May an esthetician or laser technician perform microneedling in Tennessee?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
The cited rules do not settle this — Tennessee's aesthetics definition covers only surface work (massaging, cleansing, facials, skin care, hair removal, cosmetic preparations) and contains no act of puncturing the skin, but it states no prohibition.
Only the non-living, uppermost layers of facial skin, known as the epidermis, may be removed, and only for the purpose of beautification. Skin removal techniques and practices which affect the living layers of facial skin, known as the dermis, are prohibited. Only commercially available products may be used, and mixing or combining skin removal products is prohibited except as required by manufacturer instructions. Licensed aestheticians may use alphahydroxy acid salon exfoliation products that do not exceed thirty percent (30%) concentration. Such products should have a pH of 3.0 or above.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0440-02-.16 (rev. Dec 2025) · verified Aug 29, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related Tennessee rules
Tennessee’s definition of aesthetics was read in full and is three surface practices. “aesthetics” means “massaging, cleansing, stimulating, manipulating, exercising, beautifying or similar work with hands or mechanical or electrical apparatus or by the use of cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions or creams”; “placing or applying artificial eyelashes”; or “giving facials, applying makeup, giving skin care or removing superfluous hair by tweezing, depilatories or waxing”. No act of puncturing appears, and the apparatus clause sets no depth. An absence in this definition, not a finding that Tennessee prohibits microneedling.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-4-102(a)(1) · verified Sep 2, 2026 · read at FindLaw Codes
⚠️ a laser procedure is the practice of medicine. Any procedure encompassed within the definition of the practice of medicine that is to be performed BY USE OF A LASER shall be considered the practice of medicine, and any person performing such a procedure must be under the supervision of a licensed physician — subject only to the narrow exceptions the rule cross-references for other licensed professions.
Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0880-02-.14(10) · verified Sep 2, 2026
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Related Tennessee questions
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- What must the supervising physician actually do in Tennessee?
- Who may operate a cosmetic laser in Tennessee?
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← All Tennessee rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).