Science

Early Approaches to Addressing Sun Damage

The objective of most resurfacing techniques is to remove wrinkles or scars, age spots and rejuvenate the skin. The earliest procedures involved removal of skin layers (dermabrasion) or the application of various chemicals to the skin (chemical peels). In the mid 1990’s lasers became popular for treating skin conditions. The most common lasers used were carbon dioxide and erbium. In simple terms, lasers work by delivering a light of a pure, single color (wavelength) to the skin. The part of the skin targeted by the laser is directly correlated to the color of the laser light and the color of the target in the skin.

Technology Beyond Lasers

In 2005, nitrogen-based plasma became the newest technology in the cosmetic market for reversing sun damage. Rhytec is the first company to employ plasma; a non-chromophore dependent, non-ablative, uniform and predictable thermal energy. Plasma offers the benefits and results consistent with more aggressive laser skin treatments but with the convenience and safety of non-laser procedures.

What is Plasma?

In elementary school science class we are generally taught there are three states of matter; solid, liquid and gas. This designation is not only incomplete and outdated it ignores the most abundant state of matter in the universe; plasma. In 1879 Sir William Crookes, an English physicist, identified the fourth state of matter, now called plasma representing an ionized gas. Naturally occurring plasmas include the sun, stars, comet tails, lightening bolts and the aurora borealis. Fluorescent lamps and neon signs are man-made objects that consist of plasmas.

It is estimated that 99% of the matter in the universe is in the plasma state. Plasma is a collection of free-moving electrons and ions or atoms that have lost electrons. An energy such as thermal, electrical, or light (ultraviolet light or intense visible light from a laser) is needed to strip electrons from atoms to make plasma.

Rhytec Inc. has created a way to combine ultra-high frequency (UHF) electrical energy, much like the energy in a microwave with nitrogen gas within a high temperature ceramic nozzle to generate plasma. In a cosmetic application like anti-aging treatments, the generated plasma impacts the skin’s surface gently as thermal energy that is fully absorbed by all of the skin layers rather than relying on a target.

Plasma Advantages

The unique and significant advantage of plasma energy is that heat stimulates remodeling of the skin’s architecture, replacing old damaged collagen with significant amounts of new collagen—the key to quality, long-lasting improvement. Unlike other skin-rejuvenation treatments that ablate the skin, plasma does not ablate but leaves the skin surface intact after a procedure. It works via an entirely different mode of action compared to lasers due to the unique thermal profile being effective at and below the skin’s surface.

Following three years of clinical testing and more than two years of physician use, plasma energy has demonstrated unparalleled improvement in wrinkling, tightening, skin texture and tone, acne scars and surface discoloration in a single procedure. Clinical studies show a continuing regenerative process producing sustainable improvements in photodamage for up to two years following treatment.