Oxygen Facials

In the beauty industry there is always something newer and possibly better, what seems like, every week. It usually starts on a bigger scale with expensive machines and services and then companies find a way to make it more affordable to the everyday person. But when they do that, the benefits don’t usually transfer. At-home devices are a good example of this happening. So many things that can be done in the treatment room by professionals can now be done at home. I have talked about this more times than I can count and I have done podcast episodes about it too. Most of these devices, I do not recommend using them. Either because it’s a waste of money or because you can cause damage doing it yourself and in some cases, both can happen.
 
So let’s talk about what an oxygen facial actually is.
They claim to infuse oxygen into the skin. The procedure involves an oxygen facial machine that uses a stream of pressurized oxygen to deliver a hyaluronic acid serum or other hydrating moisturizer into your skin.
It’s usually a more basic facial with the oxygen treatment being the highlight. An oxygen machine delivers a continuous flow of oxygen into your skin to help the serum penetrate deeper. It’s not painful or uncomfortable. Oxygen is also naturally antibacterial and has a cooling, calming effect.
 
What are the benefits of this treatment?
  makes skin plumper
  reduces inflammation
  encourages the growth of stem cells and growth factors to help skin heal faster.
 
That is what is being said about the benefits, but is it true?
 
An oxygen facial is a treatment inspired by hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
 
Recommended for wounds that won’t heal or carbon monoxide poisoning, hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the amount of oxygen your body can carry. This helps heal tissues and fight infections.
This is how it works: the person breathes pure oxygen in a pressured chamber, where the air pressure is three times higher than normal air pressure. This means that your lungs will get up to three times more oxygen.
But what does your body do with all that extra oxygen? Your blood carries it all over your body to stimulate the release of growth factors and stem cells – all things that help your body heal.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works, we know this. But does blasting oxygen onto your skin have the same effect?
 
Companies making these oxygen facial machines claim they can reproduce the results of hyperbaric therapy and deliver more oxygen into the skin.
 
There is no scientific proof that the oxygen actually drives the nutrients deeper into the skin or has any other skin benefit.
A review of the scientific literature around oxygen facials shows that the “overall amount of scientific data supporting these methods was found to be scarce, anecdotal, and not well documented.”
 
Your skin will definitely look healthier and more glowing after these treatments. So if that is true, why are you seeing results when it seems like you shouldn’t.
 
Experts have 2 theories…
 

1. Dr Christopher B. Zachary, professor and dermatology department chairman at the University of California, suggests this plumping effect could be an inflammatory response caused by the blast of oxygen. And that’s NOT good for the skin.
2. The oxygen facial machine sprays a serum on your face. This usually contains hyaluronic acid, a well-known skin plumper.

All that extra moisture plumps up skin, so fine lines and wrinkles look smaller. Plus, it makes it softer and gives it a subtle glow.
 
Maybe you have also heard in regards to oxygen facials that they produce free radicals (nasty molecules determined to destroy your skin). Oxygen does generate free radicals but there is no evidence that suggests these treatments cause a problem.
 
Now we know that they can appear to work and the damage is inconsequential but are they still worth it? That depends. They are not cheap. Around $150-$200. And the results last about 4-7 days. I would possibly do this if I was getting married or going to a special event. This would not be what I would do as my monthly facial.
 
What about oxygen facials at home? Waste of money for sure. Oxygen is a gas so you cannot put it in a mask, even though you can find “oxygen-infused masks.” But as I have discussed many times over the years, the beauty industry loves to misinform and mislead.
You would have to dissolve it in perfluorocarbons (man-made compounds containing just fluorine and carbon) and put those in masks and creams.
When you apply the product on your skin, the oxygen starts fizzing out slowly like bubbles in your coke. It’s actually pretty cool to see but, it doesn’t do anything for your skin.
Most of the oxygen gets “wasted” to form bubbles. Very little will penetrate deep enough into your skin to plump it up and heal it.
 
At the beginning of this post I mentioned that companies will start big and then eventually you will start to see the at-home devices. And these oxygen treatments are no different. You can now purchase at-home oxygen infuser. I bought one for my treatment room just to see how it works and what it does for the skin. I like it. It provides extra hydration for my clients and since I’m in California, basically a desert, it’s pretty dry here. We barely had any rain this year so I will be using this device on my clients. It’s easy to use and while it does come with a serum to use with it, you can also use your own serums as long as they are water-based. I have tested this device with most of my serums, but not all, and it works great. That means I can customize how I use this on each client.
 
I don’t believe it’s worth it to pay big money for an oxygen treatment unless you’re going somewhere special but this new at-home device that I have tried is pretty cool. If you used it regularly, your skin would be very well hydrated and would GLOW! I am going to buy another one for me to use at home and I don’t say that lightly. Haha. I will only use what I believe in.
 
This device is on my website if you’re interested to learn more or to purchase. It’s only $135. A great investment for your skin.