They say beauty is pain, but how far are you willing to go in the name of good skin? Microneedling, a trendy skincare treatment where — yup — tiny needles are applied to the face, might make you ponder that question a little harder.

It’s one thing to consider yourself an expert in at-home skincare; building out a multistep routine that actually works is an accomplishment worth celebrating. But once you step inside a dermatologist’s office, it’s a whole different ball game. Professional treatments are typically more potent and invasive, leading to steeper costs and more “extreme” application methods. On those fronts, microneedling is a newer one to pique our interest.