CHARACTERIZATION OF PLASMA JET EQUIPMENT USED IN THE TREATMENT OF AESTHETIC AFFECTIONS

Currently, health professionals, more specifically in the aesthetic area, use various forms of energy-based technologies to improve the appearance of body and skin, and due to the proliferation of businesses involving the sale of plasma jet pens for aesthetic use around the world, doubts arose as to the veracity of information about the production or non-production of plasma by this type of equipment. Therefore, this study sought to analyse the characteristics and parameters of some electric arc plasma jet pens used in the market. It was verified that the studied plasma jet pens produced plasma in a filament regime with an unstable pen and generated only three chemical species: Nitrogen (N2), Hydroxyl (OH) and ozone (O3) isotopes; however, the general physiological effects from plasma chemical species appear to be impaired by the fact that the plasma generated by most pens is quite unstable, and the thermal effect of the electric arc created to generate the plasma may cause skin burn appearance in a few seconds; the skin burns even before the full plasma action. It was concluded that the studied pens may even be sold as "plasma jet" equipment, for their plasma production; however, due to the filamentary and unstable character of the plasma found during the operation of such pens, the authors emphasize that professionals may not be able to benefit from the general physiological effects of the main chemical species of a plasma. Thus, the superficial skin carbonization effect remains to be a therapeutic action of these pens.