Spicule serums: the prickle is the point, and how much of microneedling you are really getting

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Researched. We have not used this one long enough to give you a verdict, and we would rather say so than invent one. What follows is how it works, who it suits, and what it will not do. When we have used it properly, this page carries the verdict and the date.

VT Cosmetics CICA Reedle Shot 100

Put this serum on and your skin prickles. That is not a reaction to watch out for — it is the product working as designed. The listing calls it a spicule microneedling serum, and understanding both halves of that phrase is the way to judge it.

What spicules are

Spicules are microscopic, needle-shaped particles; the ones used in skincare usually come from marine sponges. Massaged into the skin, they lodge in the outermost layer. The tingle you feel is them sitting there.

The idea is that they open tiny pathways in the surface, so whatever you put on next gets in a little further, and that the mild stimulation encourages the surface to turn over. There is some research behind the idea. It is far less studied than acids or retinoids, so treat the claims as plausible rather than settled.

How far it is from real microneedling

Professional microneedling uses a device with fine needles that pass deeper into the skin in a controlled way, and it is done in a clinic, occasionally, with recovery time. A spicule serum stays in the very top layer and is gentle enough, according to the listing, for daily use.

So the word "microneedling" in the name describes the inspiration, not the depth. Expect a gentle, surface-level effect, not a smaller version of the clinic result.

Why 100

The number is the strength within VT's range. The listing describes this one as a daily exfoliating serum for beginners, with mild stimulation. Starting at the bottom of a range is the right instinct with anything that works by irritating the skin a little on purpose.

The rest of the formula

The listing says it contains centella asiatica — the "cica" in the name — and exosome-based ingredients, meant to calm sensitive skin, support the barrier and keep skin hydrated. Centella is a well-used soothing ingredient and makes sense alongside something that pricks the skin. Exosomes are a new and much-hyped area of skincare, with little published evidence yet for what they do in a serum.

How to start

Do what the listing advises: patch test first, on a small area, and stop if it irritates. Then use a small amount on cleansed skin, massage gently until absorbed, and follow with moisturizer.

Start with a few evenings a week rather than every day. Keep it apart from strong acids and retinoids at first — on different nights — because a surface that has just been opened up will feel those more. Tingling that fades within minutes is expected. Burning, lasting redness or stinging is not.

Two rules

Not on broken, sunburned or already irritated skin. And sunscreen every morning, because anything that speeds up surface turnover leaves newer skin exposed — more on that in what SPF measures.

What it will not do

It will not give you the results of clinical microneedling. It will not shrink pores — nothing does that permanently — although a smoother surface can make them look less obvious. And if your skin is sensitive enough to react to most things, a product built on deliberate prickling may simply not be for you.

The product

A beginner-strength spicule serum with centella, and the entry point to VT's Reedle Shot range. It suits someone curious about the effect who wants to start at the gentle end.

The one people are searching for is the VT Cosmetics CICA Reedle Shot 100 Microneedling Serum.

VT Cosmetics CICA Reedle Shot 100

We do not print prices here, because a price we typed last month is a price that is wrong today.

Written by JamieG in Garner Town, Tennessee.