In regards to a recent article from The Daily Mail, it has become apparent that numerous women have raised concerns about severe facial deformities resulting from a beauty treatment that has been endorsed by celebrities such as Strictly judge Shirley Ballas and tennis coach Judy Murray.
The Morpheus8 device, which employs heat and minuscule needles to firm the skin, is promoted as an alternative to surgical facelifts. Despite the endorsements of Ballas and Murray regarding its anti-aging effects, there has been a growing wave of concern over its safety. The Mail on Sunday revealed that many women have suffered devastating scars from the £500-a-time treatment.
Others have complained of having seen fat ‘melted’ in their face and feeling ‘violated’, with many paying thousands of pounds to have the scars removed by lasers.
A TikTok user, Nina Takesh has commented on the scarring left by the device after she went for treatment for Melasma.
Causes of adverse reactions
All RF Micro needling devices have different specification and modes of action. Differences range from the amount of energy being used, changing the pulse duration the RF to lower the temperature of the delivered treatment (the on time of the RF when the needles are inserted in the skin), and also there are different types of needles that are used by the various devices, Morpheus 8 mostly utilise insulated needles, where others use non insulated needles.
In a study by the inventor of RF Micro Needing published in 2015 investigated the delivery of bipolar RF energy to the skin through non-insulated microneedles, it was initially believed to generate heat between the needles due to the current flow between the electrodes. In an unexpected turn of events, the study revealed different results. When bipolar RF energy was released through non-insulated needles, tissue coagulation commenced at each end of the microneedle electrodes and developed into a teardrop or cocoon shape as the conduction time increased, reaching up to 300 milliseconds (ms), as the non insulated needle absorbed the surplus energy. This was thought to cause thermal damage to both the epidermis and the dermis, as the current flowed along the entire length of the needle. This phenomenon was attributed to the high energy density at the needle tip and variations in moisture content across different skin layers.
Although this casts a bad light on RF Microneedling devices, other devices don’t cause the reported side effects like the Morpheus8 device.
