How to Run a Hydra Pen H6 Session: Depth, Pass Pattern, the 3 ml Reservoir and Aftercare

A Hydra Pen H6 session runs in six steps: decide what you are covering, set the depth and the flow, load the head and clear the air, work the areas in the order your depth and head pairings allow, watch the pen for the two cues that tell you it needs attention, and finish with the nano pass and aftercare. The sequence below is the one our own H6 pages describe, put into the order you actually work through it.

The short answer

Depth is set on the pen, from 0 to 2.0 mm, and 1.0 mm is the ceiling for facial work at home. Flow starts on its lowest setting and only comes up if the product is too heavy to move. The head carries the serum, so the head choice is about coverage rather than depth — and the reservoir is filled before the session begins, not during it.

Step 1 — Decide the areas, then the head for each

The H6 head is not only needles: it carries the serum chamber the pen feeds from as it works. That means the head you fit decides two things at once — how dense a single pass is, and where the product is being laid down along that pass.

• 18-pin — the tightest head in the range — for working to a line rather than a region, where you want the serum in one defined place.
• 36-pin — the middle of the range — the head most owners come back for, for whole-face passes at facial depth.
• 42-pin — the widest here — for cheeks and jawline in fewer passes, and the one that keeps up when the session runs onto the neck.
• Nano-R — no needles at all — for pressing serum into the surface, for the under-eye area, and for the light finish at the end of a session.

Because the Nano-R has no needles, no depth setting changes how it behaves, and it is not a lighter version of the 36-pin. It belongs at the end of the session, not in place of the needling pass.

Step 2 — Set depth, flow and speed

Depth. Adjust from 0 to 2.0 mm with the dedicated control button. Two numbers govern a home session: set the shallow end of the range for the area you are about to treat, and keep facial passes at or below 1.0 mm. The deeper end of the range is for trained practitioners.

Flow. Start on the lowest flow setting and come up only if you need to. Rising through the settings is also how you find where a given product runs best, and a heavier product will want a higher setting than a light one.

Speed. Speed changes the pace of the needle, not the depth. Begin on a lower level; it is the setting to reduce first if a session feels rougher than the same depth did last time.

Step 3 — Load the chamber and clear the air

The reservoir arrives empty and dry, and it is filled at the start of the session rather than partway through — a head is far easier to load before it is on the pen than to top up once you have serum on your hands. Fill it full before you begin.

Then clear the air. Hold the head upright and tap the serum side the way you would tap a syringe. A trapped bubble is the usual reason a head looks full but delivers nothing, and it is worth two seconds at this stage to rule out.

What goes in is a sterile product intended for micro-needling — a serum or ampoule formulated for this use, in a sealed vial. A session opens channels in the skin, so a jarred cosmetic is the wrong thing to push into them, and a dropper that has touched skin and gone back into the bottle is the way a clean product stops being one.

Step 4 — Work the areas in depth order

The depth and the head change together, so the practical order is to group the areas by the depth each one needs rather than by where they sit on the face. That keeps the number of setting changes to a minimum across one session.

• Facial areas at 0.25–0.5 mm with the 36-pin — the forehead, cheeks and general facial work are the core of the pass.
• 0.5 mm or a little more with the 24-pin pattern of coverage available in the range — for texture and enlarged pores, if those are part of your routine.
• Jawline and neck with the 42-pin — the widest head, for the areas you cover in fewer passes.
• Under-eye and upper lip with the Nano-R — no needles, so no depth applies; these are the areas a needling head should stay away from.

The eyelid itself is never treated, on any device and at any depth. The zone-by-zone depth figures, with the number of weeks to leave between sessions for each area, are in our needle depth guide.

Step 5 — Watch the pen while you work

Two cues matter more than anything else once the session has started.

The sound changes as the chamber empties. The pen starts to make a wet, sucking note when it is running low, and that is the cue to top up rather than to keep working dry. Refilling mid-session is routine rather than a sign that something is wrong, and it is far easier than finishing a section with the head delivering nothing.

The head must stay square to the skin. The feed is built to run with the head at 90 degrees, so tilting it is what produces the dripping and the uneven coverage. If the serum is coming out too fast or barely at all, work through three things in order: the flow setting, then the angle, then air in the chamber.

