Radiofrequency facial is a skin-tightening beauty buzz! Don’t trust us?
Even Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston are here to make a point. They acknowledge the potential of non-invasive radiofrequency treatments in making their skin look younger.
When they need an uplifted skin, they turn to RF energy; when they need a bit of plump refresh-ness, they look for rf treatment; and finally, when they need a firmer face contour, they once again check-in for radiofrequency treatment.
“But aren’t they celebrities? They must have been paid to promote pseudoscience biohack.” Sure you’d say that! We thought in the same line for something non-invasive as radio frequency treatment initially.
But we looked deeper into its science and application, and guess what? We were stunned! It’s almost a boon to have such a non-surgical method to look young once again.
Don’t worry! We’ll break radiofrequency facials for you in a way you’ll love to have therapy today itself. So let’s catch it up real quick.
What are radiofrequency treatments?
Radiofrequency (RF) therapy or radiofrequency energy therapy supplies heat to the deeper layer of skin (1). Now, why would anyone heat their skin? Wouldn’t it burn it? What about the cells? Will they go impaired?
To understand this, you have to understand how things work in the skin.
As with the body, your skin has an abundance of collagen and elastin. They’re nothing but the proteins found in tissues, muscles, and bones. These proteins are like foundational strength to bones and structure to the skin.
But here’s the sad part: the collagen proteins begin to plummet as you reach your late twenties. They fall by one percent every year thereon. Now you can’t merely dose on collagen supplementary to stay young and healthy in your skin. We don’t even have food sources to manage the collagen level. Does that mean you go broke on collagen? No!
You simply request these cells to overwork a bit for collagen production. Now how do we request them? Well, we send radio waves using radiofrequency therapy. It’s more or less similar to electromagnetic energy.
When radio waves interact with the skin, they send molecules into a frictional state. Friction is the primary reason why we feel the “heat.” The frictional heat contracts collagen fibers, thereby tightening the skin. The best part is: results are quick and cumulative.
Here’s a quick recap: Radiofrequency (RF) energy treatment is a non-invasive and non-surgical way of tightening sagging skin. If you believe surgeries aren’t meant for you or aren’t old enough to have them, then you can move to a much safer treatment alternative as RF to treat skin laxity.
What does radiofrequency treat?
You should love radiofrequency treatment for its versatility. It’s famous for body therapies, and people don’t mind experimenting with new therapies on their bodies (2). But when the matter is about their faces, they all sound so cynical. But RF technologies are so safe, they have made it as facial therapy with ease.
The areas of treatment on the face:
- Forehead treatment
- Treating area under the eyes
- Cheek tightening
- Jawline lifting
- Neck and mid-face therapy
You get all of these on your face with minimal risks and downtime compared to surgical processes.
Potential benefits of radiofrequency facial
Radiofrequency facial therapy has plenty of benefits for your face skin. It offers everything that uplifts your skin’s quality, from tightening your skin to get rid of wrinkles. Some believe it also prevents sun damage by triggering collagen production quickly. Let’s find them in detail:
Fighting sun damage on facial skin
Though the Sun is the best of your friends for supplying essential nutrients to your body, the benefits often come up with an expensive price tag— ultraviolet (UV) rays. These rays are not suitable for collagen fibers as they break and disorganized collagens.
So what Sun gives, takes away too! But one of the studies suggests that radiofrequency facial therapy helps improve the sun damage condition. (1) If you have a mild to moderate sun damage condition, RF therapy should act as an antagonist to UV attacks.
Face contouring
Radiofrequency facial is nothing but an artist at work. Think of it as a face sculpting artist who enhances facial features as forehead, cheekbones, chin, and forehead. It is what we call face contouring!
Another research into radiofrequency facial therapy (8 weeks treatment) found that the respondents with sagging skin quality saw a massive improvement in facial skin laxity. (2)
Wrinkles and fine lines
Why would anyone opt for radio frequency facial therapy if it didn’t work on wrinkles and fine lines? We understand skin and cell damages, and UV rays and what not! But C’mon! Wrinkles are the most visible facial features. And you want these lines rubbed anyhow.
Another study on RF therapy in middle-aged women showed positive results in rubbing off these lines. (3) They were given six weeks of treatment (three settings), and the results almost felt instant.
RF for facial slimming.
What’s the most challenging part of losing weight? Losing your facial fat! 😐
For once, even the non-ab guys can have abs. But breaking down fat in the lower face is itself a strenuous task. But RF treatment has absolute potential in breaking these unwanted fat accumulated in your lower face.
