Electrotherapy Facial Treatment

Electrotherapy as an advanced treatment for facial issues

Electrotherapy is an electrical therapy of the skin where electrical pulses are passed over your facial muscles, resembling a muscle action potential, with varied frequencies to stimulate the muscles, nerves, relieve pain, increase blood flow, and the healing of tissue. Electrotherapy is often used in rehabilitation from sports injuries, in physiotherapy, and in beauty therapy.

What Electrotherapy Does?

• Stimulates the muscles to strengthen weak muscles and relieve atrophic pain in the muscles
• It relieves you from pain by blocking pain signals from reaching your brain (TENS therapy)
• Increases blood circulation by enabling improved delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues
• Encourages healing, cellular regeneration, and reduces swelling and pain
• Rejuvenates skin by declogging skin pores, improving skin tone, skin elasticity, and herbs and oils penetration

Electrotherapies: Types and their application

• TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation)- Minimizes pain
• Electrical Muscle stimulation (EMS)- Assists you with muscle-toning and re-education
• Microcurrent Therapy- Aids with skin tightening and repair of cells
• Galvanic Therapy using direct current- Helps in deep cleansing and product penetration (iontophoresis and desincrustation)
• Interferential Therapy – For relief from deep pain and healing of tissues
• High frequency therapy- For release from skin disinfection, acne treatment

Electrotherapy Applications

Electrotherapy is used for:

• Anti-aging treatments for the face stimulate collagen and elastin
• Deep skin cleansing treatments (through galvanic desincrustation)
• Acne treatment (using high-frequency ozone, which effectively kills bacteria)
• Skin lifting and toning ( for microcurrent facials)

Electrotherapy for the Face

Electrotherapy is a beauty treatment that uses electrical pulses to stimulate facial muscles and nerves. This helps improve skin tone and colour, improve product absorption, nullifies infection of the skin, and promotes rejuvenation, along with improving cellular activities on the skin. It is a popular therapy for anti-aging, firming, and cleansing. It also helps in relieving neurological pain in facial muscles

How It work?

Mild electrical impulses are applied to the skin using electrodes or handheld devices. These pulses mimic the bioelectrical signaling of the body. This boosts lymphatic circulation, improves oxygenation of the skin, and helps penetration of serums and creams. It also helps in collagen and elastin production

Types of Facial Electrotherapy Treatments

1. Galvanic Therapy- It uses deep cleansing (desincrustation) and nourishment (iontophoresis)

Desincrustation uses negative current to soften sebum and aids pore cleansing. Iontophoresis uses a positive current to infuse ingredients like vitamins and serums into deeper layers of the skin. Its benefits include detoxification of skin, reduction of blackheads, hydration, and improvement of skin texture.

Galvanic sessions generally last for 10-20 minutes, but most of the time it is complemented with a full facial treatment, and the treatment can last up to an hour. On average, a course of 12 galvanic treatments is required. The galvanic facial treatment is gentle and pain-free. Mostly, galvanic facials are provided once a month, but it is recommended to repeat the treatment at least once a week

2. Microcurrent Therapy

Microcurrent Therapy uses facial toning and anti-ageing. It’s very low-level electrical impulses that use facial muscles to retrain and lift. The benefits are natural facelift effect, improved skin elasticity and contouring, reduction of fine lines and puffiness, stimulation of collagen and elastin.

Microcurrent therapy effectively

3. High-Frequency Therapy

High frequency therapy involves acne treatment, improved circulation and skin disinfection. The process involves high-frequency currents that pass through a glass electrode to produce ozone on the skin’s surface. Its benefits include destroying acne-causing bacteria, reducing inflammation and pore size, stimulating circulation, and promoting glow, along with post-extraction skin healing

4. EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) Facial

Used for firming and toning. It has slightly stronger impulses, causing muscles to contract and relax and providing a tighter, more sculpted appearance. It helps in the improvement of lymphatic drainage and reduces jawline sagging and sagging of cheeks

• Follow with a mask or LED therapy for increased skin glow.

EMS face sculpting targets specific regions of the face, like the orbicularis oculi muscles of the eyes, to reduce crow’s feet appearance and lift the eyebrows. The cheek muscles, zygomaticus, are targeted for cheekbone enhancement and sagging skin upliftment. Other muscles targeted are platylus muscles of the neck and the frontalis muscles of the forehead. It also targets nasolabial folds, jowls, and marionette lines.

• Channels for electrodes
• Silicone rubber electrode pads
• Pen electrodes
• Intensity control for each channel
• Frequency modulation switch
• Emergency stop switch
•  Preset protocol library
•  Customizable settings of frequency, pulse duration, and waveform

Facial Electrotherapy machine parts

• Channels for electrodes
• Silicone rubber electrode pads. Pads are placed on specific areas of the body that require electrotherapy
• Pen electrodes
• Intensity control for each channel, allowing users to control the strength of electrical stimulation
• Frequency modulation switch
• Emergency stop switch
• A preset protocol library containing treatment guidance
• Customizable settings of frequency, pulse duration, and waveform

Electrotherapy is taught in detail with multiple use cases at UK International London Beauty School

Our beauty course modules

• Regular Beauty Services
• Basic To Advanced Facial Treatments
• Advance Electrotherapy
• Hand & Feet Care
• Skin Science
• Hygiene Technique
• Sterilization & Sanitation
• Product Knowledge
• Personal Grooming
• Eyebrow & Eyelash Artistry
• Facial Massage Techniques
• Body Polishing

Gate Control Theory of Pain and Electrotherapy

Melzalk and Wall in 1965 proposed this theory. According to it, the spinal cord acts as a gate and can control pain signals and inhibit their transmission to the brain, thereby nullifying pain. The spinal cord has large-diameter fibers that transmit touch, pressure, and vibration sensations. When stimulated, they close the dorsal horn of the spinal gate and stop pain. These are called AB fibers.

Then there are small-diameter Aδ and C fibers. These carry pain and temperature signals. If activated, they open the spinal gate and transmit pain signals to the brain. Electrotherapy ( TENS) stimulates these AB fibers and stops pain signals from reaching the brain. They also inhibit Aδ and C fibers, thereby reducing pain signal transmission. The therapy also stimulates the Central Nervous System, thereby stimulating the production of endorphins.

Top beauty schools offering electrotherapy studies include

• LTA School of Beauty – 10–12 months

• ISAS International Beauty School – 10–12 months

• HarbaCare International Cosmetology Academy – 9–12 months

• Orane International Beauty Academy – 6–12 months 

• Anoo’s International Beauty School – 10–12 months

• Lakmé Academy – 6–12 months