The cool mixture can be placed in an ice tray for subsequent freezing. When performing cryomassage at home, it is recommended to follow the following tips:
- If your epidermis tends to lose moisture quickly, popsicles are a good choice. It is recommended to freeze pieces of fruit in molds or ordinary small plastic bags;
- Oily skin will love nutritious ice with pieces of tomatoes or strawberries. Citrus fruits will have a refreshing and tonic effect;
- An infusion of chamomile will improve the condition of normal and combination skin;
- A decoction of marigolds and burdock, turned into ice, will restore the vitality of oily skin, minimize the size of pores, and eliminate inflammation;
- Never use tap water. It is better to purchase mineral or distilled water. Some cosmetologists advise using melt water, because it has special healing properties. In fact, this option is only possible for villagers, because in a metropolis, snow is not an environmentally friendly product.
Why nitrogen?
Nowadays oxygen peeling is more popular. Everything is more or less clear with it - this chemical element is vital for skin cells. But why nitrogen? After all, there is not so much of it in the human body. Let's remember the basics of anatomy.
Despite the fact that nitrogen in the body is really only 2.5% (which is actually quite a lot!), it is present in absolutely all proteins. Moreover, it is their necessary structural component. It is also found in hemoglobin, some hormones and neurotransmitters. It turns out that without it, like without oxygen, our form of life is simply impossible.
Naturally, the lack of this element immediately affects your appearance and well-being. And since the skin is the largest organ, it is one of the first to suffer and changes are most noticeable there.
Fortunately, we get most of our nitrogen compounds from food. But when cleansing your face with liquid nitrogen, there is a possibility of its direct penetration into the skin.
Self cryomassage
At home, you can perform facial cryomassage yourself. In this case, liquid nitrogen is replaced with ordinary ice cubes.
To avoid infections, it is better to use boiled water or still mineral water to make ice. The effect of the procedure will be greater if you add fruit or plant juice, essential oils to the water, or make a decoction of medicinal herbs.
How to massage with ice cubes? It is better to perform a home procedure after a shower or bath, when your face is steamed. Ice should be applied along the massage lines of the facial skin, touching the neck and décolleté area. The ice should be slightly melted and slide easily over the skin. Continue the procedure for no more than 5 minutes. After the massage, you need to apply any nourishing cream to your face.
Home cryomassage will not be able to get rid of severe skin defects. But this procedure has obvious advantages:
- Relieving swelling and inflammation
- Lifting effect
- Reduce age spots and fine wrinkles
- Eliminates oily shine
- Normalization of metabolism
Indications
Since the lifting effect of peeling with liquid nitrogen is insignificant and appears only after 10-15 procedures, and then with slight sagging of the skin, today it is most often prescribed exclusively for medicinal purposes. But here it really helps with minimal risks and at a very affordable price to cope with problems such as:
- papillomas and warts;
- inflamed acne;
- demodicosis;
- shallow pigmentation;
- greatly enlarged pores;
- oily or dry seborrhea;
- loss of skin tone;
- pale or unhealthy complexion;
- its uneven tone.
It can also be carried out after manual facial cleansing for the purpose of disinfection and quick closing of pores. Sometimes nitrogen cryomassage is prescribed after plastic surgery. It removes swelling well and accelerates tissue regeneration and wound healing.
Types of cryotherapy
Due to the fact that the procedure has a wide range of applications, there are several types of it that are suitable in certain cases. Local cryotherapy, general, home and cryomassage. Some of them are prescribed specifically for osteochondrosis. The absence of negative effects and a small list of contraindications makes cold physiotherapy irreplaceable.
Local technique
Local cryotherapy for osteochondrosis allows you to painlessly stop destructive processes.
Local cold is applied directly to the patient's body. The temperature used is from +11 degrees to -30 Celsius. Gives an anti-inflammatory effect, relieves swelling and pain, tones the skin. Restores the epidermis, heals wounds and keloids and stops inflammatory processes. It is carried out painlessly and safely. This is what is prescribed for osteochondrosis.