This non-surgical way of slimming the face showed results in 90% of the respondents in 5 weeks. The radiofrequency range was enough to repair cells and inhibit fatty cells from replicating.
And side effects? Almost nothing other than mild redness.
What happens during radiofrequency facial treatment?
You can’t wake up suddenly and decide to have radiofrequency facial treatment suddenly! Your wanting to have treatment should be thoughtful and measured. It would help if you had a careful discussion and reasons to go for the therapy (3). All these come with a good practitioner.
The therapist should ask your medical history and check if you’re eligible for the treatment (though it’s safe for most). Once you’re in, the facials’ aesthetician might ask you to sign a consent form, subscribing to the idea you understand the benefits and risks of radiofrequency facials.
Request your therapist to take photos of your face pre and post-treatment. The clicks should play the testimony for RF radiation and whether they work on you.
Radiofrequency facial : Procedure
- The therapist will get your face washed with soap and warm water. It’s usually done to get rid of makeup and oil in the skin. Think of them as the enemies of radiofrequency facial treatment.
- Then they will apply a topical numbing cream to your skin for a brief time. It ensures your facial skin is numb slightly and you don’t feel burnt during the therapy. Don’t worry if you’re thinking about how you’ll peel off the cream! Aestheticians have a trick to remove them using alcohol cleansers right before the RF procedure.
- Now the practitioner will put a treatment grid ink transfer to your face. The grid helps them navigate your face while the treatment takes place. It also ensures your facial skin has even application of the radiation rather than overlapping the treatment at multiple points.
- Depending on the RF device being used by the therapist, they will attach self-adhesive return pads to your stomach or back. It basically “grounds” or “earthen” you.
- Then the aesthetician will apply a coupling gel over your face to add a barrier between the skin’s surface layer and the device’s handpiece/probe.
- Finally, the clinician will jump into the RF treatment, moving the device across your face. It should go on for 20 to 45 minutes, again depending on the device they have.
- And they will knock the final nail by applying soothing gel or lotion to your skin.
Radiofrequency facial : Repeat procedure
- You’ll feel a lot tighter in your face skin immediately after the treatment. And tightening should gradually grow with months of settings recommended by the aesthetician.
- Here’s the USP of RF treatment: the results will last for a couple of years. And if you’re lucky enough (maybe your skin suits it), you might even observe the best results in a single sitting. Again, it’s not a commitment. Leave the number of sittings on your chosen practitioner.
What should you do after radiofrequency facial treatment?
One more reason why radiofrequency facial treatment fascinates us is its post-therapy care! You’re ideally not doing anything (ANYTHING) after it. Though a few therapists may ask you to:
- Apply soothing/moisturizing lotions or creams/gel on your face
- Expose your face to cool, moisturizing mists
- Rub ice packs/cold water bags on the treatment area
Does skin tightening radiofrequency facial hurt?
If you’re thinking how much heat is the bearable heat, let us tell you: therapists are not heating your skin above 40 to 43 degrees Celsius. It’s like having your face rubbed by a hot stone.
So it’s not significantly hurting; instead, many respondents call RF instantly relaxing. You might develop a bit of redness during the process, but it eventually subsides by the time your treatment ends.
What are the side effects and potential complications from radiofrequency facial?
First thing first, you’ll experience a deep heating sensation every time the therapist sends RF energy to your facial skin and tissues. But here’s the catch: most devices come with cryogenic capabilities.
It means… The handpiece or probe releases cooling spray every time radiofrequency energy bursts into your skin. So the same heating devices ensure your skin doesn’t get overheated, making the session more comfortable.
There are no pain metrics.
There’s no easy answer to describe how painful the RF treatment is. You know how it is: every person has different pain tolerance. So you can’t really measure or quantify and universalize the statement for everyone.
There’s undoubtedly some discomfort, no denial to it. Your aesthetician might also give options between choosing topical numbing creams or pain management drugs to lower down a bit of discomfort and make your RF journey a little smoother.
Here are the side-effects you may have despite taking numbing dose:
- swelling
- redness
- bumps
- blisters
You can expect them to disappear in a few days, which might take some weeks in the worst-case scenario.
Complications
You’ll be surprised to know RF energy treatment can cause depression. Reread it. Depression! No, it is not the one that happens in our head, but our face. It’s related to a sunken face, like a car having several dents in its bonnet.
The sunken appearance is because your therapist overheated the underlying tissues. You may also observe such dents in the face with the kind of device you use. There have been a few devices in the market that leave us talking about their dangerous effects.
If you’re mulling over what causes these depressions on the face and how to avoid them, read the DIY radiofrequency devices guidelines arranged by the manufacturers first.
