the reason its reach is questioned. re:tones makes no efficacy claim for any technique, its own included. Ask any provider quoting a figure which study it came from and how many people were in it.
Is the re:tones MTS nano-needling or microneedling?
Microneedling. The PRO-5D Nano and PRO-R Nano cartridges carry real needles at 8 µm and 15 µm across, on a collar that travels 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The word nano labels the scale of the needle, not a cone tip and not a nanometre measurement.
Which hurts less, nano-needling or microneedling?
Shallower work is generally described as more comfortable, and sensation still varies by person, by area and by depth. Nobody can promise you a number for your own face. A brand quoting a pain score of zero is describing marketing rather than nerves.
Can you do nano-needling and microneedling in the same routine?
Providers do sequence them, and at home the sensible rule is one technique per session with a full week either side. Stacking two mechanical treatments on one day removes your ability to tell which one your skin reacted to. Cadence exists for exactly that reason.
Does needle diameter matter more than depth?
They answer different questions, so neither replaces the other. Depth decides where the channel goes and diameter decides what the channel is. A device quoting one number and calling it the specification is leaving the other one out on purpose.
Related reading: what each depth setting actually reaches, how often to run a session, the 48 hour aftercare rules, working near the eyes, and what a session looks like hour by hour.