Microcannula Sizing Guide for Filler Injections:

25 gauge cannulas are currently our best selling size due to their versatility (uses across most of the facial regions) along with their ability to be utilized with the widest variety of fillers. For facial injections, wider gauges (22G/25G) are often used for the more viscous (thicker) types of hyaluronic acid and to access deeper planes. These sizes have increased in popularity as the trend for safety has continued to gain importance. Thinner gauges (27G/30G) tend to be used for the less viscous fillers on a very superficial plane.

Needle Sizing Guide:

Injection Needles:

Aesthetic practices are known to use hypodermic needles sized 25G to 34G when providing filler and Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections, depending on the viscosity of the injectable product, the area being treated, and the needle wall size. Filler injections are typically more viscous (having a thicker consistency), so they will usually need larger gauge needles (the smaller the number, the larger the gauge) than those used for BoNT injections. Thin wall and ultra-thin wall needles have larger inner diameters than regular wall needles, allowing for more viscous fluids to flow through them.

Sizes 30G to 34G are used most often for BoNT treatments to provide more comfort for patients. Smaller gauges usually correlate with less bleeding as well. We most commonly see needles between 8mm-13mm in length being used for facial BoNT injections, and occasionally as short as 4mm.

Injectors have started switching to Low Dead Space hub needles to reduce the amount of expensive toxin that is typically being wasted in traditional needle hubs.

Draw-Up Needles:

18G to 25G needles between 1”-2” are often used for the draw-up of toxin before injection.

Microcannula Introductory Pilot Needles:

The introducer sharp needle used to make the puncture hole for a cannula is typically 1-3 gauges larger than the gauge of the cannula. Below is a chart showing the size of the pilot needle that is included in each box of the most popular STERiGLIDE™ microcannula sizes:

Microcannula Size: Introductory Pilot Sharp Needle Size:

22G x 38mm (1-1/2”) 21G x 1”

22G x 50mm (2”) 21G x 1”

22G x 70mm (2-3/4”) 21G x 1”

25G x 38mm (1-1/2”) 23G x 3/4”

25G x 50mm (2”) 23G x 3/4”

27G x 25mm (1”) 25G x 1/2”

27G x 38mm (1-1/2”) 25G x 1/2”

27G x 50mm (2”) 25G x 1/2”

30G x 25mm (1”) 27G x 1/2”

When in doubt, give us a call!

Someone from our dedicated customer service team will assist you in the purchasing process to help you get exactly what you are looking for.

1-800-231-7762