Radiofrequency and RF microneedling

Radiofrequency skin treatments use electrical energy to heat the skin from within, while the surface is kept comfortable. RF microneedling passes the same energy through fine needles and adds a needling recovery. Practitioners use both for the look of firmness and texture, and the practitioner sets the recovery plan.

The protocol is the treating professional's clinical decision.

What it is

Radiofrequency energy meets resistance as it passes through tissue, and that resistance produces heat. Surface devices apply the energy through electrodes on the skin, often with cooling to protect the outer layers. Devices differ in how the energy flows: between two electrodes on the handpiece, or from one electrode to a return pad placed elsewhere on the body.

RF microneedling devices pass the energy through fine needles inserted into the skin, so heat is released beneath the surface along with the needling itself.

Practitioners use radiofrequency for the look of firmness, contour and texture. It is one of the professional treatments explained in this section.

Who performs it

A licensed professional performs it, with the supervision each jurisdiction requires, and needle-based devices are often restricted to physicians or to professionals under their supervision.

What the skin goes through

Published reviews describe a controlled heating of tissue beneath the surface, followed by a tightening and remodeling response that develops gradually over the following months. Results are therefore judged well after the session, not in the mirror that evening.

After a surface treatment, redness and warmth are commonly described and usually settle soon after. After RF microneedling, the skin goes through a needling recovery: redness, swelling, pinpoint marks and sometimes a visible grid pattern for some days. The needling side is explained on the microneedling page.

Recognized risks include burns, blistering, changes in pigment and, less often, changes in facial contour. Heat-based lasers are the other main option for the same goals: see laser resurfacing.

Recovery

The practitioner who performed the treatment describes the expected course, and that description is the reference. After RF microneedling, aftercare usually matches microneedling aftercare: no heat, no makeup, no actives and no exfoliation until each restriction is lifted.

Blisters, crusting, discharge, pain that increases or fever is a reason to call the practitioner the same day. Heat-based results are judged over months, so photographs taken before the first session, in fixed light and at a fixed distance, make the outcome easier to assess.

On topicals used during needle-based procedures, read Do serums used in microneedling have to be sterile?

Questions to ask your practitioner

• Is this a surface radiofrequency treatment or RF microneedling, and why that one for me?
• Who performs it, and what are their license and supervision?
• I have fillers, injectables, metal implants or an implanted device. Does that change the plan?
• Which topical will you use during the procedure, including any numbing product?
• What cooling do you use, and what should I report to you during the session?
• What will my skin look like each day this week, and what would be outside that?
• How many sessions, how far apart, and when should I judge the result?
• When can I restart my normal skincare and my actives?

Caring for skin once it is intact

Once skin is intact, the routine is ordinary topical care:

• Cleanse gently. Comfort Cleansing Milk with cool to lukewarm water.
• Hydrate. One 1.5 ml application from a sealed vial of Hyaluronic Skin Repair NanoSerum on damp skin.
• Moisturize. AquaCell Moisturizer on the face, and Bio-Thread Eye and Neck Cream around the eyes and on the neck, pressed on rather than massaged.
• Protect. Daily broad-spectrum sun protection from any brand. Vegalab does not sell an SPF product.

Related professional protocols

• Mature-skin firmness: a treatment-room protocol for the look of firmness, with its own rules on recent procedures.
• Post-treatment calming: comfort care on intact skin, with clearance from the performing professional.
• At-home maintenance after a professional treatment: the written week after the appointment.

If you also have fillers or neuromodulators, read skincare around injectables.

References

The studies below describe the procedure.

• Beasley KL, Weiss RA. Radiofrequency in cosmetic dermatology. Dermatologic Clinics, 2014;32(1):79-90.