Radiofrequency microneedling is explored as a powerful, next-level approach to skin rejuvenation combining controlled micro-injury with heat-based energy to stimulate collagen, improve texture, and support deeper structural change. By going beyond traditional microneedling, this treatment can reach multiple layers of the skin, influencing not only surface quality but also firmness and, in some cases, underlying tissue.

Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault, Dr. Harpreet Lotay, and Amanda Manholt break down why outcomes can vary depending on the device, treatment depth, and technique, and why understanding these differences is key to setting realistic expectations. From patient selection and contraindications to managing discomfort and downtime, they emphasize the importance of individualized treatment plans and experienced providers. With a clear, educational lens, the conversation highlights how this treatment can deliver meaningful results when approached thoughtfully and safely.

Key Takeaways

1. Radiofrequency energy enhances traditional microneedling by stimulating deeper collagen responses.
2. Heat shock proteins play a key role in the skin’s regenerative process following treatment.
3. Device selection and treatment settings directly impact outcomes and recovery time.
4. Certain conditions like keloid scarring or implanted devices require careful screening or avoidance.
5. Provider experience and technique are critical for both safety and optimal results.

Disclaimer: The Beauty Equation is for informational purposes only and not medical advice. This podcast does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making medical or aesthetic decisions. Information may change as the field evolves.

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About the Hosts:

Dr. Harpreet Lotay is a family physician specializing in aesthetic medicine. She is the founder of Sona MD in Kamloops, BC, and serves as Chief Medical Officer at Bios Wellness Clinics. Known for her artistic approach and comprehensive non-surgical treatments, Dr. Lotay combines medical expertise with an eye for natural results. She is also an educator, a national trainer and holds academic appointments where she shares her knowledge in clinical dermatology and aesthetics. You can get in touch with her on Instagram @hlotaymd

Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault is a family physician specializing in aesthetic medicine, women’s health, and psycho-education. She brings a holistic, whole-person perspective to her clinical work, blending science with a deep understanding of the mind-body connection.

She is also the founder of Reclaim The Pink Within, a movement that empowers women to rediscover themselves during life’s most transformative stages. In addition, she is passionate about medical education and mentors the next generation of family physicians through her work with the department of Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

You can connect with her on Instagram @drchristellemd

Amanda Manholt is a clinic manager, patient consultant, and co-host of The Beauty Equation Podcast. With over 30 years of experience in beauty, aesthetics, and leadership, she has guided patients and teams alike toward confidence, growth, and empowerment. Known for her ability to connect with people and simplify the often-overwhelming world of aesthetics, Amanda brings a warm, practical, and relatable perspective to every conversation. You can find her on Instagram @crowsfeetandconfidence.

Websites

https://sonamd.ca/

https://www.getyourpinkbackproject.com/

It's way to really boost collagen and

it works through the process of inducing heat shock protein.

So we know that when we deliver energy into the skin

at particular levels, if we get to temperatures between

60 to 70, we can create this

biological reaction or response, which includes

production of collagen as well as improvement in the

extracellular matrix. So that, that, that's kind of the

premise behind radio frequency microneedling. And of

course, the actual physical microneedling part of it also helps

with texture. But these machines do vary in what they do,

and that variation will depend on how deep the energy is

delivered and how that energy is delivered as far

as the depth and the insulation of the

needles themselves. Welcome back to the beauty equation. I'm Dr.

Christel Oliver Dusseau. And I'm Dr. Harpreet Lotte.

And I'm Amanda Manholt. And today we thought we

would focus on radiofrequency microneedling. Our episode

on microneedling had a lot of positive feedback,

so we thought it'd be useful to go over what it is,

how it works, and when you might consider to have a treatment with

radiofrequency microneedling. So, Amanda, do you want to

maybe start us off with how that might come up in the

consultation? Okay. Well,

radio frequency micro needling is a

mouthful, but more than a mouthful, it's a great treatment for

people that are looking to improve collagen

production in their skin. So I

often, you know, people will say, well, what's the difference between microneedling

and radio frequency microneedling? And

I always say radio frequency microneedling is like it's the big sister,

you know, it's the big gun. So you're getting that added benefit

of the electrical stimulation on top

of the mechanical benefit of microneedling.

