Dr. Pen M8S Review

The Dr. Pen M8S is a cordless home microneedling pen with a 0–2.5 mm depth dial, six speeds and an 18-pin default cartridge. It is not FDA-cleared, it is not licensed in Canada, and the sellers who list it can’t agree on how fast its motor runs: 16,000 rpm on most listings, 22,000 on one, and no figure at all on the brand’s own US store. It costs $299 at us.drpen.co, and about $377 in the first year once you add cartridges. This review is based on documented evidence: nobody at this site has used the device.

Who it’s for, and who it isn’t

For: someone set on a Dr. Pen who wants the newer cartridge system (anti-backflow, three-latch mount) and a battery indicator, and who will buy from a seller with a written warranty.

Not for: anyone who wants a device with an FDA clearance or a Health Canada licence behind it, or anyone in Canada, where Health Canada has told people not to use unlicensed Dr. Pen devices, and the M8S is one. The only Dr. Pen with a 510(k) is the Dr. Pen A20, and it is a prescription device.

Specs, and where the sources disagree

Dr. Pen US (us.drpen.co), which describes itself as run by eShopping Group Pty Ltd, publishes battery and size figures for the M8S but not its depth range or motor speed. The rest of this table comes from other sellers, named in each row.

	Dr. Pen M8S	Source
Depth	“0 – 2.5 mm”	Dr.pen Club; drpenofficial.com (“0 ~ 2.5 mm”); drpen.io
Speeds	6 levels	drpenofficial.com, drpen-usa.com, drpen.io
Maximum speed	“up to 16,000 RPM” / “approximately 16,000 RPM” / “up to 22,000 RPM”	drpen-usa.com / drpen.io / StreamShop Australia
Default cartridge	18-pin, “0.18mm diameter” with “an N-shape design”	us.drpen.co
Other cartridges	12, 18, 24, 36 and 42 pins, Nano-S, Nano-R	drpenofficial.com
Cartridge mount	“three-snap fixed structure”	us.drpen.co
Battery	“380 mAh”, “Charging time: 2 hours”, “Battery life: 2-3 hours per charge”	us.drpen.co
Charging	“Type-C power cable”	us.drpen.co
Size and weight	“164mm x 23mm”, “Net Weight (Pen): 350g”	us.drpen.co
In the box (US store)	pen, “2x Round Nano-pin Cartridges”, USB cable, US adaptor, manual	us.drpen.co

The speed conflict. Three sellers put the top speed at 16,000 rpm, and StreamShop Australia says the M8S has “a motor running up to 22,000 RPM”. Dr. Pen US prints no number, so there is no manufacturer figure to settle it. Nothing public explains a 6,000 rpm gap in a headline spec.

Cordless only, or both? drpenofficial.com lists “Power model: Wireless”, drpen-usa.com sells a “wireless version”, and Dr.pen Club’s comparison says “Wireless only”. drpen.io says the M8S has “both wireless and corded operation” and “the ability to use the device corded for continuous use”. Dr. Pen US says only that it “Supports Type-C power cable for flexible charging”. Whether it runs while plugged in is unverified.

The box matters for cost. The US store’s M8S ships with two nano cartridges, which treat the surface without needling, and says “Microneedling cartridges will need to be purchased separately if required.”

How it differs from the Dr. Pen M8

The Dr. Pen M8 is the older model, and the two take different cartridges. drpen.io, which calls itself Dr. Pen Official, gives both pens the same 0–2.5 mm depth and six speeds, with the M8 at “Up to 15,000 RPM” against the M8S’s “approximately 16,000 RPM”. The M8 ships with “2 × 16 pins needle head” and the M8S with 18-pin heads. Dr. Pen US’s own generation table puts it this way:

“Gen 2 Dr. Pen M8s: Battery monitoring, cartridge anti-backflow design and Type-C charging”

The same store now sells a third generation, the M8 Max, at a pre-order price of $249 against a listed $319. Its page calls it “the next evolution of the fan-favorite Dr. Pen M8S”, adding a treatment timer, cartridge recognition and an auto-pause stand.

