Technology guide
Microcirculation and beauty treatments
Microcirculation nourishes the skin and clears away its waste. Understanding its role helps explain the effect of draining and firming treatments on skin radiance and quality.
Definition
Microcirculation refers to the body's smallest blood vessels: arterioles, capillaries and venules. This is where the actual exchanges between blood and tissues take place: oxygen and nutrients arrive, waste leaves.
Capillaries
Capillaries are barely wider than a red blood cell, with a wall made of a single layer of cells. Part of the blood fluid leaves them to bathe the cells and is then reabsorbed; what remains is taken up by the lymphatic system.
Its role for the skin
Good microcirculation supplies fibroblasts with what they need to produce collagen, removes carbon dioxide and waste, and helps regulate temperature. When it slows down, the skin can look dull and tissues retain more water.
Observing in the treatment room
Without medical equipment, a few signs are informative: skin colour (pallor, redness) and the refill test: press for a few seconds and the colour should return quickly. Precise examinations (capillaroscopy, Doppler) are a matter for the doctor.
What treatments do
Pressotherapy relieves the tissues and increases flow during and after the session. Palper-rouler and suction mechanically stimulate the vessels. Radiofrequency acts more slowly, by remodelling the dermis. Combined, these treatments work in the short and the longer term.