Studies are trying to show correlation between the depressions and frequency levels given above par. Well, the same applies to your practitioner too! Make sure they know the RF guidelines before making you a lab rat.
Which skin types are best suited for radiofrequency facial treatment?
Literally, there are not many who can’t take advantage of radiofrequency facial treatment. These skin tightening treatments are suitable for anyone who finds themselves experiencing sagging skin. Ask yourself:
- Have you lost skin firmness?
- Is your skin too dull?
- Are there too many free radicals in your face skin?
- Where are the oxygen levels in the skin?
- Do you see yourself aging quicker than you thought?
- Is your general radiance missing?
Answer these questions, and you should know if you’re an ideal candidate.
Who should not have radiofrequency treatments for the face?
As mentioned, there’s no strong reason to avoid radiofrequency treatments for the face. But you’d still want to be a tad cautious if you have:
- any skin diseases as psoriasis
- infections in the treatment area
- sensory disturbance to the skin
You may not find the therapy very comforting for these reasons, especially with the fear of potential harm lurking around.
Now coming to the pregnant women! There’s a lot of speculation if radiofrequency treatments are a boon or curse for them. Not going to lie; there haven’t been many controlled studies on them. So it’s tough to have any words for them. But since it’s a matter of life for an infant, it’s advised to wait until you pop-up the baby.
Sure-shot reasons to avoid rf energy:
- Is your body equipped with electrical devices like metal implants and pacemakers?
- Do you have artificial metal hip joints?
- What about your dental plates?
- Even your heart valves are electrical devices?
If it’s a yes for any of these, you will avoid radiofrequency facial treatment at any cost. Chances are high current may interfere with these artificial devices and heat them up. Now that can prove fatal!
What is the average cost of radiofrequency facial treatment?
Last time we checked, radiofrequency facial treatments were dominated by private sectors than public healthcare.
So RF treatment may pull a fair bit of dollars out of your pocket if you’re a free healthcare proponent. And the foremost thing is, the price of RF therapy depends on the body part you’re getting treated.
We’re currently focusing on facials. Per facial session can cost you 200$. Considering you need 5 to 7 settings to see long-term results, expect to spend between $1,000 to $4,000.
Here’s another blow. Since skin tightening is a cosmetic therapy, chances are high your insurance providers would back out from giving the claims.
How many radiofrequency facial sessions should you book?
Well, if you’re lucky enough in your skin, RF treatment can show its effect in the first sitting itself. But you have to tick mark specific criteria, which is very rare to meet.
Should you want skin tightening right before any party, feel free to get yourself appointed for the therapy. The effect will last at least for a few days.
But for more profound, long-term results, get yourself booked for 4-6 sessions. Make sure they’re spanned between at least a week or ten days.
Quirky facts about radiofrequency facial treatment
Still not convinced if radiofrequency facial treatment is of any use? Here are some quirky radiofrequency facts:
You just need a lunch break.
Gone are those times when you needed a day or two for treatments. You seriously don’t need anything other than a lunch break for radiofrequency treatment. 20 to 45 mins and you’re almost ready to go on with your chores. There’s minimal downtime with it.
Use it for your body too.
If you own a radiofrequency device, why just use it on your face? The therapy is also suitable for smoothing out stretch marks and tightening areas of loose skin. Unlike other traditional treatments as surgery, the RF body contouring phenomena helps you slim down. They force fat cells to commit “suicide.”
It’s a yes-yes for most of us.
We’d say it’s the beauty of skin tightening radiofrequency that goes well with almost most of us. As mentioned, it revs up collagen production and ensures you see effective results in time.
It’s a slow and steady treatment device.
If you think radiofrequency treatment is a flyer and swipes away all your skin problems the very next hour you have the session, you’re probably overstating it.
No, they’re treatment options that get you results over a few sittings. Great results rarely show up in the first session itself.
Frequently asked questions.
Look what the experts say:
When can I see results of radiofrequency facial?
You’ll observe the changes immediately though they won’t last for long! The last-ness will, however, improve throughout treatment. You should be able to observe a lot better skin quality after the second treatment. It’s like stacking up greatness with each treatment course.
How long does the effect of radiofrequency facial last?
It depends on the skin quality and threshold of heat you require. For some, the effect of treatment may last for six months and last up to 2 years.
Even your skin health, diet, and lifestyle determine the longevity of the treatment results.
Do I need to remove my makeup before radiofrequency facial?
Yes! You have to remove makeup. As mentioned, the therapist will remove everything from your facial skin to max out RF therapy’s benefits.
Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6541915/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5360959/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5929946/