This is a very useful instrument but often found only at professional skincare studios and medical spas.

The idea is that by sending a high frequency sound wave into the skin a great deal of fragmented protein, pockets of non-functional cells, cell waste (lipofuscin) and pigment blobs will disintegrate into much smaller particles that the skin can more efficiently remove.

The frequency range is 1mghz to 3 mghz for the skin for most ultrasound units. The smaller number is a longer wavelength and will go deeper into the skin. A 3 mghz unit simply skims the surface and removes with a blade the squames residing there. It is useful for a temporary re-surfaced looked without using chemicals and is not as involved a procedure as micro-dermabrasion. It does very little at that 3 mghz frequency to address subsurface debris fields.

By the way, ultrasound used to identify babies in the womb is at a much lower frequency (khz instead of mghz) which allows those very long waves to go right on by the skin and have no effect.

Ultrasound for the skin is also used to propel BIG skincare molecules deep into the skin, things like stem cells and proteins and hyaluronic acid or small molecules like Retinol or the Avogen 302 molecule or Vitamin C esters can be pushed easily toward the dermal/epidermal junction by the action of the ultrasound sonicator.

This does not mean you can send stem cells into your skin and have them take root and function. That would define a transfection procedure and be very dangerous. Pushing outsized molecules like stem cells deep into the skin will plump you up considerably but can be risky. Inflammation and itching can follow. Mother Nature doesn’t like to be fooled.

Never use ultrasound for any Vitamin B molecule or risk a very unhappy episode of flaring skin and intense itching. If this happens do not make it worse by applying anything else to stop it. Soaking in cool water may help but that’s it. The sensation will pass within 24 hours, and with luck in an hour or so.

The skin can get quite warm during these treatments, which is a plus to some extent as it increases circulation, unless the skin rises about 115F in which case bad things happen. At that skin temperature though the blade or sonicator is very hot to the touch so not to get overly concerned as you will know ‘ it burns! ‘

Battery operated units do not have sufficient output to do much down deep and only resurface the top by shaving off the squames using a dull blade. Battery units however are useful to push things deeper into the skin. This may be useful for Vitamin C esters especially because that metabolite does its work in the dermis.

The desirable output onto the skin should range from 10–20 microwatts per square centimeter of skin. The Skin Dork prefers the larger number for its efficiency.

These units usually have a pulsed or continuous selector and the pulsed mode is useful for skin that is clogged and dysfunctional.

Ultrasound machines can wear out because of the wear and tear the output vibration causes. Home care units under $100 should be fine and usage should be restricted to twice per month.