Regulatory status

FDA: not cleared. The FDA’s 510(k) records hold one clearance for a Dr. Pen device: K230420, the “Dr. pen Microneedling System” from Guangzhou Ekai Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., decided August 11, 2023, for prescription use “to improve the appearance of facial acne scars in adults aged 22 years and older.” That clearance belongs to the A20 and does not extend to the M8S. Our FDA lookup lists every cleared pen, and this explainer covers what a clearance does and doesn’t mean.

Dr. Pen US’s M8S page still ends with this sentence: “In accordance with FDA authorisation, microneedling pens are intended for use by individuals aged 22 years and older.” The M8S has no FDA authorisation. The 22-and-over limit comes from cleared devices like the A20, and borrowing it reads as though the M8S shares their status. The same page also says “This product may not have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration”, which, for this model, is simply the case.

Canada: the 2021 advisory covers the M8S. The M8S is not in the advisory’s model list, so this needed checking. Health Canada’s December 16, 2021 advisory names the product as “Dr. pen Auto Microneedle System. All models, including but not limited to, A1, A6, A7, A6S, E30, M5, M7, M8, N2 and X5, and Ultima versions.” Two parts of that wording reach the M8S. “All models, including but not limited to” means the list is examples, not a boundary. And some US sellers sell this pen as the “Dr. Pen Ultima M8S”, which falls under “Ultima versions” as well. The advisory’s reason was licensing: “Dr. pen microneedling pens and cartridges are not licensed by Health Canada.”

That has changed for some models, and the change matters here. Health Canada’s licence database (MDALL) now lists licence 114618, a class II “Microneedling System” from Guangzhou Ekai, first issued January 6, 2026 with no end date. Its device identifiers are A20, A9 and DP-MC9 for the handpiece and H14 for the cartridge. An earlier licence, 112281, covered the A11, A20 and A9 from November 27, 2024 to December 9, 2025. The M8S appears in neither. For the M8S the advisory’s finding still holds, so its safety score is capped at 3 under our methodology.

What users praise and complain about

There is no independent owner-review pool to read. Dr. Pen US shows 51 reviews on its product page, hosted by the seller. Trustpilot refused our automated request for Dr. Pen US’s page (HTTP 403), so its complaint record is unverified.

On Reddit the recurring M8S topic is not the pen but where to buy it. Several stores call themselves official: “Dr. Pen Official Store” (drpenofficial.com), “Dr. Pen Official” (drpen.io), “Official Dr. Pen™ USA Retailer” (drpen-usa.com), plus Dr. Pen US itself.

The real dr pen?
byu/Great-Fly-7279 inMicroneedling

That thread is titled “The real dr pen?”, and its snippet says the poster has come across “5 different from pen websites”. Price follows the same pattern:

How much did you pay for Dr.Pen m8s?
byu/allpc32 inDIYaesthetics

In “How much did you pay for Dr.Pen m8s?” the poster reports “prices from $120-145” and “$80 on some sites”, and says they are “skeptical”. On October 6, 2026 we saw $299 at Dr. Pen US and $169.00 on drpenofficial.com’s page (whose product data listed $179.00). We could not verify which sellers ship genuine stock.

Other thread titles in our research pack point to individual questions, not patterns: one asks whether a pen’s “well” is broken, another is a sale of an unused M8S. A single post isn’t evidence of a fault.

FDA’s adverse-event database (MAUDE) has no report naming the M8S. A search on October 6, 2026 for the brand “dr pen” returned two reports, both listing Guangzhou Ekai as manufacturer: a 2021 malfunction report naming models “A8, A6, A6S, A7” and a 2023 injury report naming the “DR PEN A6S”. Searches for “M8S” as a brand or model number returned nothing. MAUDE reports are unverified submissions and do not show that a device caused an event.

Warranty, returns and privacy

Dr. Pen US’s policy gives a 12-month warranty: “eligible for repair or replacement for a period of 12 months from the original invoice date”. It covers “component and manufacturing defects” and excludes misuse, “power surge or power spike, or overcharging”. The fault route is a support ticket with “a short video (or image) demonstrating the fault.” Two conditions are easy to miss:

• Opened goods: returns missing packaging are ineligible for refund, and “This includes unsealing/opening the outer plastic wrap from microneedling products.”
• Cartridges: “use of cartridges not received or purchased directly from us, is at your own risk”, and the warranty “does not cover faults, damage, or performance issues caused by the use of such cartridges”.

