New microcurrent facial treatment is hottest cosmetic procedure

Although microcurrent, has been mainstream in Europe for several years, this technology has only recently begun to gain popularity in the United States.

by Linda Leibl — 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to receive compliments on your skin all the time? And imagine how great it would be to have a facial treatment with visible results but no swelling or inflammation, in just one relaxing hour.

The good news is that such a treatment exists for all of us anti-aging seekers. Men and women alike are checking it out and loving the results and the relaxation it brings. Although it has been mainstream in Europe for several years, this technology, called “microcurrent,” has only recently begun to gain popularity in the United States.

The procedure involves the delivery of microcurrent into the face and body through specially designed conducting wands that are applied to specific acupuncture points. The experience is described as wonderfully relaxing and euphoric, with no twitching of the muscles, discomfort or pain whatsoever, and the age-defying results are remarkable.

Although the company I work with has been in the cosmetic industry for 30 years, they did not invent microcurrent cosmetic technology — they only perfected it. Employing a team of physicians, scientists and a NASA engineer, they spent 10 years developing the waveforms that are used, which is the secret to their unique results. Introduced almost four years ago, this innovation was the first and is still the only microcurrent cosmetic procedure to consistently get noticeable, age-defying results that begin with the initial one-hour session.

At a recent three-day workshop on microcurrent, presented by a Chinese company specializing in skincare, modalities and equipment, I asked the CEO of this 20-year-old company if he had heard of “waveforms” within the microcurrent industry. Interestingly, he had not heard of them.

I have long been a leader in my field, owing to my diligence in finding and researching new skincare technologies before they become popular. But this was the first time I discovered such an exciting piece of equipment before a well-known distributor had even heard of it.

When I learned about the equipment I now use, I was so excited I could not sleep for two weeks, and I introduced it to all my clients. Prior to this discovery, I had set an intention to find a new treatment for my clients. Within three days, with the help of a dear friend, I was standing in front of the microcurrent machine! Ask and you shall receive.

What is microcurrent?

Microcurrent is a modality providing electrical current in the millionths of an ampere, called microamperes. It is the electrical current delivered on the closest known magnitude to the electrical current the human body produces on its own; because the currents are nearly identical, it is physiologically safe. Microcurrent, because of its close proximity to your own body’s current, works on more of a cellular level. Research and development into this cellular healing platform has led to the use of microcurrent for aesthetic regeneration.

Microcurrent is as much as 1,000 times weaker than the electrical current used in a TENS unit. In fact, it is such a weak electrical current that it would take nearly one million, or all of the microcurrent devices on the market today, to light up a 40-watt bulb.

How does this age-defying technology rejuvenate the face and body?

As aging occurs, the body loses much of its natural electrical energy, similar to a battery that gradually loses its charge. On a cellular level, this creates a breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin, which leads to the sagging and unevenness of textures. Fine lines, wrinkles, deeper wrinkles and folds become the inevitable results. Beneath the skin, the facial muscles become increasingly contracted over the years due to repetitive facial expressions and the natural pull of gravity, which causes the overall lift on your face to decline.

Microcurrent emits a very subtle electrical frequency that mimics the body’s own electrical signals, thereby increasing the amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the chemical fuel of human cells) by as much as 500 percent. Such increased levels of ATP speed cellular metabolism, resulting in a detoxification that increases the rate of waste and impurity elimination. Protein synthesis and cellular membrane transport are also increased, as well as the reconstitution of collagen and elastin. The results of these processes can be seen in improved skin tone and coloration, the reduction of creases, fine lines and wrinkles, and the firming of sagging areas of the face and body.

The body is literally being recharged back to its more youthful electrical state, as though a draining cell phone battery were plugged into a charger. With each treatment, your ATP levels are stockpiled or stored, which is why microcurrent facial sculpting results are cumulative and improve as a series of treatments progresses.

Linda Leibl, B.S., Cl.Aest., founded Advanced Skin Technology in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1993. www.mybeautifulskin.com, 480-443-3445 or LindaL@myarbonne.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 26, Number 5, October/November 2007.