Is Radiofrequency Anti-Aging / Skin Tightening Treatment Safe for Home Use?

Introduction

Multiple innovative non-surgical treatment options for skin enhancement are available presently including the technologies using Ultrasound waves, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Radiofrequency. Radiofrequency based treatments have specifically gained popularity owing to their effectiveness and low side effects in a wide variety of skin conditions. Radiofrequency based treatments utilize electricity to heat the deeper layers of the skin and stimulate the creation of collagen. These treatments can encourage cellulite improvement, lessening of wrinkles, skin contouring, and reduction in the laxity of skin. On the basis of the number of electrodes, the RF non-invasive devices can be characterized as follows:

• Monopolar
• Bipolar
• Tripolar
• Multipolar
• Multigenerator

Nowadays, at-home RF devices are also easily available apart from earlier in-office RF devices.

Radiofrequency energy treatment for skin is a modern technology and a non-surgical process of skin tightening to improve early signs of loose or saggy skin. The electrical currents used in the treatment are in frequency range of 0.1 to 5 megahertz (MHz).1 The technique includes utilizing energy waves to warm the deep layer of the skin known as dermis. This warmth stimulates the creation of collagen, a well-known protein present in the body.2 

How does Radiofrequency work?

Radiofrequency energy, when applied to the skin, produces a controlled rise in the temperature of exposed tissues.3 This further results in heating up of the deeper layer of the skin using advanced radio waves, without damaging the epidermis or the top layer of the skin.4 Radiofrequency current denatures collagen in the targeted area, causes thermal damage as it delivers excessive energy and eliminates existing collagen in the tissues. Henceforth, the skin starts to produce new collagen after the treatment.5,7 The expected result of the treatment include a younger-looking version of the skin, as the new collagen gives more support and firmness to the skin.8

Benefits of Radiofrequency for skin

Radiofrequency treatments lead to production of new collagen and elastin in the body and replacement of damaged skin.9 Radiofrequency is considered to be the best treatment for patients with mild to moderate facial tissue sagging issues. It is mainly used to treat skin laxity through facial tightening. This treatment also improves skin tone and texture. The treatments can be used for multiple areas in the body including the face, under upper arms, thighs, and neck. Also, the procedure is non-invasive and hence there is no downtime or recovery period and the results are immediately noticeable.1 The radiofrequency treatment makes skin more firm, tight, and good-looking. The radiofrequency treatment is suitable for all skin types/ color and does not have any considerable side effects as well on individuals.1

Is Radiofrequency safe for skin treatment?

Radiofrequency is a low-energy form of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. RF waves, because of their low frequency, are completely safe and cause no risk of infection in people going for skin tightening procedures.10 Although, the cells warm-up due to controlled application of Radiofrequency waves, but since radiofrequency waves are of low energy level, there is very low risk of tissues getting damaged. Radiofrequency treatment can additionally boost blood flow in the body and can reduce body fat as well.9 Because of the non invasive nature of the Radiofrequency treatments, the fat reduction procedure is completely safe as well.

Radiofrequency treatments do not require a long time to complete and are generally administered in ten or fewer than ten sessions. Because of this, the chances of biological cell damage are substantially reduced. The usual cell phone radiofrequency release is about 2.4 gigahertz, which is ten times higher than the 0.3 to 10 megahertz used for radiofrequency skin treatments. Considering that the cell phone remains with our body everyday and for elongated period of time, using a cell phone is much less safer as compared to going for a radiofrequency treatment.14

Additionally skin treatments using Radiofrequency waves, have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and the procedure has established its long term clinical safety in multiple clinical studies conducted in the past. As per a study conducted in over 600 patients, Radiofrequency skin treatment did not lead to any permanent side effects in patients and only around 2.7% of treatments resulted in temporary side effects, which also subsided in few days.16,17

Until few months back, majority of the Radiofrequency skin based treatments were conducted at clinics and there was a genuine concern among users about the safety and efficacy of at-home Radiofrequency devices. Presently, numerous companies provide at-home RF treatment devices. However, the device you use for Home based Radiofrequency treatment is important. Using an inferior quality device to save some dollars might hurt. A new innovative device named EvenSkyn Lumo includes features such a photo rejuvenation, electrical muscle stimulation, and phototherapy beyond the main radiofrequency function and therefore, helps with skin tightening and anti-wrinkle/anti-aging processes. The device also comes with 5 modes including Photon, ION, ENI + Photon, EMS + Photon, Cool + Photon  which can be used for multiple skin rejuvenation purposes.

Sources: 

1. https://www.barehandspa.com/skin-rejuvenation-rf
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/radio-frequency-skin-tightening#:~:text=Radiofrequency%20(RF)%20therapy%2C%20also,common%20protein%20in%20your%20body.
3. https://thedermreview.com/radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
4. http://www.drmarthastewart.com/radiofrequency-wrinkle-reduction
5. https://thedermreview.com/radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
6. https://thedermreview.com/radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
7. http://www.drmarthastewart.com/radiofrequency-wrinkle-reduction
8. https://thedermreview.com/radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
9. https://www.defendershield.com/are-laser-radio-frequency-led-light-skin-treatments-safe/
10. https://elitebodycontouring.com.au/top-5-benefits-radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
11. https://drmaryamzamani.com/treatments/treatment-menu/radiofrequency/
12. https://www.nyib.edu/radio-frequency-skin-care/
13. https://elitebodycontouring.com.au/top-5-benefits-radio-frequency-skin-tightening/
14. https://www.defendershield.com/are-laser-radio-frequency-led-light-skin-treatments-safe/
15. https://www.purevanityspa.com/skin-tightening-with-radio-frequency/
16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16989184/
17. https://myaboutface.com/2019/07/22/are-radiofrequency-treatments-safe-for-the-skin/
18. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16989184/
19. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drp/2017/4146391/
20. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/radio-frequency-skin-tightening#summary