What is the principle of Thermage?

Thermage principle: Different from the selective photothermal principle of laser, radiofrequency current is affected by resistance and converted into heat energy for therapeutic effect. The human body is a current conductor. When radiofrequency current acts on the human body, due to the resistance of the skin and subcutaneous tissue to electromagnetic waves, the water molecules in the tissue cells vibrate, rotate and rub at a speed of millions of times per second to generate heat under the action of electromagnetic waves. The heat energy acts on the target tissue, thereby destroying the cells, vaporizing the cells, or shrinking the tissue.

Thermage is a beauty device that can achieve a stretching and tightening effect on the skin, is highly safe and will not cause wounds. Its principle is a radio frequency technology. Post-Thermage is used to refer to medical cosmetic procedures that use this technology. In 1996, the American company Thermage invented the ThermaCool radiofrequency treatment system. After it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002, radiofrequency technology began to be used in the field of skin beauty. A large number of literatures report that the application of radiofrequency technology has good results in non-exfoliative wrinkle removal, tissue cutting, etc., opening up a new way for the development of minimally invasive or non-invasive technology in cosmetic surgery. Thermage used in the Chinese domestic market mostly refers to the two latest generations of Thermage CPT and Thermage FLX, which are developed from ThermaCool. They are called the fourth generation Thermage and the fifth generation Thermage respectively in the Chinese mainland market.

The dermal layer of adult skin mainly contains type I collagen, which is composed of three helical peptide chains connected by hydrogen bonds. Collagen molecules are then covalently cross-linked to form stable collagen fibers. After being heated, the volume of collagen fibers in the dermis increases and the collagen fiber gaps disappear. The heat-labile hydrogen bonds are destroyed and curled, causing some collagen fibers to fuse with each other, causing the collagen fibers to shrink immediately. In addition, tissue thermal damage can also initiate a wound healing response, that is, stimulate fibroblast activity and release cytokines and growth factors, which promote the formation of collagen and elastin; after 12 weeks, the regularly arranged elastin and collagen fibers in the superficial dermis replace the original elastic tissue, thus producing a sustained skin tightening effect. The expression of type I collagen mRNA was significantly increased, which is strong evidence of collagen regeneration.