Explore The Opportunities Electrotherapy

Q) Explore the opportunities electrotherapy would have as a delivery system of active
ingredients and the changes that would impact upon skin cells.
Cosmetic electrotherapy employs low electric currents that are passed through the skin cells to
generate the desired therapeutic modification like skin rejuvenation, pigmentation alteration,
facial micro-lifting and muscle toning (Hunckler,& De Mel, 2017).
The exact mechanism employed by this technique is unclear. However, evidences show that this
technique generates and extracellular electrical potential gradient to develop asymmetrical
electric signals which are implemented on the epidermal cells of the skin surface, to influence the
activities of the cells. The electrical potential of cell membrane is about 70mV. This technique
focuses on the electrical stimulation of the dermal cells by influencing the electrical field of their
cell membranes, using low intensity electrical signals (Hunckler,& De Mel, 2017). This
technique thus results in the up-regulation of the functionality of the cells and can be used to
induce certain modifications in the cellular responses, by influencing the ion channels as well as
the membrane receptors. The intracellular pathways like the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase
and cellular organelles like the Golgi apparatus play a crucial role in carrying out the up-
regulation (Hunckler,& De Mel, 2017). This results in the galvanotaxis response within the
dermal cells along the vector of the low-intensity electric field, supplied. The polarity of this
electric field directly influences the direction of the cell migration. This process thus, helps in the
reduction of the viability of the cells and also has the potential to significantly decrease the
cytotoxic effects (Hunckler,& De Mel, 2017).
At the cellular level, the process tends to activate the migration of the macrophages leading an
increased antibacterial effect, which on a systemic level aids in the process increased vascular