You can tell a lot about a person’s age with their skin. Aging is natural and beautiful but there’s no shame in wanting to look younger for longer. Two treatments you can look into are radiofrequency vs microcurrent treatments.
Both radiofrequency and microcurrent tighten saggy skin for a youthful look. Radiofrequency uses energy waves to produce heat. It boosts collagen and elastin production on a skin-deep level. On the other hand, microcurrent uses low-level electrical currents to target the muscles. This “works out” the muscles for that tighter and firmer appearance.
Which of the two you should choose depends on your personal preference and goals. A consultation with your medical provider can help you decide. If you can’t seem to choose, get the best of both worlds by getting them both hand in hand.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of radiofrequency and microcurrent. Plus, we’ll compare the similarities they share and what sets them apart from each other.
What is Radiofrequency?
Radiofrequency is a type of energy measured in frequency or wavelengths per second and is in the electromagnetic spectrum. Think of Wi-Fi signals, sunlight, or sound waves right from your phone.
Radiofrequency (RF) is a non-invasive and non-surgical procedure that uses energy waves to heat up the deeper layers of the skin. This heat, once it reaches the optimal temperature of 52°C to 55°C, pushes the skin’s collagen fibers back together.
This boosts collagen and elastin production, both of which the skin needs for structure.
Collagen and elastin are naturally occurring proteins in our skin. But as we grow older, the skin produces less of them. The skin will start to sag and show various signs of aging from fine lines to wrinkles.
Radiofrequency helps the skin produce more of these proteins and ultimately encourages healthy cell repair, rejuvenation, and turnover.
RF is basically a tightening facial treatment. It takes loose and droopy skin and transforms it into tighter, plumper, and younger-looking skin.
How does it work?
Radiofrequency treatments use a handheld device in the treatment area. This device produces heat of 52°C to 55°C.
Radiofrequency devices use small electric currents to create heat. Some compare the sensation to a hot stone massage.
Once this heat energy reaches the deeper layers of the skin, it stimulates the skin’s fibroblast production, which then stimulates collagen and elastin production. This renews and rejuvenates aging skin, resulting in a skin-tightening process.
Radio frequency facial treatments encourage cell turnover. It focuses on repairing and renewing the skin, making it firmer, plumper, tighter, and overall younger-looking.
Radiofrequency treatments can be done as an in-clinic professional treatment or in the comfort of your own home with a home RF device.
Radio Frequency Treatments Benefits
- Tightens skin: With RF treatments, you can transform saggy and drooping skin into tighter, plumper, and younger-looking skin.
- Contours face: Radiofrequency can improve the contours and shapes of your face. This chisels jawline and defines your cheekbones for a youthful appearance.
- Boosts collagen and elastin production: The heat from the RF device stimulates the skin’s fibroblast production. This boosts collagen and elastin production, both of which the skin needs for structure. This means younger-looking skin, free from fine lines and wrinkles.
- Speeds up wound healing: Fibroblast production stimulates the body’s natural immune response. This triggers cell production and brings blood and nutrients to the treatment area. This helps speed up wound healing.
- Improves skin tone: Radiofrequency treatments can even out and improve skin tone. This brightens the skin and leaves it glowing.
- Quick procedure and instant results: RF treatments offer almost instantaneous results. You can immediately see the difference it makes on your skin after a single session. What’s more, each session is quick and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour. You can get in and out in no time.
- Non-invasive and painless: Radiofrequency is a non-invasive and painless treatment. This doesn’t have any recovery or downtime. There are very minimal side effects if there are any, and these usually go away after just a few minutes. You can go in for a treatment, leave, and go about your day as if nothing happened.
Is Radiofrequency Safe?
Radiofrequency is a non-invasive, no-downtime, and painless treatment. It’s non-surgical and doesn’t require patients to be under anesthesia to proceed with the procedure.
Radiofrequency Side Effects
Radiofrequency has little to no side effects. It’s non-invasive so there are no knives and no incisures. The most common side effects you might expect are some slight redness. This doesn’t last and will go away on its own not long after the treatment.
Who Shouldn’t Have Radiofrequency Treatments?
- Pregnant patients
- Patients with any chronic inflammatory skin conditions like rosacea
- Patients with pacemakers, metal implants, coronary valves, or other implants fixed in the body
If you have other skin sensitivities and allergies, consult with your doctor first before getting treatment.
How Many Radiofrequency Sessions are Necessary?
It’s highly suggested to get RF treatments multiple times a week for the best long-lasting results.
Professionals usually suggest a total of about six to eight treatments, done at least twice a week. This could vary depending on how your consultation goes.
If you’re using at-home RF devices instead, you might need to do it more often as they’re not as powerful as professional devices.
What is Microcurrent?
Our bodies have natural electrical currents. These currents send signals to communicate and allow biological activities to take place.
Microcurrent uses low-level electric currents to “work out” the muscles underneath our skin. This mimics the body’s natural current.
