New Treatment Alert: Carboxytherapy

Modern aesthetic medicine is often derived from existing ingredients or products that were once used in a medical setting. Carboxytherapy, one of the newest offerings at Amy Brenner, MD & Associates, is one of those products!

Today on the blog, we’re highlighting carboxytherapy, also known as a CO2 Lift. Read on to learn more!

The science of aging & the importance of hydration

Did you know that our skin primarily ages due to lack of hydration? This is why the biggest factors that cause advanced aging are:

• Sun exposure / sun damage
• Lack of moisturizing products in your skincare routine
• Extreme temperature exposure (extremely hot showers, cold winter air, etc.)
• Skincare products that contain alcohol, fragrance, retinoids, or alpha hydroxy acid
• Dry climate / environment
• Sleeping on your face/side (which does not allow humidity to adequately reach the area)

When the epidermis lacks water content (specifically, the oxygen content of H2O), it can cause issues with elasticity, slowed collagen production, and more. On a cellular level, oxygen attaches to collagen and elastin molecules and strengthens the fibers. This doesn’t just apply to the face, either. Lack of moisture can highly affect the skin on our entire body, especially our intimate areas! 

We’ve understood this for decades; however, doctors only recently began harnessing this knowledge to help improve aesthetic practices.

The history of CO2 in medicine & its role in modern aesthetics

Since the 1930’s, doctors in hospitals have used CO2 to promote wound healing. It’s known as carboxytherapy. However, they often administered this CO2 via injections, which can easily cause additional trauma, bruising, and soreness to the skin.

Topical carboxytherapy gel came from a critical need for non-invasive burn treatments. Not only did patients experience increased healing of their primary burns, they also experienced significant improvements to the aesthetic appearance of their skin. 

We are happy to announce that we can now utilize this method at our medical spa in Cincinnati as part of your post-care routine OR on its own for added skincare benefits!

Why CO2? How carboxytherapy works

When applied to the skin, CO2 essentially deprives a covered area of oxygen. Seems counterintuitive, right? 

Actually, in response to this deprivation, the skin naturally sends more oxygen to the area. This increases blood circulation; flushes the lymphatic system; and stimulates cellular metabolism. 

The best part about carboxytherapy? It is a skin rejuvenating mask containing CO2 gel with a topical discovery method (i.e., completely non-invasive and injection free!). We typically leave this on the skin for 35 to 60 minutes. During the process, carboxytherapy gel creates a  coverage of CO2 bubbles that release a specially designed formula to restore the skin’s vitality.

Overall, this can promote your skin’s natural ability to absorb nutrients and eliminate toxins, making it an ideal post-procedure treatment! It essentially doubles the skin’s hydration in one treatment with no side effects.

After which treatments should I use carboxytherapy?

The best time to apply a CO2 Lift product is every second day for 1 week after any or all of the following treatments:

Med Spa Treatments

• CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing
• RF Microneedling
• Chemical Peels
• Laser Facial Vein Treatment
• Votiva Vaginal Wand
• Intima

Surgical Treatments

• Labiaplasty Majora
• Labiaplasty Minora
• Vaginoplasty

Yes, carboxytherapy is safe for your intimate areas. In fact, we encourage it! In the past, many other skin rejuvenating products have not been safe or approved for  those sensitive areas. But because of CO2’s natural composition, we can help you promote healing in these areas comfortably and safely. 

The best part? It’s completely injection-free, which means:

• It does not require in-office treatment, so we can send you home with carboxytherapy for at-home use in your post-care routine.
• It is safe for all skin types and tones.
• It can be used on its own or combined with other med spa treatments for enhanced results.

What does carboxytherapy treat?

In addition to post-care efforts, carboxytherapy can address a variety of other concerns all over the body.

Face & Neck

We apply a CO2LiftPro mask to the face and/or neck, often after a patient receives laser treatments or microneedling. This can help treat:

• Wound healing
• Lack of circulation
• Elasticity
• Fine lines & wrinkles
• Pore size
• Skin texture
• Dry skin / eczema
• Inflamed skin
• Rosacea

Body & Genitals

As previously mentioned, carboxytherapy is safe for the genitals, so we can also administer a gel or suppository to any particular treatment area, called the CO2LiftV.

