Electrotherapy-Does it really work?

I had a client the other day ask me about electrotherapy. She saw a local cosmetics store selling a machine (the Face Master) that claimed to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and tighten skin. In beauty school we learned about electrotherapy (Galvanic, Tesla, Faradic and Sinusoidal). We were taught depending on the type of current used, it can "improve" muscle tone, stimulate hair growth, increase rate of metabolism, force an alkali or acid into the skin, harden tissue, etc., etc. Is this true? Our text book chose their words carefully and never said it will do any of these things, but that it's "believed" to. We also learned about how ultraviolet light can kill bacteria that cause zits/skin infections and infrared light can stimulate cell and tissue activity. Is there any truth to this? Has anything been proven? I have seen some very expensive lasers (Hair Max) that claim to stimulate growth for people who are losing hair. If there's truth I would like to offer these services in my salon but I have a feeling it's a lot of placebo effects! Thanks Beauty Brains!


  • I bet its bullshit.
  • TBC: We touched on this in our episode on facial yoga. Here's what we wrote: 

    The only expert counter point of view we could find came from Dr. Neil Sadick, a cosmetic surgeon and clinical professor of dermatology at Weill-Cornell Medical Center, who reportedly has conducted facial stimulation studies and claim that they can improve muscle tone and make the skin appear more supple.

    However, we found that what Dr. Sadick actually did was study the effect of electrical stimulation on facial muscles. (See the references for a link to his paper.)  The study was done on 108 women from their late 30s to late 50s who received electrical facial stimulation for 20 min/day, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, ultrasound measurements showed their zygomatic muscle increased in thickness.

    So there's not much data that shows electrical muscle stimulation has any effect on wrinkles. 

    Heat pulse devices can kill acne bacteria but I don't know of any UV devices for this purpose. 

    There a couple of studies showing hair growth efficacy for laser devices.  
  • Thanks, Randy! I really appreciate your blog/forum!
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