These electric currents stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, which the skin needs for structure. It also encourages cellular repair and the growth of skin tissue to help patients maintain healthy muscles.
Just like radiofrequency skin tightening, microcurrent is a non-invasive and non-surgical procedure. And just like RF, it tightens, firms, and plumps sagging skin. This gives patients an overall younger-looking appearance.
How does it work?
Microcurrent facial treatments use a handheld device with two electrodes on one end. This is what delivers the electric currents deep within the skin’s muscles.
Microcurrent facial therapy works by producing ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, which is the body’s main source of energy and fuel. This can stimulate collagen production and elastin growth, encouraging skin structure. Where there is structure, there are fewer signs of aging and the skin doesn’t tend to sag and droop.
When the microcurrent device gets in contact with the treatment area, this delivers electrical currents deep within the skin’s muscles. This “works out” the muscles, toning and firming up the skin. Other signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles are also targeted.
Microcurrent Treatments Benefits
- Tones and sculpts skin: As a “workout” for the skin’s facial muscles, a microcurrent treatment tones and sculpts saggy and loose skin. This turns skin to be firmer, plumper, and tighter.
- Stimulates collagen and elastin production: Microcurrent boosts collagen and elastin production, which the skin needs for structure. This gives the skin a youthful appearance.
- Reduces fine lines and wrinkles: More collagen and elastin in the skin’s deeper layers means plumper skin. This smooths out fine lines and wrinkles.
- Improves blood circulation: Microcurrent improves blood circulation as it works to stimulate facial muscles. This brings blood, oxygen, and necessary nutrients to the treatment area. This can also help speed up cellular metabolism and the wound-healing process.
- Quick procedure and instant results: Microcurrent sessions take no more than one hour. And after each session, expect instant results and immediately see the difference it makes.
- Non-invasive and painless: Microcurrent is non-invasive, painless, and non-surgical. There is no downtime and recovery time. After each session, you can continue with your day as you typically would.
Is Microcurrent Safe?
Microcurrent is non-invasive and requires no recovery time. There is no surgery or anesthetics required for the procedure.
Microcurrent Side Effects
Microcurrent presents very few risks for side effects. However, some side effects you can expect include a tingling sensation, some redness, and some swelling. These, however, go away on their own shortly after.
Who Shouldn’t Have Microcurrent Treatments?
- Patients with epilepsy
- Pregnant women and nursing mothers
- Patients with pacemakers and other metal implants
Those with certain allergies or skin sensitivities should consult with their doctor first before getting treatment.
How Many Microcurrent Sessions are Necessary?
It’s mostly suggested to get microcurrent treatments at least every week. Some even do it twice a week.
How many sessions you should start with would depend on how your consultation will go.
Microcurrent results are cumulative and will add up with every session you get.
Again, you might need more treatments if you’re doing it at home, as opposed to having it done professionally.
Radiofrequency (RF) vs Microcurrent
Both radiofrequency and microcurrent are famous cosmetic treatments. Below, we’ll go over how these two are both similar and different.
The similarities
Both radio frequency and microcurrent treatments offer their patients a shot at firmer, tighter, plumper, and more youthful appearance. Both efficiently target various signs of aging like fine lines, wrinkles, and saggy skin.
Additionally, both cosmetic treatments offer the best results when done regularly and consecutively. These two treatments are both non-invasive and require no downtime.
The differences
Here are the two treatments’ key differences:
- Radiofrequency tightens the skin while microcurrent tightens the muscles underneath the skin surface.
- Radiofrequency stimulates the skin’s production of fibroblasts, which then boosts collagen and elastin production. Microcurrent encourages ATP production, which stimulates the skin to produce more collagen and elastin.
- Radiofrequency uses small electric currents to produce heat while microcurrent uses low-level electric currents that mimic the body’s natural ionic flow.
Using Radiofrequency and Microcurrent Together
If you can’t seem to decide between radiofrequency or microcurrent treatments, we’ve got news for you. You can choose to use these two treatments together, hand in hand!
Professionals suggest getting the RF treatment first before the microcurrent session. Doing so warms up your facial skin and muscles. This gets the face ready for the microcurrent procedure.
Doing so also allows radiofrequency to open up the skin’s pores, allowing better absorption of microcurrent along with other skin care products to be used for the rest of the facial.
Conclusion
Everyone ages and it’s only a natural part of life. But it doesn’t mean we can’t choose to age gracefully. If you want to maintain your youthful skin for much longer, you can choose from radiofrequency or microcurrent treatments.
Radiofrequency treatments use energy waves to produce heat. This heat works to tighten the skin for a plumper and youthful look. Microcurrent treatments use low-level electrical currents to mimic the body’s natural ionic flow. This targets the muscles underneath the skin and tightens them for that firmer appearance.
And that has been our take on the query radiofrequency vs microcurrent. You can reach out to us below if you’d like us to address any more of your questions!
