Microneedling with Exosomes
What exosomes are, what the evidence does and does not currently show, and how the treatment compares with PRP.
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What it actually is
The treatment is microneedling — a motorised pen creating controlled micro-channels at a depth set for what is being treated. What changes is the final step. Instead of a conventional hyaluronic acid recovery serum, an exosome preparation is applied into the channels while they are still open.
The rationale for pairing anything with needling is the same in every case: micro-channels close over within roughly a day, and while they are open the skin takes up far more of what is placed on it than intact skin would. That absorption window is real and well understood. It is the substance being absorbed that is the open question here.
What exosomes are
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles — very small packets, roughly 30 to 150 nanometres across, that cells release to carry signalling molecules such as proteins and RNA to other cells. They are best understood as part of how cells communicate rather than as a drug in their own right. The preparations used in aesthetics are derived from cultured cells, and the stated intent is to support the repair response that the needling has already triggered.
Where the evidence actually stands
We would rather set this out plainly than let you find it later.
Exosome products are not authorised for therapeutic use in Canada. Health Canada has not approved them for that purpose, and both Health Canada and the FDA have issued warnings about clinics marketing exosome treatments with medical claims. This is a matter of public record, and any clinic that tells you these products are approved is either misinformed or hoping you will not check.
The research is early. Most published work is laboratory and animal research. There is a small body of human work in aesthetic dermatology and very little in the way of large randomised trials. Compare that with microneedling itself, which is well documented, or with PRP, which has been studied for far longer.
Before-and-after photographs are not evidence. The images circulating for this treatment almost never isolate the exosome preparation from the microneedling underneath it. Microneedling alone produces a visible change, so a photograph of someone who had both tells you very little about what the serum contributed.
None of that makes exosomes uninteresting. It means the honest position is that this is a promising area still being established, and you should be told that before you pay for it rather than after.
Exosomes or PRP?
This is the comparison worth making, because the two are used in the same slot in the same treatment.
PRP is your own blood, drawn and spun during the appointment. Because the material comes from you, there is nothing being introduced from outside, and it has by far the longer track record. The trade-off is a blood draw and a longer visit.
An exosome preparation is a manufactured product. No blood draw, shorter appointment — but you are relying on a manufacturer rather than on your own biology, in a product category that is not authorised as a therapeutic in Canada.
If you want the better-established of the two, that is PRP, and we will say so.
Is it worth adding?
For most people treating texture, enlarged pores or dullness, standard microneedling finished with a hyaluronic acid serum does what is needed, and any add-on is optional rather than important.
An add-on earns its cost when there is a specific reason for it: established scarring, skin that is slow to settle after treatment, or a course that has stopped progressing. Even then, PRP and PDRN are the options with more behind them.
What should not happen is being sold an add-on because it is the newest thing on the menu. If you ask us at consultation whether you need it, you will get a straight answer, and for a lot of people that answer is no.
Questions we hear
What is microneedling with exosomes?
It is standard microneedling — controlled micro-channels created with a motorised pen — finished with an exosome preparation applied into those channels while they are still open, instead of a conventional recovery serum. The needling is unchanged; the difference is only what is applied afterwards.
What are exosomes?
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles: very small packets, in the region of 30 to 150 nanometres, that cells release to carry signalling molecules to other cells. They are a messaging system rather than a drug. In aesthetics the preparations used are derived from cultured cells, and the intent is to support the skin’s own repair response after needling.
How is it different from microneedling with PRP?
PRP uses your own blood, drawn and spun during the same appointment, so the material is autologous and the track record is longer. An exosome preparation is a manufactured product rather than something taken from you, which means no blood draw and a shorter appointment, but also that you are relying on the manufacturer rather than on your own biology. If you want the better-established option, that is PRP.
Are exosome products approved in Canada?
No. Health Canada has not authorised exosome products for therapeutic use, and both Health Canada and the FDA have issued warnings about clinics marketing them with medical claims. Any clinic telling you otherwise is misinformed. We will discuss this openly at consultation rather than leaving you to find it out afterwards.
What does the evidence actually show?
Most of the published work is laboratory and animal research, with a small number of human studies in aesthetic dermatology and few large randomised trials. That is a genuinely younger evidence base than microneedling itself or PRP, both of which are far better documented. It is reasonable to be interested in exosomes; it is not reasonable to be told the outcome is established.
What results should I expect, and when?
Any visible change over the first week or two comes from the microneedling, not the serum — that part is well understood. Collagen remodelling continues over roughly four to twelve weeks, which is why a course is judged at the end rather than after one session. Before-and-after photographs you see online almost never separate the effect of the needling from the effect of what was applied, so treat them with caution.
Is it worth the extra cost?
For most people treating texture, pores or dullness, standard microneedling with a hyaluronic acid serum does the job and the add-on is not necessary. An add-on is worth paying for when there is a specific reason — established scarring, skin that heals slowly, or a course that has stalled. If you want an add-on with the stronger evidence behind it, ask about PRP.
Is it safe?
The needling itself carries the usual considerations: redness for a day or two, and the same contraindications as any microneedling session, including active breakouts and recent isotretinoin. As for the exosome preparation, because these products are not authorised as therapeutics in Canada there is no regulatory assessment of a specific product behind them, which is part of what you are weighing up.
Which clinics offer microneedling with exosomes?
It is available at our Scarborough, Midtown Toronto, Brampton, Concord / Vaughan, Whitby, Burlington, Waterloo and St. Catharines clinics. It is not currently offered at London, Windsor, Vancouver or Ottawa, though all of those clinics do offer standard microneedling.
Where we offer it
The London, Windsor, Vancouver and Ottawa clinics offer microneedling but not this add-on.
Asking about it
Microneedling with exosomes is offered at eight of our clinics: Scarborough, Midtown Toronto, Brampton, Concord / Vaughan, Whitby, Burlington, Waterloo and St. Catharines. It is not currently offered at London, Windsor, Vancouver or Ottawa. If you are considering an add-on at all, a consultation is the right place to work out whether you need one — and which one.
For how microneedling itself works, what it treats and what a course costs, see our microneedling page.