The same policy allows “a 14-day Change of Mind return from the date of purchase, subject to a 20% restocking fee”, only for items “In new, unopened condition, including plastic wrap remaining sealed”, with return shipping at the buyer’s expense. Other sellers publish different terms: drpenofficial.com lists a 1-year warranty and “30-Day Returns”, and drpen-usa.com offers an “Exclusive Lifetime Warranty” and “30-day Money-Back”.

On privacy, Dr. Pen US uses a standard Shopify policy. It shares device and browsing data with “Shopify, Google Analytics, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest” and uses purchase data for targeted advertising. It contradicts itself on automated decisions: one sentence says “We do engage in fully automated decision-making that has a legal or otherwise significant effect using customer data”, and the next says Shopify’s automated fraud screening “does not have a legal or otherwise significant effect”. No data incident was found.

Cartridges and running cost

Dr. Pen US sells M8S cartridges in packs of 10 for $59.95 (12, 18, 24 and 36-pin, plus two nano types) and combo packs of 5 for $27.00. Its 18-pin cartridge page says “The microneedling treatment for acne scarring can be performed once every 4-6 weeks” and “Dispose of your microneedling cartridge safely after one treatment”.

Using our standard schedule (one full-face session every 4 weeks, one new cartridge each, so 13 a year) and Dr. Pen US prices:

• per cartridge: $59.95 ÷ 10 = $5.995
• cartridges for a year: 13 × $5.995 = $77.94
• first year: $299 + $77.94 = $376.94

Packs only come in tens, so buying 13 means two packs ($119.90), which makes the first-year outlay $418.90. Combo 5-packs work out to $5.40 a cartridge, but they mix pin counts and nano heads. Third-party cartridges cost less, and the US store says using them is at your own risk.

Dr Pen M8S Cartridges
byu/Kitchen_Ad3722 inMicroneedling

That thread, “Dr Pen M8S Cartridges”, asks which cartridges fit the M8S when buying from Shein. The M8 and M8S take different cartridges, so check the model name on the pack.

How it scored

• Safety (3): Capped at 3 because Health Canada’s 2021 advisory covers “all models” and the M8S is absent from the brand’s 2024 and 2026 Canadian licences; sterile EO-sterilised cartridges with an anti-backflow design would otherwise count in its favor.
• Build (5): The cartridge mount and 0.18 mm needles are described, but no seller publishes depth accuracy testing or drive details, and we found no documented failure pattern, so it gets the neutral score.
• Performance (6): A 0–2.5 mm range, six speeds, a numeric display and USB-C charging, held back by a top speed that sources put at 16,000 or 22,000 rpm and an unverified corded mode.
• Value (6): First-year cost is $376.94 at Dr. Pen US prices, between the M8 ($270.50) and the A20 ($701.70) on the same schedule, but the official $299 is well above the $169 shown on another US seller’s page, and the US box includes no microneedling cartridges.
• Service (4): A published 12-month defects warranty and ticket process, but change-of-mind returns only within 14 days, unopened and sealed, with a 20% restocking fee and paid return shipping, and no complaint record we could read. The store’s refund and warranty terms are shared by every Dr. Pen model it sells, so they score the same on each review.
• Privacy (4): Dr. Pen US (us.drpen.co) uses one Shopify template privacy policy for every model: it shares data with advertising platforms and still contains an unfilled “[INSERT OTHER COOKIES OR TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES THAT YOU USE]” placeholder. No incident was found. The same policy gets the same score on every Dr. Pen review.
• Evidence (3): No study has used the M8S, the brand’s US store omits depth and speed, and the same page cites an “FDA authorisation” the device does not have and calls itself “For professional use only” on a pen sold for home use.

Alternatives

• Dr. Pen M8: the older model, with 16-pin cartridges and a listed top speed of 15,000 rpm on drpen.io. Same advisory, same lack of clearance.
• Dr. Pen A20: the brand’s only FDA-cleared pen (K230420, prescription use), and one of the models on the 2026 Canadian licence. Dr. Pen US lists it at $599 for professionals.
• Derminator 2: a different design, a corded console pen, and one Reddit users weigh against the M8S in a thread titled “Dr Pen m8S vs Derminator 2”.

The Dr. Pen brand overview covers the brand’s other models.

