Many people do not realize the importance of taking care of their skin. They take care of so many other parts of their bodies but many times, good skin care is ignored. There are many new treatments available today to help keep your skin healthy, young and beautiful, and ultrasound skin treatment is one of them. Research has shown that a new technology using ultrasound treatments on the skin offers many benefits. It does come with concerns and precautions, but after a few treatments, you should be able to notice a younger-looking skin.
What is Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is simply sound waves that can pass through the skin and into tissues. An ultrasound is the use of a transducer that emits sound. When the sound bounces off an organ in the body, it sends this signal back to the transducer, which creates an echo. The echos are translated in the ultrasound machine and create pictures of the organs. Ultrasound waves can pass easily through certain tissues, such as soft tissue. For the skin, the depth in which the ultrasound waves travel is altered, compared with that of a deeper, inner-body organ.
Ultrasound on Skin
Ultrasound has become a popular form of treatment in the area of skin. It is used to treat wounds to promote healing; it increases fibroblast activity, which are the most common cells in skin tissue, and it increases circulation in localized areas. With ultrasound, the higher the frequency of the oscillation of the wand, the more shallow the ultrasound will penetrate. For skin, you would want the ultrasound wand set around 3 MHz. This is what is needed to penetrate the epidermis region of the skin.
How Ultrasound Treatments Work on the Skin
For the skin, with ultrasound treatment there are two types of benefits: thermal and nonthermal. The thermal benefits are that the ultrasound waves can heat the skin tissue up to 40-to-45 degrees celsius. This warming should cause an increase in blood flow, which could directly affect the fibroblasting activity needed to rejuvenate skin and increase collagen production. Collagen is what is lost over the years as you age and without it, your skin sags. Nonthermal benefits are that cellular calcium can be increased. This means there can be a signal, signaling fibroblast cells into repairing tissue damage and wound repair.
Other Benefits of Ultrasound Treatment for Skin
Ultrasound treatments have also been found to exfoliate the skin and smooth it. For this treatment, the skin should be wet with a special deionizing solution. The wand is then slid over the skin to split off dead skin cells. There are also treatments that spot-treat areas of deep wrinkles and lines, and reduce puffiness of the skin. Ultrasound treatments are also known to shrink pore size, as well as help acne problems. For good results, treatments given should be between six and 12 times.
Are Their Dangers Using Ultrasound Treatments
Most all forms of medical treatment usually come with warnings. A few warnings for ultrasound treatments are that a trained technician needs to be the one performing the procedure. Another precaution is that if the wand is set wrong, there can be significant tissue damage. This type of ultrasound treatment should never be used on pregnant women, nor should the wand ever be used dry; only with the predetermined gel. And the wands should never be used on people with pace- makers or any other electrical, medical device.