Plasma pen vs NeoGen
Two very different treatments
Both have the word plasma in the name, and that is roughly where the similarity ends. Here is what actually separates them, and why the distinction matters more than the marketing suggests.
The word plasma is doing a lot of work in this industry, and not always honestly. A handheld plasma pen and a NeoGen system both use plasma energy, in the same sense that a bicycle and a lorry both use wheels. What they do to your skin, and what they can achieve, are not comparable.
A plasma pen creates small individual points of controlled thermal injury on the skin surface, one dot at a time, usually to tighten a small localised area. NeoGen converts nitrogen gas into plasma and delivers it in measured pulses across a whole treatment area, regenerating the full surface uniformly. One treats spots. The other treats skin.
What a plasma pen is
A plasma pen is a handheld device that creates a small electrical arc between its tip and the skin, producing a controlled point of thermal injury. The skin contracts around each point, and as it heals it tightens slightly. Treatments are described as fibroblasting, and you will see small dots across the treated area afterwards.
Used properly on a suitable small area, it can produce a real effect. I have no interest in dismissing it. What I would say is that it is inherently a point-by-point treatment of the skin surface, and that sets a ceiling on what it can do.
What NeoGen is
NeoGen works differently. It converts nitrogen gas into plasma and delivers that energy in measured pulses across the treatment area. Rather than creating separated points of injury, it delivers energy uniformly across the whole surface, and the energy level can be tuned from a lighter session with modest downtime through to a deeper, more intensive treatment.
Critically, the outer layer of skin is left intact initially and acts as a natural dressing while regeneration happens underneath. That is a genuinely different mechanism, not a marketing distinction, and it is why NeoGen addresses texture, tone, fine lines, laxity and pigmentation together rather than one spot at a time.
| What we are comparing | NeoGen Plasma | Plasma pen |
|---|---|---|
| How the energy is delivered | Nitrogen plasma delivered in pulses across an area | Electrical arc creating individual points |
| Coverage | Treats the full surface uniformly | Treats spot by spot |
| Adjustability | Adjustable from light to intensive | Limited adjustability |
| What it addresses | Texture, tone, fine lines, laxity, pigmentation | Localised tightening of a small area |
| The skin surface afterwards | Outer layer left intact as a natural dressing | Visible dots at each treated point |
| Price at our clinic | From £960 | Not offered here |
The difference that actually matters
Strip away the technology and it comes to this. A plasma pen is a tool for treating a defined small area, such as tightening around the upper eyelids where there is eyelid hooding. NeoGen is a treatment for the skin as an organ, improving its overall quality and structure.
If you take one thing from this page, take this. Choosing between them is not a question of which is better. It is a question of whether your concern is a spot or a surface. People who book the wrong one are almost always people who were never asked that question.
A pen treats a place on your face. NeoGen treats your skin. Neither is a substitute for the other, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
Which one would suit you?
Three questions, and an honest answer at the end, including the answer that you may not need either.
Not sure which way you lean?
Three questions, and it will point you in a direction. It will also tell you honestly when the answer is that we should simply talk.
A word on safety
This is the part I feel strongly about. Plasma pen treatments are widely available outside medical settings, and the device creates deliberate thermal injury to your skin. In inexperienced hands, on the wrong skin type, that carries a real risk of scarring and of pigmentation changes that are difficult to reverse, particularly in deeper skin tones.
I am not saying every non-medical practitioner is unsafe. I am saying that you should ask who is treating you, what their training is, what happens if something goes wrong, and whether they have treated your skin type before. If those questions are not answered clearly, that is your answer.
I do not have a pen in this clinic, and the reason is the thing this whole page keeps coming back to. A pen treats a place. I wanted a machine I could take across someone’s whole face and know it was doing the same work everywhere, at an intensity I chose rather than one the device chose for me. That is what NeoGen does, and that is why it is the one I bought.
When somebody arrives asking for fibroblasting, I do not spend the appointment talking them out of it. I ask what they actually want changed. If the honest answer is one small area, then a pen in careful, experienced hands is a reasonable thing to want, and I will say so even though it is not something I can sell you. If the honest answer is their skin, we are having a different conversation, and it is the one above.
Dr James
Common questions, answered
No. A plasma pen creates small individual points of controlled thermal injury on the skin surface, treating spot by spot. NeoGen converts nitrogen gas into plasma and delivers it in measured pulses across a whole area, regenerating the full surface uniformly. The mechanisms and the results are different.
Neither is better in the abstract, because they do different jobs. A plasma pen suits tightening a small defined area. NeoGen suits improving the overall quality and structure of the skin, including texture, tone, fine lines, laxity and pigmentation.
The device creates deliberate thermal injury to the skin, so the risk depends heavily on who is performing it. In inexperienced hands, or on the wrong skin type, there is a real risk of scarring and of pigmentation changes that are difficult to reverse. Ask about training, experience with your skin type, and what happens if there is a complication.
NeoGen at The Plasma Doctor starts from £960. The exact figure depends on the area treated and the intensity of the treatment, and you are given a precise quote at consultation.
NeoGen results, unretouched
Select any image to enlarge it. These are individual results and are not a guarantee of what any particular person will achieve.
Results vary from person to person. These images are shown to illustrate the kind of change NeoGen Plasma can produce, not to promise a specific outcome, and they should not be read as typical.
Find out which your skin needs
Book a consultation and I will tell you honestly whether you need a treatment at all, and if so, which one is actually right for your skin.
This article is general information about treatments we offer, not personal medical advice. Individual results vary, and suitability can only be established at a face-to-face consultation with Dr Corcoran. Every treatment carries risks and limitations, which we discuss in full before you consent.