And I know Dr. Lotte Harpreet, she can talk about sort of

the different pathways in which our skin is

stimulated to make collagen. Yeah, for sure.

So I find that when people

come in, they often will have heard of a brand

name or have heard, you know, that they

often will say, well, I saw this ad, or I heard.

And they actually say radio frequency. So I think the

marketing for those platforms has

been effective, but many times they don't actually know

what the modality actually is or what it actually

does. They just sort of know it's going to help them look

younger. So to Amanda's point and how what she said,

that it's way to really boost collagen and

it works through the process of inducing heat Shock protein.

So we know that when we deliver energy into the skin

at particular levels, if we get to temperatures between

60 to 70, we can go create

this biological reaction or response, which includes

production of collagen as well as improvement

in the extracellular matrix. So that's kind

of the premise behind radio frequency microneedling.

And of course, the actual physical microneedling part of it

also helps with texture. But these machines do

vary in what they do, and that variation will depend on

how deep the energy is delivered and how that

is delivered, as far as the depth and

the insulation of the needles themselves.

Yeah, I think that's a really good summary because I'll often break it down to,

like, well, how is it different from normal microneedling? And

to me, it's like that next level above. So that microneedling

that we talked about previously is much more superficial in terms of that

collagen induction. And with the radio frequency, that heat,

you're bringing in a second pathway to cause some

remodeling at the level of the dermis, that deeper skin layer. And what I find

quite useful about it is that there are different

depths that the needle can go to, which is really important

when you're thinking about the skin on the face, because around the eyes, the

skin is very, very thin. We'll need a slightly more

superficial pattern, whereas other areas of the face, you might need a

bit deeper. And then a lot of time, if there's a bit of fat around

underneath the jawline, having those needles that go into the

fatty layer can induce fat cell apoptosis. So

essentially burning off the fat. So it's got multiple

applications. And like we discussed the

previous time, anything that induces

bioregeneration within you takes time, so you're not going to see a result right

away. And you generally will need multiple treatments.

There is a bit of downtime with this one, but

I find it's not too bad. It's quite comparable to the

microneedling itself, considering the amount of energy that we do use.

And are there anything. Is there anything that you tend to bring up with patients

to warn them if they're preparing for this type of treatment? Either Amanda or

Heartfreet? Yeah.

It again, will depend on the platform that you're using.

Right. So if the person is using microneedling

radio frequency very superficially, then

they may actually have something similar to men's or

some superficial epidermal changes where

they will have some downtime that can be five or six days

or more, and then the precautions are going to be the Same as

for any laser. That particular machine, if it's very

superficial, will not be a good choice for people with

highly melanated skin. And you're not going to want to expose yourself

to sun. And it's not good for people

who don't have good wound healing. So it really is

so dependent on the platform itself. Whereas if you're using

a platform like Morpheus 8, where the depths are quite variable

and you're treating deeper dermal layers, you're not using this

resurfacing tip. The precautions are much less

so when I had that particular treatment, I

had really no downtime. I went out for dinner

that night and nobody was the

wiser. Of course, I didn't have any

change to my face or my skin. That happens over a number

of months, as you mentioned, mentioned. And then you have machines that are sort of

in between where you're doing both layers. So again, it's so very,

very, very machine dependent. And it's almost a shame to clump

them all into one. One thing just based on the

modality, because it really does the

machine, the platform matters. Yeah. And that kind of

like light base treatment. So we have multiple

different lasers. It's the same thing with radio frequency microneedling. Yeah, exactly. And that's

something in the consultation, depending on where you go.

And I know myself, when I had my treatment, I had very

little downtime as well. First and third time, just a bit of

redness in the skin and almost that sandpapery. But the second time I had some

bruising around the eyes, which can happen. And so there was a bit of swelling

with that, but it settled down. So I find

it can be a very, very useful tool. Pain is a

question that often comes up with

patients and I have found a lot of variab

in terms of pain tolerance. What do you do in the

clinic in terms of managing that pain?

