Microneedling in the Quad Cities
Build your own collagen. Brighten your skin tone. Smooth texture, scars, and fine lines. Pair microneedling with PDRN or your own platelets for next-level results.
5.0 on Google · 100+ reviews · Physician-led · Bettendorf, IA
What Is Microneedling?
Microneedling creates tiny, controlled micro-injuries in your skin using a medical-grade device. The injuries are small enough to be safe but real enough to trigger your skin's natural healing response, which produces fresh collagen and elastin.
The result: firmer, brighter, smoother skin over the course of 4 to 8 weeks per treatment. At Mint, we pair microneedling with two next-generation boosters:
VAMP (PDRN salmon facial): PDRN is a collagen-boosting molecule derived from salmon DNA. It accelerates healing and brightens skin tone.
Vampire Facial (PRF): We draw your blood, isolate the platelet-rich fibrinogen, and use it during microneedling. Your own growth factors, supercharging your results.
Both can be done on the face or the body.
Your Skin Is Already Trying to Heal Itself. Help It.
You've spent money on creams, serums, and acid peels that promise to fix tone and texture. Some of them help. Most of them sit on the surface.
Real collagen rebuilding happens deeper than topical products can reach. Microneedling reaches that layer safely. PDRN and PRF take it further by giving your skin the exact signals it needs to heal stronger, brighter, and tighter than before.
If your skin looks dull, uneven, scarred, sun-damaged, or just tired, this is the treatment that pulls it back from the inside out.
How We Do Microneedling at Mint
Step one | Book your microneedling appointment
Every visit starts with an assessment to make sure it's the right and safest call for you. Some patients do one treatment. Most end up with a customized plan that layers in other products or services based on your lifestyle, health, and genetics.
Step two | Get Your Customized Treatment
Your aesthetician picks the right protocol (standard microneedling, VAMP with PDRN, or Vampire Facial with PRF), numbs you up, and spends 30 to 45 minutes treating your skin with your chosen booster. Quick, controlled, and well-tolerated.
Step three | Watch Your skin transform
Early changes show up in 1 to 2 weeks. Full results build over 4 to 8 weeks — smoother texture, brighter tone, tighter skin, softer scars and lines. Most patients do a series of 3 treatments spaced 4 weeks apart for the kind of results that actually hold.
Microneedling at Mint is for adults with:
Dull or uneven skin tone
Texture issues (rough, bumpy, "tired-looking" skin)
Fine lines and early signs of aging
Acne scarring (boxcar, ice-pick, rolling scars)
Stretch marks (on the body)
Sun damage and pigmentation
Enlarged pores
Loss of firmness or "bounce"
Melasma
It's safe for most skin types and tones, which is one reason it has stayed a go-to treatment as other trends have come and gone.
Who Microneedling Is For
What's Included
Standard Microneedling
Medical-grade microneedling with hydrating serum. Best for first-timers, maintenance, and patients wanting a low-downtime collagen boost.
VAMP (PDRN Salmon Facial)
Microneedling paired with PDRN (a collagen-boosting molecule derived from salmon DNA). Best for brightening, evening skin tone, and accelerating healing.
Vampire Facial (PRF)
Microneedling paired with platelet-rich fibrinogen drawn from your own blood. Just as powerful as VAMP for collagen and healing at the dermal and epidermal layers, but built entirely from your body's own growth factors. The most natural biostimulation option we offer. Takes a bit longer because of the blood draw.
Available areas: Face, Neck, Décolletage (chest), Hands, Stretch marks and body areas (custom pricing)
Recommended series: 3 treatments spaced 4 weeks apart to start. Maintenance ranges from 1 to 2 per year up to quarterly, depending on your age, the damage being addressed, and whether your protocol includes VAMP (which extends results).
What to Expect
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Before your appointment
Stop retinoids and exfoliating acids 5 to 7 days before
Avoid sun exposure and tanning for 2 weeks
Come with clean skin or be ready to remove makeup
Stay hydrated
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During the appointment:
Assessment and planning with our expert aesthetician
Numbing cream (often just 20 minutes)
Microneedling pass over the treatment area (30 to 45 minutes)
Booster applied during or after (PDRN or PRF, depending on your protocol)
Total appointment time: 60 to 90 minutes
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After your appointment:
Redness and pinpoint bleeding are normal. Peeling and flaking are not.
Redness can last up to 2 weeks but usually fades after about 3 days (faster with VAMP)
No makeup for 24 hours. We send you home with a care pack (gentle cleanser, moisturizer, and tinted sunscreen). Most patients prefer the tinted SPF over makeup since it reflects and refracts light for a natural finish.
Avoid heat for the first 24 hours especially. No mowing the lawn, no hot yoga, no saunas. Let your skin cool down and heal.
No strenuous workouts for 48 hours
Avoid direct contact with bacteria until your skin is fully healed (pools, hot tubs, garden dirt, wrestling mats, etc.)
