Dermalogica and BABTAC Launch Sharp Standards Guide to Microneedling
Dermalogica has published a comprehensive good practice guide for microneedling practitioners in the UK, developed in partnership with the British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (BABTAC).
The Sharp Standards Guide to Microneedling is a free, downloadable toolkit aimed at skin care clinics and non-medical aesthetics businesses across the UK. It covers legal and regulatory requirements, infection control, premises standards, client consent, training qualifications, and quality assurance, drawing on public health legislation across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The guide was developed in response to a fragmented regulatory landscape in which there is currently no overarching national regulation governing non-surgical cosmetic procedures for beauty practitioners. Licensing requirements for skin-piercing treatments vary between local authorities, and specific rules for microneedling differ across the four UK nations. Dermalogica says it drew on real-world experience from 35,000 microneedling services performed across its own stores, retailer treatment rooms, and partner businesses in 2025 alone to inform the content.
What the guide covers:
Legal and regulatory framework across all four UK nations, including the Health and Care Act 2022
Premises, equipment and hygiene standards, including infection control and clinical waste management
Client care, consent and aftercare protocols
Training and qualification requirements, including regulated vs short-course distinctions
Audit, monitoring and quality assurance tools
Ready-to-use templates including client consultation, consent, and treatment record forms
The guide was launched on 22nd April at a panel event at Westminster, co-hosted by Candice Gardner, Dermalogica UK Education Manager, and Lesley Blair MBE, CEO of BABTAC and CIBTAC. The panel also included Alice Hart-Davis, founder of the Tweakments Guide, and Dermalogica professional skin therapists and business owners Jennie Hudson and Gemma Jarvis.
"Microneedling is a treatment with a strong and well-evidenced track record, but it demands genuine competence from every practitioner who performs it. Clear, practical and grounded in real-world experience, it gives every skin care and aesthetics business the foundation they need to deliver microneedling responsibly and to the very highest standard” comments Candice Gardner, Education Manager, Dermalogica UK.
Both organisations have stated they support the introduction of formal regulation and licensing for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The guide is intended to bridge the gap while legislation catches up, giving practitioners a consistent standard to work to regardless of their location in the UK.
"BABTAC and Dermalogica have always shared the common objective of raising the levels of professionalism in our industry. Dermalogica's Microneedling Guide is an excellent and comprehensive resource to ensure qualified practitioners continue to pursue excellence in their treatments” shared Lesley Blair MBE, CEO, BABTAC and CIBTAC.
Dermalogica notes that its own staff hold regulated qualifications at Level 4 and 5 for microneedling. The guide recommends a Level 4 qualification in skin needling as the minimum standard for most cosmetic microneedling procedures, and distinguishes between regulated qualifications and short CPD courses, which it says should be treated as supplementary rather than sufficient on their own.
The Sharp Standards Guide is available to download free of charge here.