FAQ

Is the Dr. Pen M8S FDA approved? No. It has no FDA clearance or approval. The brand’s only cleared device is the A20 (K230420), for prescription use.

How fast is the Dr. Pen M8S? Most listings say up to 16,000 rpm across six speeds. StreamShop Australia says 22,000 rpm, and Dr. Pen US publishes no figure, so the true maximum is unverified.

Is the M8S covered by the Health Canada advisory? Yes. The advisory covers “All models, including but not limited to” the ten it names, plus “Ultima versions”, and the M8S is not on the Dr. Pen licences now in Health Canada’s database.

What is the difference between the Dr. Pen M8 and M8S? Cartridges, mainly. The M8 uses 16-pin cartridges and the M8S 18-pin ones with an anti-backflow design, and the two don’t swap. The M8S adds a battery indicator and Type-C charging, and is listed at about 16,000 rpm against the M8’s 15,000.

Does the M8S come with microneedling cartridges? Not from Dr. Pen US, whose box has two nano cartridges only. Some other sellers bundle 10 or 12 cartridges, so check the listing.

Sources

• Dr. Pen US, Dr. Pen M8S product page and product data (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/products/dr-pen-m8s-microneedling-pen
• Dr. Pen US, M8S collection with cartridge prices (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/collections/m8s
• Dr. Pen US, 18-pin cartridges for M8S (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/products/18-pin-replacement-cartridges-for-m8s-powerderm-10x
• Dr. Pen US, Dr. Pen M8 Max page with generation table (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/products/dr-pen-m8-max-microneedling-pen
• Dr. Pen US, refund and warranty policy (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/policies/refund-policy
• Dr. Pen US, privacy policy (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/policies/privacy-policy
• Dr. Pen US, terms of service naming eShopping Group Pty Ltd (checked 2026-10-06): https://us.drpen.co/policies/terms-of-service
• drpen.io, Dr. Pen M8S product page (checked 2026-10-06): https://www.drpen.io/products/dr-pen-m8s
• drpen.io, Dr. Pen M8 product page (checked 2026-10-06): https://www.drpen.io/products/dr-pen-m8
• drpen.io, “Dr. Pen M8 or M8S – which microneedling pen suits you best?” (February 5, 2026): https://www.drpen.io/blogs/microneedling-facts-benefits-and-results/dr-pen-m8-or-m8s-which-microneedling-pen-suits-you-best
• drpenofficial.com, Dr. Pen M8S with 12 cartridges (checked 2026-10-06): https://drpenofficial.com/products/dr-pen-m8s-microneedling-pen-with-12-cartridges
• drpen-usa.com, Dr. Pen Ultima M8S (checked 2026-10-06): https://drpen-usa.com/products/dr-pen-m8s
• StreamShop Australia, Dr. pen M8S listing (checked 2026-10-06): https://streamshopau.com/products/dr-pen-ultima-m8s
• Dr.pen Club, “All Dr. Pen Models: The 2026 Complete Guide” (checked 2026-10-06): https://drpenclub.com/dr-pen-models/
• FDA 510(k) database entry for K230420, Dr. pen Microneedling System: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpmn/pmn.cfm?ID=K230420
• FDA 510(k) summary for K230420: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf23/K230420.pdf
• Health Canada advisory, “Dr. pen microneedling devices are not authorized for sale and may pose health risks” (December 16, 2021): https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/advisory-dr-pen-microneedling-devices-are-not-authorized-for-sale-and-may-pose-health-risks-898811970.html
• Health Canada MDALL, licence 114618 (checked 2026-10-06): https://health-products.canada.ca/api/medical-devices/licence/?lang=en&type=json&id=114618
• Health Canada MDALL, device identifiers for licences 114618 and 112281 (checked 2026-10-06): https://health-products.canada.ca/api/medical-devices/deviceidentifier/?lang=en&type=json&id=1072885
• Health Canada MDALL, licence 112281 (checked 2026-10-06): https://health-products.canada.ca/api/medical-devices/licence/?lang=en&type=json&id=112281&state=archived
• FDA MAUDE via openFDA, brand “dr pen” (searched 2026-10-06): https://api.fda.gov/device/event.json?search=device.brand_name:%22dr+pen%22&limit=100
• PubMed search, “M8S microneedling” (searched 2026-10-06): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=M8S+microneedling