Is the Infini RF treatment painful?

Question

I am a African American women wanting to get a treatment to reduce the appearance of stretch marks on my bottom,hips,thighs, and back of calfs.

Robert M. Wald, Jr., MD · Answer

I can comment personally on this issue since I have had 2 treatments on myself. The answer is that it does hurt. I have found that numbing cream alone helps but one will still experience discomfort. I use a strong numbing cream, a cooling device, and occasionally xanax. I also use the mesoram which delivers local anesthetic to the treated area.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Discomfort is controlled with topical numbing cream. While the infini is a popular treatment, I prefer Intensif, because the needles are non-insulated and give more robust results. Keep in mind, stretch marks can't be cured, but they can be improved with the right combination. I recommend a combination of microneedling/prp, lasers or radiofrequency devices. I suggest getting a formal consultation with an expert. Best, Dr. Emer

Usha Rajagopal, MD · Answer

When treating large areas at once on the body topical numbing is not advised. Pain on these areas tend to be more tolerable that that of the face. My patients find treatment more tolerable when I use a chiller during their treatments. In dark skin types I find inifini very safe and effective because it uses insulated needles and causes little to no damage to the surface of the skin. Stretch marks tend to be difficult to treat and may require multiple treatments to see moderate improvement. It is very difficult, if not impossible to reverse hypo-pigmentation in stretch marks but patients can see significant texture improvement with INFINI.

Katherine Dee, MD · Answer

I agree with Dr. Weiner-- with dark skin you must stay away from uninsulated needles due to the risk of hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation. Infini is safe on all skin types, and would be the best option. Infini can be made painless: 1. a strong topical anesthetic is used for at least an hour prior to treatment 2. Xanax and Percocet (or equivalent) and 3. a chiller to blow cold air during the procedure. Make sure you see a doc who has all three of these if you want to have a painless experience.

I've treated body parts other than the face/neck-- such as abdomen and arms-- with great success. You will likely need a series of treatments-- Infini can help with stretch marks but the older they are, the more difficult it is.

I've treated body parts other than the face/neck-- such as abdomen and arms-- with great success. You will likely need a series of treatments-- Infini can help with stretch marks but the older they are, the more difficult it is.

Steven F. Weiner, MD · Answer

Infini can improve the stretch marks but not resolve them. When using Infini off the face, the discomfort is very mild. Treating those large surface areas is difficult with the small handpiece of the Infini. Several treatments are needed and the time involved might make this costly. There is too much surface area to use numbing creams but off the face, the treatments are tolerable without these creams. Other options are microneedling with PRP. I would be extremely cautious with using noninsulated needles on dark skin. There is a significant risk of PIH on your skin type with these needles. It is not true that more robust results can be obtained with uninsulated needles. The energy levels must be turned lower than the Infini so as to prevent scarring, PIH, and prolonged wound care. Infini is able to place much more energy deeper into the dermis which is safer and more effective. If wanting to put energy more superficial, a laser is more effective but it too has the risks associated with PIH. Insulated needles are needed to prevent this risk. (BTW, the Infini can be used with the uninsulated portion of the needles if the depths are set to 0.5).

Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD - Account Suspended · Answer

Firstly, yes it is painful, however the question is how to manage pain. If you are treating stretch marks, the pulse duration and depth is not great, so pain can easily be controlled on 23/7 lidocaine tetracaine topical numbing cream (Specialist strength). The use of PRP with Inifini will give a better result, however realistic exceptions must be met. Even with 3 sessions spaced one month apart, expect a 50% reduction of stretch marks at most. There is no miracle are for stretch marks, however I do believe that Infini RF with PRP outperforms CO2 fractional lasers and other micro needling devices, especially in darker skin patients. All the best, Dr Davin Lim. Brisbane. Australia.

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