General cryotherapy
Exposure to liquid nitrogen is carried out in special cryo-saunas. A person enters there only wearing underwear made from natural cotton material. Woolen felt boots are put on the feet, and mittens are put on the hands. The therapy causes vasospasm, dilates them and opens collaterals. Gives a relaxing effect on nerve endings, muscles and skin. The procedure lasts at least 2 minutes, and the skin is cooled to -2 degrees Celsius. Can be performed daily, and the course consists of 15 procedures. After therapy, you feel light, cheerful, and your mood improves. Immediately after the end of cryotherapy, redness appears on the body due to vasodilation. For diseases of the spine, such as osteochondrosis, general therapy is also suitable and requires fewer procedures, but is less effective locally in the affected areas.
Home cryotherapy
Therapy is carried out in two ways: immersion in an ice bath or the use of ice compresses. Compresses are available at a medical supply store or can be made from bags of water. It is not advisable to carry out this procedure before and immediately after meals. It will be difficult for the body to digest food. Cold rubdowns normalize the temperature of the whole body, refresh and invigorate. For osteochondrosis, you can apply compresses to the spine, but first you need to discuss this with your doctor. A local technique carried out in a medical center will still be more effective.
It is not recommended to keep an ice compress on one area for more than 3 minutes.
Cryomassage
The action is carried out using a device that locally applies liquid nitrogen, or with a wooden stick with a cotton pad wrapped on top. She is dipped in nitrogen and massaged on the face, neck, décolleté and scalp. In the first case, cryotherapy removes tumors on the body, in the second, cryomassage is used for rejuvenation and treatment of hair. Therapy lasts no more than 10 minutes. Before the procedure, the skin must be dry and not moisturized. Thanks to cryomassage, complexion improves, pores close, facial wrinkles smooth out. The sensations during the procedure are a little tingling, and afterward swelling and redness appear for about a day. This therapy is not suitable for osteochondrosis and other joint cartilage diseases.
Advantages
Facial cleansing performed with liquid nitrogen is a kind of cryomassage. Certain areas of the skin are rapidly cooled to ultra-low temperatures for 20-30 seconds - from -150 to -170°C. This provokes and accelerates various biochemical processes and allows one to obtain therapeutic effects.
Cosmetologists love liquid nitrogen for its undeniable advantages:
- the speed and ease of performing the procedure - it takes no more than 10-15 minutes;
- versatility and hypoallergenic - can work with almost any skin type and condition;
- pronounced antibacterial and antimycotic effect - at such temperatures the skin becomes almost sterile;
- rapid narrowing of pores - due to which the skin texture is evened out;
- stimulation of tissue regeneration – gives the effect of rapid cell rejuvenation;
- activation of subcutaneous blood circulation - creates an additional flow of oxygen and refreshes the complexion;
- acceleration of lymph flow - allows you to instantly get rid of swelling and cleanse the skin of toxins.
In addition, with a sharp change in temperature, blood vessels and capillaries narrow and then greatly expand, and thus strengthen their walls.
In fact, the procedure performs several functions at once: toning, treatment, rejuvenation and tightening of the skin. And all this without special equipment and expensive cosmetics!
How do you know that the procedure is completely safe?
The effectiveness of cryotherapy with ice is based on the temperature difference that occurs when ice blocks touch the surface of the face. Passing the test of heat and cold, the vessels receive special training aimed at strengthening the walls and increasing turgor. As a result of exposure to cold, tissue trophism significantly improves, muscle fibers are freed from toxins and acquire an elastic original structure.
Before the procedure, it is important to conduct a test, the meaning of which is to apply a piece of ice to the elbow bend line. If no reactions are observed after the test, you can safely proceed to cryotherapy.
After a massage with ice, you should not immediately go outside. It is necessary to give the skin time to rest and adapt to changes in temperature. Also, do not get carried away with cosmetic procedures during the intense summer heat.
Flaws
Naturally, cleansing the face with liquid nitrogen also has its disadvantages. The main thing is that it cannot cope with deep pimples, comedones and blackheads. This is a superficial, although very intense effect on the skin.
In addition, during work, patients feel a fairly strong burning and tingling sensation. And here it all depends on the individual pain threshold. Some people tolerate the procedure very easily, but for others it seems unbearable and the cosmetologist has to look for other cleaning methods.
