Jenjen asks…Do ultrasonic facials do anything of real value? The therapist who gave me one said it really cleans out pores.
The Beauty Brains respond:
Ultrasonic facials use a process technically known as sonophoresis which involves transmitting sound waves into the skin at various frequencies.
How does ultrasonic skin penetration work?
The scientific literature is filled with articles documenting how this process is effective for drug delivery. This is a benefit for drugs that may have side effects when delivered orally (e.g, drugs that upset your stomach) and in cases of drugs where you want a sustained delivery.
Ultrasonic energy is thought to drive ingredients through the skin through a combination of thermal, chemical and mechanical effects. This works best on drugs that are already able to penetrate skin to some degree – for these chemicals the ultrasound waves can dramatically increase how much penetration occurs and how quickly. But that doesn’t mean it helps EVERYTHING penetrate. Some ingredients just don’t have the right chemical properties to pass through skin. Also, the degree of penetration is greatly affected by the type of ultrasonic energy. The paper cited above gave the example of using sonophoresis to increase penetration of salicylic acid. Treatment for 20 min at 2 MHz caused no significantly increase in sal acid penetration but treatment at 10 MHz caused 4x more sal acid to pass through the skin.
What about cosmetic uses?
While there’s plenty documentation for medical applications of ultrasound, we couldn’t find any definitive proof that it provides cosmetic benefits. The closest thing we could find is the website for a dermatologist who offers this procedure. According to Dr. Moranz, ultrasonic treatments can improve penetration of “pigment lighteners, anti-oxidants, collagen stimulants, moisturizers, and sun protectants.” Given the overall technical credibility of the technology (from a medical perspective) it seems fair to assume that the right equipment in the hands of a medical professional could improve penetration of certain types of ingredients. Given that the process doesn’t work for all ingredients and given the cost (one source quoted $800 for a series of treatments) it would make sense to discuss options with a dermatologist if you’re really interested.
The bottom line
If you’re having the process done by a dermatologist we’d have pretty good confidence that you’ll see some benefit. If you’re going to an aesthetician we’d question which equipment is being used and what it is they are trying to get to penetrate deeper into your skin. Depending on what benefits they promise and how much they’re charging you then you can make the decision whether an ultrasonic facial is right for you.
Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I find cosmetic dermatology really interesting and cool with all the new things they come up with. My derm that I see through my parents health plan is amazing and she does both medical and cosmetic.
Very interesting. It’s a shame that people are potentially getting ripped off. There should be some type of “check” that procedures have to go through before they’re allowed to be offered to see if there’s any benefit or if it can do what it claims to do. Could businesses get in trouble for making false claims on procedures?
What the Beauty Brains is describing sounds like an “ultrasound” procedure, which is completely different from an “ultrasonic” procedure. Please be sure you are aware of which procedure the question is referring to before responding with a blanket answer. These are two very different procedures that are often confused with each other. As with any cosmetic procedure, there are benefits and drawbacks. The key is to find someone who is well versed in their craft and uses effective products and equipment.
Sorry if we weren’t clear but we WERE talking about ultrasonic treatments. Ultrasound is an imaging technique that uses different frequencies and does not provide the types of benefits we discussed.
{ 1 trackback }