Without downtime, carboxytherapy addresses vaginal issues associated with aging, menopause, childbearing, medication, stress, or chemotherapy. 

We often recommend this to patients experiencing:

• Vaginal Dryness
• Painful Sex
• Loss of Sensitivity
• Urinary Issues

The hydration from carboxytherapy can improve the quality of intimacy by improving sensitivity, lubrication, and elasticity. It can also help reverse changes to the vulva and vagina that can occur from a decrease in estrogen. 

And, in addition to post-care for med spa treatments, CO2 Lifts can also highly benefit:

• New mothers can often promote circulation and more effective healing after pregnancy and childbirth.
• Menopausal women looking for increased circulation to the vaginal lips, clitoris, or vaginal canal can utilize either a gel or suppository.
• Women who have previously gone through chemotherapy may find carboxytherapy gel useful to help regain sexual stimulation after a period of abstinence and/or the physical strain of ongoing chemo treatments.

For these patients, it’s important that you don’t simply purchase carboxytherapy online. You should meet with a medical professional to discuss your medical history and specific symptoms to help you gain the safest and most effective results.

Frequently Asked Questions About Carboxytherapy, Answered by an MD

Even though CO2 Lifts are nothing new, we receive lots of questions surrounding the use of this product in our office.

What are the main benefits of carboxytherapy?
According to Lumisque, a manufacturer of carboxytherapy:

Carboxytherapy was developed to harness the human body’s natural response to carbon dioxide. Applying carbon dioxide to epithelial tissue results in a central nervous system response that causes vasodilation.

The dilated blood vessels allow an influx of blood to reach the hypoxic area, increasing circulation. This additional blood flow targets damage and aging-related changes to the epithelial tissues by:

• • Increasing the presence of wound repair factors and growth factors, which help cells “turn over” faster, reducing the appearance of aging, scars, stretch marks and more 

• • Stimulating collagen and elastin production, which promotes elasticity and helps retain hydration 

• • Improving local metabolism and elimination of waste products, which helps the body heal localized damage such as scars or acne hyperpigmentation 

• • Regenerating and repairing damaged tissue to help clients achieve better looking and feeling skin

Should I use carboxytherapy? How will I know if I need it?
Because carboxytherapy is non-invasive, there aren’t a lot of contraindications (signs you may not be a good fit) for treatment.

If you are in good general health with no history of skin disease or inflammation, you should have no problem receiving carboxytherapy! Learn more about your potential candidacy for carboxytherapy → 

Does it work better if I get carboxytherapy in the office?
Because the CO2 Lift ingredients are completely safe for all skin types, we can either administer the treatment in-office OR allow you to take it home and use it yourself with a very simple set of instructions! 

Can I use carboxytherapy for dark circles under my eyes?
Absolutely, especially if that area has recently been treated with a laser, photofacial, or microneedling!

I’ve heard some places give you carboxytherapy gel for stretch marks and cellulite. Does that work?
While carboxytherapy can certainly give you smoother, healthier skin, stretch marks and cellulite are a much more deep-seated issue than hydration alone. That said, we offer a variety of treatments to help with these concerns, and carboxytherapy complements all of them very well!

Why We Add Carboxytherapy to Microneedling for Enhanced Results

I’ve heard some people inject CO2 for better results. Why go topical?
CO2 injectables are the “original” way of administering carboxytherapy. However, subdermal injections not only cause discomfort, but also trauma to the skin. It can leave minor bruising and redness/swelling. By using topical carboxytherapy gel, not only can we avoid these side effects, but we can also allow you to utilize the product at home! The convenient at-home kit contains 3 treatments and is easy to use in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Learn more about med spa treatments at Amy Brenner, MD & Associates

Whether you’re a long-time patient of our office or you’re visiting us for the first time, we love sharing our expertise with you to help you make the best decisions for your skincare and wellness needs. 

If you have any questions or would like to discover which Cincinnati med spa treatments would work best for you, feel free to book your appointment or simply give us a call to get started!

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