Indications and contraindications for the procedure
Indications for facial cryomassage:
- Presence of facial wrinkles
- “Skin” problems – oily shine, enlarged pores, acne, age spots
- Loose facial skin
- Unnaturalness, uneven complexion
- Swelling on the face
- Presence of dark circles under the eyes
- Post-acne
Despite the effectiveness and safety of the procedure, there are some contraindications to cryomassage:
- Vessels close to the skin (rosacea)
- Herpes, inflammation on the face
- Headaches, nervous system diseases, epilepsy
- Allergy to cold
- Liquid nitrogen intolerance
During pregnancy, facial cryomassage is not prohibited. But it is better to consult a doctor or postpone the procedure, because... Pregnant women may react differently to cold, especially in the early stages.
Preparation and execution
The procedure does not require special preliminary preparation. In the absence of contraindications, it can be performed immediately after consultation. The rehabilitation period is only a few hours. There is no significant peeling of the skin.
Before the procedure
There are also no significant restrictions before the procedure. I do not recommend that my clients use decorative cosmetics when going to the salon. In any case, it will have to be washed off and can be reapplied no earlier than a day later.
You should also not use scrubs that are too harsh, especially stone scrubs. They leave micro-scratches on the skin and redness increases after the procedure. At least a week should pass after chemical peels and injection techniques. After plastic surgery – two.
Execution technique
Cryomassage or nitrogen facial cleansing can be performed contact or non-contact. In the first case, the cells in the frostbite zone die and are later replaced by completely new ones, and in the second, they begin to divide more actively. An experienced cosmetologist for problem skin will combine these two options to get the best possible results.
The step-by-step procedure looks like this:
- the patient's hair is tucked under a bandage or cap;
- lay him down on the couch;
- cover the upper body and neck with a napkin;
- perform a thorough make-up removal;
- wash the skin with water and gel;
- wipe with non-alcohol lotion;
- Dip a cotton swab on a holder (reed) into a thermos with liquid nitrogen;
- smoothly mix it along the massage lines at a short distance from the skin;
- in places with papillomas, warts or acne, delay for up to 30 seconds.
No additional skin treatment is performed after the end of the session. But on a hot day, rain or frosty weather, you can go outside no earlier than 15 minutes later.
Recovery
Even if the procedure technology has not been violated, nitrogen cleansing is a severe stress for the skin, to which it reacts with severe redness. I always advise you to immediately go home after it and return to your business only the next day. Moreover, on the first day the face is very sensitive to any negative external influences.
On the second day, a slight feeling of skin tightness may appear. A high-quality moisturizer will help cope with it. If it contains aloe vera extract, it will speed up tissue regeneration and enhance the cleaning effect.
When using the contact method in these areas, the skin will soon begin to peel off. Under no circumstances should the formed crusts be peeled off. And if there are too many of them, then you can carefully do gommage or superficial chemical peeling, but not earlier than on the fourth day.
Also, your face will have to be protected from active sun for a couple of weeks, especially in summer or winter in the mountains and/or snowy areas. After any cleansing, the protective functions of the skin are temporarily weakened and ultraviolet radiation can trigger the appearance of pigmentation.
Indications for physical peeling
The procedure is aimed at rejuvenating and regenerating facial skin. Natural age-related changes lead to aging of the skin, which causes an unpleasant sallow tone and wrinkles of varying intensity. Physical peeling can treat most aesthetic defects at an early stage.
Cryotherapy is most suitable for women under 40 years of age as a regular care procedure . Cold literally freezes the aging process, smoothing and cleansing the skin.
For women over 40 years old, physical peeling is more suitable as a preliminary procedure before plastic surgery. Over the years, the elastic properties of the epidermis lose their strength, so the effectiveness of peeling is not so noticeable.
The main indications for physical peeling are considered to be:
- puffiness under the eyes;
- facial wrinkles near the eyes and mouth area;
- blurry oval face;
- unhealthy sallow complexion;
- pigment spots and traces of acne (acne).
Cosmetologists recommend physical peeling to patients who do not have pronounced aesthetic and cosmetic defects. Cryotherapy can be part of your regular facial care routine. Homemade masks using an ice cube will speed up blood flow and make the skin firm and elastic. But the effectiveness of home treatment is several times lower than when using professional hardware . In addition, only a cosmetologist can correctly select the intensity of cold exposure. Therefore, to achieve a pronounced lifting and rejuvenation effect, it is best to contact a specialist.