So I think, for one thing, talking people through what to

expect. This is a very new environment for most people,

so it's important that they know what's going to happen. So we let people know.

Well, first we're going to put numbing on your face and we

cover the entire area that we're going to treat. We're going to let that

sit for 45 minutes or up to an hour

and then remove the numbing. And you'll also have the choice of using

something to help with nerves because, you know when you're sitting in that

position, when you're having something done that's slightly annoying,

verging on uncomfortable

not so much the anxiety, but I get a little antsy. It's hard for me

to go get my nails done because I can't sit there that long. Right.

So people can. Yeah, I got

stuff to do. So having something to help people

relax, it helps us. There are clinics that will use

things like Pronox, which is laughing gas, which will help.

Same thing, helps people relax. And then

for very, very, very deep

treatments. So we use radio frequency for deeper types of treatments

to melt fat. We sometimes can use nerve

blocks as well. And there are treatments

that go deeper. Potenza, those

ones will need nerve blocks because they can be

uncomfortable. But then it runs the gamut. So again,

depending on the platform, there are some radio frequency platforms where

they say you don't even need numbing. So very

variable. So there are ways to manage discomfort.

And I think for people, it's important to have that discussion. If that's top of

mind for you. Yeah, I think overall

it's a very good treatment in the right patient. Like we've said, with

multiple other treatments. And then also this one,

you really require a technician that knows what they're doing because

there's a bit of science and dexterity behind it and

understanding the anatomy. So having a technician

who is very comfortable with the machine and very good at assessing faces

can make a big difference in terms of treatment outcomes and

also reducing risk of adverse events. Is

there anyone who shouldn't have this treatment?

I think that if you have a history of keloids and poor

wound healing, I would steer you away from anything that

you're having this type of energy delivered through

needles, that's one

thing. And then if you are highly melanated, I

would be cautious about the type of microneedling

you're having done. And again, it becomes even more paramount the

experience of the provider. And, um. And then

depending on the machine, some machines require a grounding

pad because you are creating energy or electricity within the

skin. That's the energy modality. It's not laser. So

if you have an implanted device, especially near or

around, because we can do body treatments with radio frequency too, we

would not want to treat you if you have an implanted electrical

device and some machines that require grounding, you

cannot have it done if you have an implanted device at all. So

that. That's the main thing. And of course, we still don't

tend to treat people who are pregnant or breastfeeding just because there's some

ancillary things that you might do, like medication or topicals

that we can't necessarily do when you're pregnant or breastfeeding.

So that, that would be another precaution. But

and I did want to speak to your point about

technician, the importance of technician, because there's

been a lot of noise in the market around

adverse events, effects with microneedling,

specifically Morpheus. It's a very powerful platform

and it's available for a very wide

variety of people with technical capacity to buy.

So that's, that's created some issues. So

it's very, very technician dependent. Somebody who, as you said,

knows the depth of the layers, knows how the face ages,

where you want to keep fat, where you want to treat fat.

That's so, so, so key. And so, you know, we're

really blessed to have somebody who's done one

of the most numbers of treatments in North

America actually. So that's the kind of experience you

want to look for and something else to ask about as well. Yeah,

because it's unlike the microline we previously talked about. This

targets multiple different layers. There's electricity. Like you mentioned,

the risk to burn the skin if you use too much energy in the

wrong level. And you want to be able to

achieve some skin tightening, maybe a bit of loss of fat, but in the

right area. And overall

it really does help that texture in the skin as well too.

So it's a tool that in the right hands has

wonderful, wonderful results. Yeah, it's a fantastic tool

and I'm so glad we have it in our armamentarium because

there's nothing else that we have, like no laser that goes that

deep. So we can get this sort of lifting,

tightening, collagen stimulation with very little downtime.

So it's one of my personal favorites and

I hope we've demystified that a little bit for people today.

Yeah, I think we've kind of covered most of the information that

you need to know if it's something that you're looking into. And the

conversation will probably go in a little bit more depth on a personal one to

one assessment. Whatever clinic you attend to. And as always, if you have

questions about this episode, feel free to send us an email which

is info at the Beauty Equation. Com.