Use only your care pack cleanser and moisturizer for 5 days
Real glow shows up gradually after your first treatment. Subsequent treatments show faster, stronger results
Full results build through week 8
What Our Patients Actually Say
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"Dr. Sundar and I discussed my goals, his recommendations and what the service entailed. He answered all of my questions, discussed any concerns I had, and communicated everything step by step leaving me feeling very comfortable and at ease."
— Kris Andersen
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"Expert professionals carefully analyzed my specific facial structure. I receive specialized advise based on their extensive knowledge of bone, tendons and muscle movement. Under their care and recommendations, I received beautiful results."
— Roxy S.
Microneedling Done by an Aesthetician Who Knows Skin
Microneedling at Mint is performed by Lori Caruso, our licensed aesthetician and skin care lead. Patients consistently single her out by name in reviews for her expertise and the way she puts people at ease. Her work spans Diamond Glow, dermaplane, microneedling, chemical peels, and custom facials, and her recommendations are built around your actual skin (not a promotional package).
Mint is led by Dr. Sanjay Sundar, MD (Medical Director) and Rachel Sundar, RN (Founder), with Nurse Practitioner Nikki Goff, DNP, on the clinical team. The medical team oversees protocols like PRF (which requires a blood draw) and supports Lori in building each patient's skin plan.
Ready to Build Better Skin From the Inside?
Book your microneedling consult and find out which protocol is right for your skin.
More About Microneedling
at Mint
Mint Aesthetics + Wellness offers medical-grade microneedling at our Bettendorf, Iowa clinic, with three protocols available: standard microneedling, VAMP (microneedling with PDRN), and the Vampire Facial (microneedling with PRF). Microneedling creates controlled micro-injuries in the skin that trigger the body's natural healing response, generating new collagen and elastin to improve skin firmness, brightness, texture, and tone.
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VAMP combines microneedling with PDRN, a collagen-boosting molecule derived from salmon DNA. PDRN has gained significant attention in aesthetic medicine for its ability to accelerate healing, brighten skin tone, and improve scarring outcomes. The Vampire Facial uses platelet-rich fibrinogen (PRF) drawn from the patient's own blood, providing concentrated growth factors that further amplify the collagen-building response. Both add-ons can be performed on the face, neck, décolletage, hands, or body.
Microneedling at Mint treats fine lines, dull or uneven skin tone, acne scarring, sun damage, enlarged pores, stretch marks, and loss of firmness. The treatment is safe for most skin types and tones. Pricing ranges from $300 for standard microneedling to $600 for the Vampire Facial, with VAMP treatments priced in between. A series of 3 treatments spaced 4 weeks apart is typically recommended for optimal results, followed by 1 to 2 maintenance treatments annually.
Microneedling at Mint is performed by licensed aesthetician Lori Caruso, who leads the skin care program at the clinic. Procedures involving PRF (the Vampire Facial) are supported by the medical team including Dr. Sanjay Sundar, MD (Medical Director), Rachel Sundar, RN (Founder), and Nurse Practitioner Nikki Goff, DNP.
Mint serves patients across the Quad Cities, including Bettendorf, Davenport, Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Eldridge, LeClaire, Walcott, Silvis, Colona, Milan, Muscatine, Clinton, Iowa City, Aledo, Cambridge, Kewanee, Geneseo, and the surrounding region. Microneedling requires an in-person visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, but less than you'd expect. We numb for about 20 minutes beforehand, and after that it really only hurts over bony areas like the forehead and jawline. If you've handled filler, tattoos, Botox, or childbirth, you'll be more than fine.
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Redness and mild pinpoint bleeding are normal right after. Redness usually fades in about 3 days (faster with VAMP), though it can occasionally last up to 2 weeks. Avoid heat, strenuous workouts, and sources of bacteria (pools, hot tubs, garden dirt) until your skin is fully healed. Most patients are back to their day within 24 to 48 hours.
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VAMP uses PDRN (derived from salmon DNA) as the booster. The Vampire Facial uses PRF drawn from your own blood. Both supercharge collagen production. PDRN is generally better tolerated for those who don't want a blood draw, while PRF uses your own biology and may produce slightly stronger results.
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Most patients benefit from a series of 3 treatments spaced 4 weeks apart, followed by 1 to 2 maintenance treatments per year. Acne scarring or significant sun damage may require more.
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Yes. Microneedling on the neck, décolletage, hands, body, and stretch marks is common at Mint.
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Yes. Microneedling is one of the safer collagen-stimulating treatments for melanin-rich skin, because it doesn't use heat or light that can risk pigmentation changes.
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Not for 24 hours. After that, mineral makeup is best for the first 3 to 5 days.
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Yes, though we typically space treatments out by 2 weeks in either direction.
Related Services
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Facials, Dermaplane + Chemical Peels
Surface-level treatments that complement deeper microneedling.
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Botox, Dysport + Xeomin
Address muscle-driven lines that microneedling can't.
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Skin Care Products
The home care that protects and extends your in-clinic results.