Contraindications
You will be surprised to learn that there are quite a few contraindications to nitrogen cryo-cleansing of the face. This is primarily due to the high intensity of exposure to ultra-low temperatures on the skin. The procedure is not performed when:
- pronounced rosacea;
- epilepsy and mental disorders;
- active form of the herpes virus;
- any acute inflammatory processes;
- elevated body temperature;
- recent strokes;
- chronic and acute migraines;
- respiratory diseases;
- violations of skin integrity;
- open form of tuberculosis.
The doctor determines the presence of contraindications during a preliminary conversation with the patient. If you are not asked a single question about your health, you should doubt the qualifications of such a cosmetologist.
Contraindications for physical facial peeling
Cold treatment is considered a low-traumatic procedure, but still has a number of contraindications, in the presence of which it is better to refuse such a cosmetic procedure. These include chronic and temporary diseases:
- of cardio-vascular system;
- neurological changes;
- inflammatory processes of the skin and blood;
- diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2;
- pregnancy and lactation;
- epileptic seizures.
In addition, it is not advisable to try deep physical peeling on patients who are prone to skin scarring. People with poor blood clotting should also look for an alternative method of rejuvenation, since such manifestations negatively affect the duration of the recovery period.
Summing up
In my opinion, for all its advantages, cleaning with liquid nitrogen is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Unless it is performed on modern salon equipment with a jet, and not with a cotton swab. But this is a completely different story and it belongs to the category of anti-aging procedures.
According to my patients, significant results become noticeable only after 6-8 sessions. Even taking into account their low cost, the price for the course is rather high. For the same money, your face can be put in order faster with chemical peeling or one of the hardware techniques.
My personal recommendation is to search the Internet for photos, videos and comments from real patients before making a decision. Better yet, talk to someone who has already undergone this procedure. Personally, I offer it only to teenagers and then in rare cases or as a method of cauterizing papillomas and warts.
If you still have questions about nitrogen facial cleansing, write them in the comments.
History of the direction
At the end of the 20th century, there was a qualitative change in the approach to using the rejuvenating effect of cold on humans. It was then that innovative technologies replaced ice water and its frozen analogues. In official medicine, the concept of “cryotherapy” appeared 100 years ago. doctor Sebastian Knein is considered its creator .
This type of therapy was born unexpectedly. The doctor, being seriously ill with one of the pulmonary diseases, swam in the icy waters of the Danube, after which he suddenly began to recover.
Article on the topic
The benefits of cold. What is treated in an ice sauna?
Japan is considered the birthplace of modern cryotherapy. It was the doctors of the Land of the Rising Sun who were faced with the task of finding an opportunity to restore mobility in joints and improve the well-being of patients. To solve this problem, they decided to use gaseous media at low temperatures. And this is precisely what led to almost a revolution in the medical field. Cryotherapy has literally conquered the world, giving people health, bringing youth and strengthening the immune system.
Today, cold therapy is used primarily in dermatology to treat skin lesions and other defects. Violetta Zinovkina, a dermatovenerologist and cosmetologist at the clinical diagnostic department (branch of GlavUpDK under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) , told AiF.ru about how it works and the benefits of cold when affecting the body .
Cryotherapy is based on the use of liquid nitrogen, which, due to its extremely low boiling point (-190 ° C), has a positive effect on the skin.
With short-term exposure to liquid nitrogen (about 10-15 seconds), the vessels first sharply narrow and then sharply expand. At the same time, the process of oxygen enrichment and cell restoration occurs in the skin. This effect explains the improvement in skin condition after a course of cryotherapy, the reduction of pores, and the healing of inflamed areas.
If the exposure to liquid nitrogen lasts more than 30 seconds, the tissue freezes and, as a consequence, their death. Healthy tissue then forms at the damaged site. In this way, neoplasms (warts, papillomas) are removed. When removing warts, one session is not enough; freezing the affected tissue is carried out 3-5 times with an interval of several days.
Cryotherapy is also effective in the treatment of various forms of acne and facial seborrhea. In addition to the death of affected tissues, regeneration processes are activated and skin tone increases. As a result, the skin becomes firmer and smoother.
The liquid nitrogen treatment method is quite painless and is characterized by a slight tingling sensation at the site of application by the applicator. The impact can be either mechanical (using an applicator in the form of a cotton swab) or hardware (using a special applicator).
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