Radio Frequency devices are electronic, hand-held devices that will increase skin protein and plump up the skin. They will not improve the quality of the tissue but with quantity, as in plump skin, what’s not to like?

The Skin Dork has said elsewhere and will repeat here – the decrease in “collagen” content in the skin (and elsewhere in the body) as we age is a function of signaling errors and defensive changes in the extracellular matrix biology (see EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX).

Do we have a potential conflict here? Some background is necessary.

Most skincare, in fact ANY skincare product you apply, no matter the chemistry, will temporarily increase the protein content of the skin and at about the same amount. So whether you apply an expensive or inexpensive product, the increase in cells will occur, your skin will plump up, at about the same rate of increase.

The rate of increase is proportional to the health of your skin and decreases as you age until one day you are placed in the skin museum.

The problems with skincare topicals are several. The increase in protein content is very temporary and often the plumping effect is an edema, a swelling because of irritation. Swelling really does get the wrinkles out – great idea for the big night out. The cells are probably and usually an inflammatory infusion. That is, fragmentary cells and proteins that are generated by the skin like sandbags to protect against the flood of skincare chemicals you apply faithfully daily.

Skincare products are very addictive. Your skin gets weaker and more dependent the more you apply them. The initial influx of new cells goes to zero within a few weeks and then goes in reverse.

Without going further down that rabbit hole, the important fact is that the QUALITY of the cells is the key metric. In order to have a fully formed fibroblast (baby cell) leading to a controlled and desirable rate of crosslinking between cells (to make the rope-like strands of springy collagen) as directed by the ECM you must prompt the skin with metabolites in a carefully controlled way. There is much more on that in Topics reference in the REPAIR MODEL and also in the TRAINING MODEL sections.

With that preface, let’s look at RF devices. The origins of this go back over twenty years to the advent of Thermage® and other treatments that were offered only in clinics. Thermage® directed an electronic zap to the skin muscles (pilli muscles) and even beneath. This zap had a two—fold effect. It would lead to an immediate contraction of the muscles (like MICRO-CURRENT) and the zap would also result in a conversion to heat energy. Now heat energy around but not to exceed 115F to the skin will immediately act on sulfhydryl bonds (S-H) in skin protein.

You will notice a similar effect when you wash you hair with very warm water or more especially with an extravagant shampoo (See CLEANSERS). Your hair will feel softer (usually) as a result of the simple re-arrangement of the same S-H bonds.

Thermage® and current hand held RF devices you can purchase deliver this conversion and promote more protein formation as a protective reaction by the skin. When temperatures exceed 115F, the skin protein can become overly cross-linked and gristle-like and inelastic. Over frequent application of RF and lasers (any) can leads to this micro-gristle effect leaving the skin ultimately with the texture of a football.

Thermage® had difficulties at first because the zap was very uncomfortable and the skin easily cooked. That was corrected by improvements in the zapping and cooling the skin immediately to avoid, ultimately, an undesirable inflammatory response.

The RF devices are simply not as powerful as a clinical device but they do help plump up the skin and do it without chemicals. In fact, using chemical products in combination with RF (and they are often sold by RF device marketers) is a very efficient way to experience inflammatory protein infusions. Not good.

But the skin tightening effect that is equivalent to a micro-current device may make the RF device a 2 for 1 approach.

Alternately, you could slap your skin daily about ten times and see an increase in collagen and skin protein for no cost at all and continue to use your microcurrent device for tightening. Slapping works.

However, the underlying biology must be addressed, no matter what device or procedure you choose, even slapping. The QUALITY of the tissue is the issue.

Cell signaling errors will be present whether you have succeeded in doubling your skin protein content or not. The same old same old will come up and disappear as quickly.

Over frequent use of an RF device will NOT improve the quality of the tissue that arises or make your skin as plump as a three-year old’s and may in fact, as manufacturers will usually advise, put your skin in reverse.

So, now we are faced with a how-do-I-improve-cell-signaling and improve the quality and quantity of the tissue, visibly. Let’s address that in our upcoming posts – but for now reference the REPAIR MODEL and the TRAINING MODEL to get a handle on the basics.

In sum, RF devices have a home use to find a temporary face lift effect and temporary increase in skin plumpness. Be very aware of their limitations. Feel free to post your experiences with these devices.