Pigmentation occurs either as a result of UV exposure (sun, sunbed) or as a result of inflammation (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation). Treatments such as laser, radiofrequency, infrared, ultrasound, plasma skin resurfacing, radiofrequency microneedling, HIFU etc can only cause hyperpigmentation as a result of inflammation. When a treatment, such as the above, is delivered at extreme intensity, either by mistake or by design, the epidermis is burned, damaged or irritated, leading to inflammation, which quite often results in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation…
Are radiofrequency / ultrasound safe for dark / black skin?
Unlike lasers, which work by heating melanin or other chromophores (light absorbing chemicals or structures inside the skin), radiofrequency works with electricity and ultrasound works mechanically, with sound.. The electrical properties of the skin are exactly the same in light skinned or dark skinned people, so skin colour plays no role in radiofrequency treatment (RF is basically high frequency electrical currents). In much the same way, the mechanical (acoustic) properties of the skin are exactly the same in light skinned…