SkinPen or Fractora: How a Provider Chooses Between Two Kinds of Microneedling

SkinPen and Fractora are both microneedling, and the difference between them is heat. SkinPen works with needles alone, Fractora adds radiofrequency energy through the needles, and that single difference is what decides which one suits your skin.

Redbud offers both, under the same word on the menu, which hides a real fork.

What is the difference between SkinPen and Fractora?

Both pass a cartridge of fine needles over your skin and create tiny, controlled channels. Your body reads those channels as an injury worth repairing and responds by laying down fresh collagen. SkinPen stops there: the needles work mechanically, and that repair response is the whole treatment.

Fractora sends bipolar radiofrequency current through an array of pins while they sit in the skin. A review of energy-based devices with biopsy correlations describes fractional radiofrequency microneedling as delivering thermal energy to the dermis, the layer below the surface where collagen lives, while sparing the epidermis on top.

So needles alone work mostly in the upper layers, while heat remodels at depth. A 2026 systematic review pooling 41 studies of radiofrequency microneedling found improvement in wrinkle scales and dermal density, with the change visible on biopsy.

Deeper is not automatically better. It is better for some problems and more than you need for others.

What is each device FDA-cleared to do?

The two clearances are not parallel.

SkinPen is cleared under the FDA's microneedling regulation, a category the agency created in 2018 because nothing like it had been cleared before. That clearance names cosmetic concerns: the appearance of facial acne scars in adults with all Fitzpatrick skin types aged 22 years and older, and wrinkles of the neck in Fitzpatrick skin types II to IV, which covers fair to olive skin tones. Two indications, two populations, an age floor.

Fractora is cleared under a different regulation, the one covering electrosurgical cutting and coagulation devices, which use high-frequency current to cut tissue and control bleeding. Its 2011 clearance reads "dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin." The 2018 and 2019 clearances in the same family read "Dermatologic and General Surgical procedures for Electrocoagulation and Hemostasis."

No clearance in the Fractora line names a wrinkle, a scar, or loose skin. Every cosmetic use of it sits outside the wording the FDA reviewed.

That is ordinary and it is not a reason to avoid the treatment. All three Fractora clearances describe what the device does to tissue rather than a concern it treats. SkinPen gets used off label too: Redbud treats pores and texture with it, and neither is on its clearance. Off label means outside the wording the agency reviewed, not improper or unstudied. It does mean "both are FDA-cleared" says less than it sounds like it says.

Which concerns point to SkinPen, and which point to Fractora?

Start with what is bothering you, not with the device.

SkinPen handles problems near the surface: rough or uneven texture, enlarged pores, early fine lines, skin that has gone flat, and acne scarring. It is a sensible first collagen treatment if you have never had one.

Fractora is for problems with structure underneath: deeper wrinkles that stay visible when your face is at rest, stretch marks, sun damage, scarring that has not moved with gentler treatment, and mild to moderate laxity, meaning skin that has started to loosen. Redbud's own position, stated on the SkinPen page, is that if your main concerns are deeper wrinkles or loose skin, Fractora may be the stronger choice.

Acne scarring sits in both columns, which is where people get stuck. Shallow, rolling scars can respond to needles alone over a series. Deep, sharply defined scars have more tissue to remodel, and heat gives a provider more to work with. Which kind you have needs looking at rather than guessing.

No head-to-head trial of these two devices turns up in the published reviews, which call for exactly that kind of comparison. The choice is clinical judgment rather than a settled result.

Your history narrows it further. Keloid-prone skin rules out SkinPen at Redbud. Certain pacemakers and implanted devices rule out Fractora, since radiofrequency current is the mechanism. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, active skin infection and recent Accutane put both on hold.

So does your calendar. Someone who cannot take a week of looking like they had something done will skip sessions, and a half-finished series gets you less than the gentler treatment carried through.

Often enough the answer is both, in sequence: SkinPen for the surface, Fractora for the structure, spaced so your skin recovers between visits. That is a plan, not a menu pick.

How different is the recovery?

Plan on roughly an hour in the room for SkinPen and somewhat longer for Fractora, numbing included. SkinPen feels like a light vibration with mild prickling; Fractora adds warmth and pressure on top of that.

SkinPen sends you home pink and warm. Expect that flush and a tight feeling for one to three days, then light flaking, and most clients are back at work the next day.

After Fractora there is redness and swelling, sometimes tiny scabs where the pins went in, and a sandpaper feel while the surface knits back together. Most clients return to work and wear mineral makeup within 24 to 48 hours, with the skin fully settled closer to a week. Sleeping with your head slightly raised the first night helps with the swelling.

Those small scabs are the part people underestimate. Flaking you can work around, but micro-crusting you have to leave alone, and picking at it is the quickest way to trade a good result for a lasting mark.

Both want the same care: SPF 30 or higher daily, and no hard workouts, saunas or hot tubs for 48 hours. Both are series treatments, SkinPen usually three sessions four to six weeks apart and Fractora two to three on the same spacing. If you are timing either around an event, give your provider the date first.

Does your skin tone change the answer?

It changes how the answer is reached, not whether you have good options.

SkinPen uses no heat and no light, so nothing in it is aiming at pigment, and its acne-scar clearance covers all Fitzpatrick skin types. Radiofrequency is not aiming at pigment either, which is why it is treated differently from light-based lasers in deeper skin: it leaves its heat below the surface and spares the top layer.

A 2023 systematic review of RF microneedling in Fitzpatrick types III to VI found a low risk of scarring or pigment change overall, though seven of the 35 studies it covered noted temporary post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, the darkening that can follow inflammation in the skin, and the authors say a large share of that research lacks strong quality evidence. The FDA record points the same direction: one clearance in the Fractora family limits its applicator to Fitzpatrick skin types I to IV above a stated energy level.

So with radiofrequency the setting is part of the answer, not just the device, which is a reason to want an experienced provider choosing it rather than a reason to rule it out. If you have had pigment trouble after a procedure before, say so at your consultation. It often moves the plan toward SkinPen first.

What to expect at Redbud

Redbud is a boutique practice in northwest Denver, and nobody books you for a series before a provider has looked at your skin. A consultation starts with the thing bothering you most and ends with a plan: SkinPen, Fractora, one and then the other, or neither.

Details on each treatment live on the SkinPen microneedling and Fractora RF microneedling pages. Weighing microneedling against a peel instead? Our post on microneedling and chemical peels covers that, and acne scar treatments in Denver runs through the wider set. General questions about first visits, candidacy and recovery live on our FAQ page.

To find out which of the two your skin calls for, book a consultation, or call or text the clinic at 720-593-8844. Redbud Medical Spa is at 2345 7th St STE 202, Denver, CO 80211.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. SkinPen is an FDA-cleared Class II medical device, cleared to improve the appearance of facial acne scars in adults 22 years and older with all Fitzpatrick skin types, and wrinkles of the neck in Fitzpatrick skin types II to IV. Fractora is cleared under a separate FDA regulation covering electrosurgical cutting and coagulation devices, for dermatologic and general surgical procedures; its cosmetic uses are off label. Individual results vary, and no outcome can be promised. Talk with a licensed provider about your own skin, your history and your medications before starting any treatment.