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Do you need to visit a clinic for anti-aging treatment?

Introduction

Aging of the skin is a natural biological process that can also be triggered by stress, pollution, sunlight, medication, and sedentary lifestyle. We tend to lose 1% of our natural collagen annually, and this on the other hand culminates into flabby skin accompanied by altered textures, reduction in elasticity, wrinkles, and lines, which are also considered as the visible aging signs. Aging reduces cell division, which ultimately leads to a reduction in collagen and elastin. These two proteins are necessary for maintaining skin tone and natural glow, thus, enhancing the appearance of the skin.

Radiofrequency treatment can reverse the process of aging by using pulses. These pulses penetrate inside the skin and heat them. The heated skin promotes collagen and elastin, stimulating the process of skin tightening. Many patients are benefitted from the radiofrequency skin treatment due to effective results, minimal side effects and speedy recovery. RF technology for skin tightening and anti aging is considered to be one of the most preferable technology nowadays. (1)

Challenges faced by the patients while visiting a clinic

The efficacy and effectiveness of RF based treatments are well established through multiple clinical trials. However, visible effective results can only be achieved, after multiple cycles of RF treatment. Visiting a clinic every time for getting a RF treatment done can be challenging and time consuming. Some of the challenges faced by patients, while visiting a clinic include:

The overlap of the clinic and working hour timing

Clinic timings are not convenient for the people, as the working hours during the office timing and clinic time mostly coincide. Hence, due to the very hectic schedule of most people, this can be a challenge and there is a need for a home-based RF device, which can be used after office hours as well.

Geographic issues

People who live in rural areas face difficulty in visiting clinics due to lack of transport availability and remote geographic location. Limited workforce availability or even sometimes a shortage of physicians in clinics in such areas, also imposes a unique set of difficulties for rural clinics.

Lack of transportation

The transportation barrier or heavy traffic issues is a major challenge faced by most people in reaching the clinic on time. Many people miss their appointments because of the transportation issues.

Selecting a Good physician

Sometimes selecting a good physician, for carrying out the procedure, can be challenging. In case, a good provider is not selected, the patients might get improper care because of lack of knowledge of the physician. (3)

Availability of Home based RF treatments:

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.

However, presently, numerous companies provide at-home RF treatment devices. The ongoing advancement of technology has ensured that the at-home radiofrequency devices are as effective as clinical based treatments, if not more, and are very safe as well, if the manual instructions are followed properly. The home based radiofrequency devices can cost you somewhere between $30 to $1000, with majority falling in the average range. The clinic based Radiofrequency treatments would cost you somewhere around $5000, on the other side.(6,7)

Recent studies have proved the efficacy of these home based devices as well. A study conducted in 2017 on 33 participants observed high effectiveness of a home based RF treatment device for around 6 weeks on wrinkles around the eyes. Nearly all participants reported no side-effects and experienced significant improvements.(6)

Another recently conducted study, in 2014, highlighted more than 90% effectiveness of home based radiofrequency device treatments with no major side effects, based on the review from 3 independent skilled reviewers. Multiple other studies have also established the efficacy and safety of home based Radiofrequency treatments. (8)

However, the device you use for Home based 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. (9)

Comparison of home-based radiofrequency and professional radiofrequency treatment

Skin Type: - Professional radiofrequency is more suitable for patients with fine to medium lines around eyes and loose skin on the jawline while home-based radiofrequency is for patients with lax facial skin, lines, and wrinkles.
Sessions needed: - In the case of professional radiofrequency, a total of 6 sessions are needed with 1-2 weeks apart whereas, in the case of home-based radiofrequency, the total time to complete the treatment is 6-8 weeks with 2-3 sessions per week.
Maintenance: - In professional radiofrequency, the maintenance depends on results and skin type. The average top-ups are approximately after 1-3 months however in home-based radiofrequency, 2-4 sessions are needed in a month.
Session Time: - Professional radiofrequency takes 30-60 minutes, however, the home-based takes 10 minutes to 1 hour. (5)
Time: - Radiofrequency home device treatment saves the time to visit a clinic while if a patient opts for professional radiofrequency, they should first book an appointment and travel to visit the clinic. (4)

The use of radiofrequency in dermatology is constantly increasing. The home-based devices save the time of visiting a clinic and also multiple clinical studies have established the efficacy and effectiveness of home based RF treatments vs clinic based RF treatments.

Reference: -

Do you really need to visit a cosmetic clinic for anti-aging treatments?

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