By Mary Hayse, Licensed Esthetician, Infuse Skin and Body
Have you ever heard of a “Galvanic” skin treatment? Interestingly enough, the Galvanic skin treatments have been around for over 50 years. Galvanic skin treatments are gaining new interest, as new ways of administering them and better products are being designed to affect the skin. Galvanic skin treatments consist of both a negative and positive treatment. Negative galvanic skin treatments, also called anaphoresis, cause an alkaline reaction. They introduce a negatively charged substance into the skin. The negative galvanic skin treatment dissolves tightly impacted debris in the pores and liquefies the deposits of sebum and dead cells accumulated in the follicles. Positive galvanic skin treatments, also referred to as iontophoresis, cause an acidic reaction. They introduce positively charged substances into the skin. The positive galvanic skin treatments firm the skin, tighten pores, promote new cell growth, and soothe the tissue.
To understand how galvanic skin treatments work, you have to understand the skin’s purpose. Skin is the largest organ of the body. Its function is to protect the body and act as a repellent. Because it acts as a repellent, not everything we put on it is absorbed; so many products just lay on the surface of the skin. If our skin was completely absorbent, our bodies would drown every time we took a shower. The only way we can truly affect the lower layers of our skin is to draw skin care solutions into the skin. Many skin care products now have mechanisms to do just that. Another effective and non-invasive way to accomplish this is through electricity. Galvanic skin treatments are a form of electrical current used to treat skin. For skin and facial treatments, the strength of this current is measured in milliamperes, or 1/1000th of an ampere. This is a very low-strength current, which is both safe and effective for skin care product application.
Negative Galvanic Skin Treatment
The negative galvanic skin treatment introduces a chemical solution into the skin by anaphoresis. This is the use of a negative pole to introduce a negatively charged solution into the skin, causing an alkaline reaction. It is typically only used on problem skin. Skin that has many blackheads, milia and pustules. As the alkaline solution penetrates the pores, it dissolves the tightly impacted debris in the pores and liquefies the deposits of sebum and dead cells accumulated in the follicles. For example, if you have heavy grease on your hands, you would use a soap that is alkaline. This alkaline soap dissolves the grease. The alkaline reaction works in much the same way to dissolve the debris and deposits in the pores and causes the following:
- Relaxes and softens: As the pores relax and the tissue softens, impacted debris will begin to breakdown. Scar tissue will also soften and refine.
- Vaso-dilator: Blood flow will increase, breaking up and carrying away toxins. The increased circulation will nourish the skin, improving dry, pale or discolored skin. It also acts as an irritant, loosening debris and carrying it to the surface.
After a negative galvanic skin treatment, a short positive galvanic skin treatment should be performed to kill bacteria and slightly constrict the pores.
Positive Galvanic Skin Treatment
The positive galvanic skin treatment introduces a chemical solution into the skin by iontophoresis. This is the use of a positive pole to introduce positively charged solutions into the skin, causing an acidic reaction. The positive galvanic skin treatment causes the following:
- Vaso-constrictor contracts the blood vessels
- Germicidal: Acid is destructive to bacteria and is termed germicidal
- Contracts pores: Because the acid reaction is created in the tissue, the consequences will be a contraction of pores.
- Firms and refines: Pores contract, the tissue becomes firmer and the pores are refined.
In order for a galvanic skin treatment to be effective, the correct products must be applied to the skin during treatment. The selected products must be ionized into positive and negative components and be maintained as ions during the treatment. The size of the ion is important so that it can be transported through the skin. The amount of substances used must be limited so that the pores don’t become blocked. The product must be water-soluble because electricity is only conducted through water.
For instance, one of the recommended galvanic machines is called Iderm. This machine takes advantage of all of the steps necessary to produce an effective galvanic skin treatment. It has been featured on “The Doctors” and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
Have you wanted to do something to make your skin look and feel better? Make an appointment today at Infuse Skin and Body for a consultation to determine which skin care treatment is best for you. Call 309-691-5901 or visit www.infuseskinandbody.com
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