Beauty -Anti-Ageing Electrotherapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pulseon the
As the book The Art and Science of Beauty Therapy explains, you shouldn’t be afraid of introducing electrotherapy facials or fear losing ‘hands on’ treatments from your treatment menu.
“As beauty therapists we are aiming to improve the overall condition of the skin. This sometimes requires a deeper, more intense treatment, which may require the use of electrical equipment,” say the book’s authors.
In facial electrotherapy, different types of electric currents are used in various formats to achieve the desired results, from tightening the facial muscles to helping with the absorption of specific products.
The first recorded mention of electricity being used as a therapy dates as far back as 384-322 B.C., when Aristotle noted the usefulness of electrical discharges of the torpedo fish for curing certain ailments. In the Second Century, Galen also mentioned the use
of this fish for treating headaches, migraine and gout.
Several years later, in 1757, electrotherapy really started to develop, when Benjamin Franklin reported the positive results he had obtained in administering currents to paralysed limbs and a frozen shoulder. Then, between 1776 and 1810, J. Wihelm Ritter set the foundations for muscle electrostimulation and electrodiagnosis, which was followed by Galvani’s discovery in 1791 that frogs’ muscles twitched when touched simultaneously with two different metals. He termed this ‘animal electricity’.
Further experiments were conducted into this theory and in the 1800s a battery was invented and the current generated by this became known as galvanic current. Following this invention, the units of electric current began to be established and Faraday produced the variable or interrupted current, subsequently called faradic currents, terms that you will probably be familiar with today and used when describing different electrotherapy treatments.
In 1855, Duchenne de Boulogne published a book which advocated the use of currents in the treatment of rheumatism, neuralgia, atrophy and muscular contracture.
The use of electricity for purely cosmetic purposes began in the 20th Century, and now a myriad of different treatment systems are available offering numerous ways to meet client demand for treatments that deliver results.
“With aestheticians up against injectables like Botox® and Juvéderm® it is essential that they have the tools to compete,” says Lydia Sarfati, Repêchage CEO and Founder. “I feel that electrotherapy equipment will allow Spa professionals to give their clients clinical results either without or in conjunction with surgical intervention.”
Microcurrent
Like most electrotherapy treatments, microcurrent began as a medical treatment – originally used to treat victims of strokes, where muscles on one side of the face had been paralysed. Microcurrents of electricity were used to stimulate the muscles and give a ‘lift’ to the face.
Before long, the treatment was adapted for cosmetic procedures, and is now widely used to tighten and firm muscles, tone the skin, stimulate the lymphatic system to dispel toxins and improve the healing process. On the face, microcurrent is useful for reducing fine lines and tightening sagging skin.
“A microcurrent is produced by using a low frequency interrupted direct current, giving you a ‘faradic type current’. The current is measured in microamps, which is a millionth of an
amp. This is shown as µa and as its name implies is a very small amount of current,” explains Angela Barbagelata- Fabes, chairman of The Carlton Group.
Angela adds: “The current helps stimulate microstructures at different levels and it is very usual for there to be no sensation, but most units have intensity outputs that allow the client some sensation so as to feel something is happening and also to give the therapist feedback.
The CACI Ultimate Non-Surgical Face Lift features ultra-low tailor-made frequency below 1Hz, which gives long-term muscle re-education for longer lasting results.
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“The movements applied with the probes can be gliding, sliding movements generally for relaxing tight muscle therefore reducing lines, or a grabbing type movement to tighten and tone muscle reshaping the area being worked.”
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