Everything else you need is on the display, which shows speed, needle depth, serum flow and battery status together. The device also carries 630 nm red light and 470 nm blue light, which Dr. Pen describes as supporting skin rejuvenation and a more comfortable treatment experience; our H6 page states the wavelengths but does not publish a light-session duration, so none is given here.

Step 6 — Finish with the nano pass, then the aftercare

Make the Nano-R pass the last thing you do. With no needles it works on the surface rather than below it, which is what makes it the right way to close a session that a needling head would be too much for.

Afterwards, apply a hydrating product. The two things to keep off the skin straight after a session are harsh acids and anything that irritates it; both belong on another day. Do not treat over active breakouts, open lesions or infected skin at any point — wait until the skin has cleared.

Redness is normal and expected. Shallow work typically settles within 12 to 24 hours, and a session that went beyond 0.75 mm can run longer than that. If the skin has not settled by the time the next session is due, move the session back rather than working over skin that is still recovering.

How often to run a session

Frequency is set by the area, not by the device. General facial work sits at roughly every two to three weeks; texture and pores every two to four; pitted scarring every three to four; the under-eye area every one to two weeks at nano depth; scalp work every one to two weeks; and the body every three to four, because body skin is thicker and takes longer to settle.

One head covers one session. The heads are single use, supplied one sterile blister each with manufacturing and expiry dates printed on it, and a reused head drags rather than cutting clean channels — the full reasoning is in whether Dr. Pen cartridges can be reused. Heads come in packs of 5, 10 and 20.

What to change next time

• It felt rough at a depth you have used before — reduce the speed a level before reducing depth.
• Coverage took too long — move up a head density, or slow the pass rather than pressing harder.
• The chamber ran out before you finished the face — either the flow setting is higher than the session needs, or you worked further than a face-and-jaw area, which is more than one 3 mL chamber.
• The serum was dripping or coverage was patchy — check the angle first; the feed is designed to run square to the skin.
• Nothing seemed to come out — check for a trapped bubble before anything else.

Frequently asked questions

What depth should a first H6 session use?

Start at the shallow end of the range for the area — 0.25 mm under the eye and 0.25–0.5 mm for general facial work — and keep facial passes at or below 1.0 mm even though the pen will go to 2.0 mm. Work up over later sessions rather than starting where you intend to finish.

In what order do I work the face in an H6 session?

Group the areas by the depth each one needs, because the depth and head change together. Facial work at 0.25–0.5 mm comes first with the 36-pin, wider areas such as the jawline and neck follow with the 42-pin, and the Nano-R pass closes the session.

When in a session should the Nano-R head be used?

Last. It has no needles, so no depth setting applies to it, and it works on the surface rather than below it — which makes it the head for the under-eye area and for the light finish once the needling pass is complete.

How often can I run a Hydra Pen H6 session?

It depends on the area rather than the device: roughly every two to three weeks for general facial work, every two to four for texture and pores, every three to four for pitted scarring and for the body, and every one to two weeks for the under-eye area and for scalp work.

What should I apply after an H6 session?

A hydrating product. Harsh acids and anything that irritates the skin stay off it straight afterwards. A session leaves the skin temporarily more open than usual, which is the whole point of the treatment, and it is not the moment for anything aggressive.

What should I check before starting?

Four things: the head is a genuine H-series head for this pen, the chamber is filled full, the trapped air has been tapped out, and the depth is set at the shallow end for the first area. The device ships with a key for the reservoir, so opening the chamber is done with the supplied tool rather than by hand.

What does the H6 display show while you work?

Speed, needle depth, serum flow and battery status are shown together on the full-colour screen, so the three settings you can change mid-session and the charge state are all visible without leaving the area you are treating.

What comes in the box with the H6?

The pen, a foldable inductive base, two cartridges, a key for the reservoir, a USB cable, a charging adapter and a user manual. Heads beyond the two supplied are bought separately, in packs of 5, 10 and 20.

Where the reference charts are

Safe depth by area and by concern, with the interval between sessions for each, is in our Dr. Pen needle depth chart. Filling the chamber, clearing trapped air and running the flow setting are covered in full on the H6 cartridge page. The device and its contents are listed in Hydra Pen H6 Advanced Microneedling Pen, and how the H6 differs from a needling-only pen is set out in what actually changes with an H6.

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