“In the last 25+ years, I have intensively studied ultrasound for both physiotherapy and aesthetic purposes and have assessed all the major equipment in both fields. Physiotherapy ultrasound is typically high frequency (1MHz) and low power (10W), which is totally different to ultrasound used for, say, cellulite reduction, which is typically low frequency (<90kHz) and much higher power (>25W). The two types of ultrasound are quite different in both their technology, their effects and way of working.”
Ultrasonic cavitation for cellulite reduction vs physiotherapy ultrasound: what are the differences?
Is there any difference between cavitation ultrasound used in beauty / aesthetics and physio ultrasound?
Does ultrasound have to be of low frequency to work for cellulite?
Does ultrasound have to be of high power to work for cellulite?
Beware of dangerous / cheap cavitation equipment
Proper training in ultrasound cavitation is essential
Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the cellulite experts
The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening
Ultrasound for physiotherapy vs cavitation ultrasound for aesthetics | In summary
Cavitation ultrasound used for cellulite reduction differs significantly from physiotherapy ultrasound in both frequency and power. Physiotherapy ultrasound typically operates at 1–3MHz with low power (1–10W), targeting small areas gently.
In contrast, effective cavitation ultrasound for cellulite requires much lower frequencies (30–90kHz) and higher power levels (25–75W) to treat large areas like the thighs and buttocks efficiently. High-frequency devices (>3MHz) used in beauty treatments are often underpowered and unsuitable for cellulite reduction.
While high frequency is not inherently ineffective, the absence of commercially available high-power, high-frequency devices limits its use in this context. Low-power machines result in inadequate treatments or impractically long sessions. Consumers are warned against cheap or falsely advertised equipment, especially those purchased online from unreliable sources, which can pose serious safety risks.
Proper training and the use of reputable, serviced equipment are crucial to ensure both safety and effectiveness, preventing injuries such as burns from improper application.
Is there any difference between cavitation ultrasound used in beauty / aesthetics and physio ultrasound?
Yes, there are usually considerable differences.
Physiotherapy ultrasound is usually of 1MHz (and sometimes 3MHz) frequency and of maximum power of around 10 Watts. Quite often it is used at a fraction of this maximum power, usually anything between 1 Watt and 5 Watts. This is because physiotherapy ultrasound is meant to gently stimulate and it is also used in a very small area, hence the low powers. Sometimes, low frequency ultrasound (300kHz) is used in physiotherapy but at very, very low powers (0.5-1 Watt).
Some machines used in beauty, for cellulite reduction or other purposes, can also be of high frequency (>3MHz) and low power (<25 Watts). This makes them totally inadequate for cellulite reduction but OK for other aesthetic purposes (perhaps active ingredient absorption on a small area or facials). 1MHz acts too deeply (>25mm deep) to be used for beauty purposes.
Proper ultrasonic cavitation for cellulite reduction is usually of low frequency (30-90kHz) and ideally of much higher maximum power (25-75 Watts). This is because large areas need to be treated with such treatment.
Does ultrasound have to be low frequency to work for cellulite?
There is nothing wrong with high frequencies, i.e. 3MHz, being used for cellulite reduction.
It’s just that high-frequency (>3MHz), high-power (>10 Watt) ultrasound transducers don’t seem to exist commercially for equipment manufacturers to use in their machines.
Does ultrasound have to be of high power to work for cellulite?
However, high maximum powers are essential, otherwise treatment of a large area, such as thighs and buttocks, may take hours with low power machines or treatment may be totally inadequate.
(Of course, this doesn’t stop many clinics and salons using low-power machines over large areas and pretending they offer a proper treatment).
Ideally you would like to use 50W or 75W if you treat large areas for cellulite reduction with ultrasound cavitation.
Small areas, like the stomach, can be effectively treated with lower maximum power cavitation machines (e.g. 25-35 Watts).
Beware of dangerous / cheap cavitation equipment
I do not know of any machines offering >75W.
Once, a beauty therapist from the US emailed me to tell me that she was using such a cavitation machine with 300 Watt maximum output power, bought for little money on Alibaba.
(unfortunately a lot of beauty salons use unsafe, cheap, counterfeit equipment from Alibaba…)
Needless to say, I informed her that the manufacturer was lying about the specifications, which is both illegal and dangerous.
Basically, she did not know what kind of machine she was holding in her hands and applying on people.
It was probably a low-end, 20W machine, but still, I would not touch such a machine with a bargepole. Such “equipment” should be taken straight to the recycling depot, not applied on people.
Proper training in ultrasound cavitation is essential
Proper training should also be provided to avoid burns or other reactions.
A few weeks ago a client had a consultation with me and told me that she managed to get a quite large and bad burn after a cavitation treatment for her cellulite, bought at Groupon at 90% discount.
Salons that offer such low prices typically use low-end, low-power machines, which if applied by someone trained for more than a couple of hours should not cause burns to anyone, ever.
Yet, at that salon they managed to burn her with a (probably) 10-20 Watt machine, which takes a special type of badly trained therapist to achieve.
So, to have a safe and effective treatment:
A good, high-power machine, made by a reputable manufacturer, is essential (you don’t want to be treated by machines bought on Alibaba)
The machine has to be serviced regularly (you don’t want to be treated with an unserviced machine)
The person has to be trained (and supervised) properly (you don’t want to be treated by the above therapist, before she gets retrained)
Have a treatment in London with the cellulite experts
At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.
This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.
As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.
(Of course, we keep looking for new technologies every day and if/when a better technology materialises we will be the first to provide it. However, we will never follow the latest ineffective gimmick, just because it’s good marketing to offer the latest hyped up - yet ineffective and/or unsafe treatment.)
Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.
And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.
Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.
(No unsafe and ineffective RF microneedling or HIFU and no safe but ineffective acoustic wave therapy, superficial RF (bipolar/tripolar/multipolar etc), low power RF/cavitation, electrical muscle stimulation, lymphatic massage, cupping, dry brushing and no ridiculous bum bum creams.)
Our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.
We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.
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Why train with The Cellulite School™?
We all know that training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening is as basic as it gets. It is typically a 4-6 hour training, involving only basic instruction from the manufacturer on how operators can use the machine; lots of myths, erroneous information and misconceptions; and some basic health and safety on how to use the machine.
There is no proper, real training in the science or cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency, ultrasound and all related technologies is non-existent - worldwide.
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