DCA-C18 · Foundation course
Medical Microneedling
About this course
Microneedling makes a controlled field of micro-punctures in skin so that the healing response rebuilds it. In that respect it shares a principle with chemical peels (DCA-C19): the injury is the trigger and the healing is the treatment. What is different here is what the patient leaves with.
Entry requirements
No prior course needed — this is a foundation course. The academy's standard entry requirements apply (listed below).
- Aged 18 or over (photo ID required)
- GCSEs in English, Maths and Science at grade 5 or above, or an equivalent qualification
- No GCSEs? Past experience — for example documented work in healthcare or aesthetics — may be accepted instead, at the Academy Lead's discretion, after an interview and the pre-course study
- No previous healthcare or aesthetics experience required
- Basic Life Support and anaphylaxis awareness training completed within the last 12 months, before the practical day — we can signpost a course
- Hepatitis B vaccination status declared (vaccination strongly recommended before treating the public)
- Enhanced DBS check
- Pre-course study pack completed (about 4 hours)
- Signed enrolment and training agreement and student declaration
- Our insurance covers you during the course; you will need your own insurance before treating anyone afterwards
Topics covered
- Overview of the treatment area and how the procedure works
- Patient assessment and confirming suitability at consultation
- Contraindications and cautions specific to this course
- Consent, documentation and the consultation requirements every course must follow
- Recognising and escalating complications, including treatment-specific risks
- The competency sign-off framework used to assess trainees
Practical training
Hands-on practice takes place under direct supervision, assessed against the course's own competency sign-off framework before you practise independently.
Practical training takes place on consenting models under the direct, one-to-one supervision of a prescribing clinician, who may stop a treatment at any time.
How the course runs
Whatever the subject, every course we run follows the same shape.
- 01
Theory first
Underpinning knowledge before anything practical — anatomy, how the product or device works, who is not a suitable candidate, and what to do if something goes wrong.
- 02
Demonstration
You watch the technique performed and talked through step by step, with the reasoning behind each decision made explicit rather than assumed.
- 03
Supervised practice
You perform the technique yourself under direct supervision, with feedback as you go rather than only at the end.
- 04
The work around the treatment
Consent, record-keeping, product traceability, aftercare and follow-up. The parts that keep a practice safe and compliant, which many courses skip entirely.
Safety and patient assessment
Before technique comes knowing when not to treat, and what to do if something goes wrong. This is drawn directly from our own clinical procedure manual for this treatment.
Contraindications covered
- Active skin infection or cold sore in the treatment area
- Pregnancy (certain peel acids/ingredients specifically avoided)
- Recent isotretinoin use — a standard washout period is required before chemical peels or microneedling due to increased scarring and delayed healing risk; the specific washout period must be confirmed against current manufacturer/professional body guidance, not assumed
- Known allergy to the specific product or peel ingredients used
- Active eczema, psoriasis, or other inflammatory flare in the treatment area
- Bleeding disorders or anticoagulant therapy (relevant to microneedling and mesotherapy specifically)
- Photosensitive epilepsy (relevant to LED phototherapy)
Complications & escalation covered
- Irritation, redness, or peeling beyond what was expected and consented to
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, more common in darker skin types with certain peel strengths
- Infection (relevant to any needle-based procedure in this category)
- Allergic or hypersensitivity reaction
This list covers what the course teaches you to recognise and assess. It is not exhaustive and does not replace full individual patient assessment — every contraindication is checked against a real patient's medical history at consultation, never assumed absent.
What you receive
On successful completion of your course — including its theory and supervised practical assessments — you receive the Doctor Care Aesthetics Certificate of Completion, issued by the academy and signed by our Academy Lead, Fatima Husham. It records your course and the assessments you passed. It is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification, and we will never present it as one.
Frequently asked questions
No. Our courses are open to anyone aged 18 or over who wants to start a career in aesthetics — no previous healthcare or aesthetics experience is needed, and healthcare professionals are also welcome. Because many delegates have no clinical background, the pre-course study pack and the first day cover the basics — hand hygiene, aseptic non-touch technique, sharps safety, taking a medical history and consent — and the trainer checks these at induction.
You need to be 18 or over, with GCSEs in English, Maths and Science at grade 5 or above (or equivalent). Before the practical day you need Basic Life Support and anaphylaxis awareness training from the last 12 months, and an enhanced DBS check. Courses run at four levels — Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced and Masterclass — and intermediate, advanced and masterclass courses also require the relevant earlier course first. If you don't have the GCSEs, relevant past experience may be accepted instead after an interview (see below).
Yes, in two ways. First, if you have already trained and worked in a treatment area, you can ask in writing when you enrol to skip the prerequisite course. You'll need a certificate from an equivalent face-to-face course with supervised practical training, a logbook of at least 10 treatments in that area from the last 12 months (each signed off by your supervising prescriber or practitioner), current insurance for that treatment and photo ID. You then pass the prerequisite course's theory exam before the course and a practical safety check with the trainer on Day 1. The Academy Lead decides (with the Clinical Lead's agreement for injectable courses), and if anything is missing you take the prerequisite course. An exemption only covers the prerequisite — you still take every assessment on your own course. Second, if you don't have the GCSEs we ask for, documented work in healthcare or aesthetics may be accepted instead, at the Academy Lead's discretion, after an interview and the pre-course study. All the other entry requirements still apply.
Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine: after the course you may only treat patients who have been assessed and prescribed for face to face by an independent prescriber. You will also need your own insurance. The certificate confirms your training; it is not a licence to practise.
In the clinic itself, at Bedford Park Corner in Chiswick — the same rooms where we treat patients, not a hired training venue. You see how a working, compliant clinic actually runs alongside learning the technique.
Teaching is led by a GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber. That means the prescribing and regulatory side of practice is taught by someone who works within it every day, rather than covered as an afterthought.
Every course combines underpinning theory — anatomy, pharmacology, contraindications and complication management — with supervised practical work. We teach why a technique works, not only how to perform it.
Practical training takes place on consenting models under the direct, one-to-one supervision of a prescribing clinician, who may stop a treatment at any time. Every model is assessed for suitability before treatment.
You will have a defined period of post-course support for questions as you begin putting what you have learned into practice. Training does not end the day the course does.
On successful completion of your course, including its theory and supervised practical assessments, you receive the Doctor Care Aesthetics Certificate of Completion. It is issued in-house by the academy. It is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification, and we will never present it as one.
Register your interest using the form on this site. We will come back to you with course details, entry requirements, dates and pricing, and talk through which course is the right starting point for you.
Interested in this course?
Register your interest and we will send you the full details, entry requirements and available dates — and tell you honestly whether it suits your background.